News

IT security

August 16, 2017 16 Aug'17
Hackers hit Holyrood with Westminster-style brute-force attack

The Scottish parliament has been hit by a cyber attack similar to the one that struck Westminster in June
August 15, 2017 15 Aug'17
Leaked SMB exploits make malware powerful, warns Cylance

Four key exploits at the heart of hacking tools leaked by the Shadow Brokers have given malware authors a lot of power, say security researchers
August 11, 2017 11 Aug'17
Malicious email spikes in Q2, reports Proofpoint

Malicious email campaigns saw a spike in volume and increased variety in the second quarter of 2017, a cyber security report reveals
August 11, 2017 11 Aug'17
Russian cyber espionage group targeting hotel Wi-Fi

A Russian cyber espionage group is targeting hotel Wi-Fi networks to carry out malware infections and potentially steal credentials, researchers warn

August 10, 2017 10 Aug'17
China tests hack-proof quantum satellite communications

China has tested a prototype communication system that uses the principles of quantum mechanics to make it impossible for hackers to access
August 10, 2017 10 Aug'17
New TalkTalk fine takes total for poor data protection to £500,000

Information Commissioner’s Office fines TalkTalk for putting up to 21,000 customers’ details at risk of exposure prior to September 2014
August 10, 2017 10 Aug'17
IT pros urged to support ‘WannaCry hero’ Marcus Hutchins

Computer experts fear chilling effect on security research over US arrest of Marcus Hutchins who halted the spread of the WannaCry ransomware
August 10, 2017 10 Aug'17
Gov.uk Verify fails to meet key business case targets

Government’s controversial online identity system has missed important milestones that formed the basis of its original 2015 business case
August 08, 2017 08 Aug'17
WannaCry hero due in court on malware charges

The Briton who played a key role in halting the global WannaCry ransomware attacks is due in court in the US to face charges in connection with the Kronos banking Trojan
August 08, 2017 08 Aug'17
NIS Directive plans show UK is serious about tackling cyber threats

UK government plans to implement the EU’s Network and Information Systems (NIS) Directive have been welcomed for assuring its commitment to cyber defence post-Brexit

August 07, 2017 07 Aug'17
Gaming apps ‘main source’ of mobile phishing attacks, research shows

Analysis of 100,000 corporate devices shows more than a quarter of traffic going to phishing domains was from gaming apps
August 03, 2017 03 Aug'17
Cyber criminals make it difficult to follow the money

Following the money is a classic technique used by law enforcement to link criminals to crimes by tracing associated financial exchanges, but that may not be easy in the case of the WannaCry attacks
August 03, 2017 03 Aug'17
Voice control in BBC iPlayer pilot demos Microsoft's AI ambitions

An internal BBC pilot in collaboration with Microsoft shows how voice control could be used on the iPlayer TV streaming app
August 03, 2017 03 Aug'17
Ransom DDoS attacks on the rise

The use of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks to extort money from organisations is on the rise, warns security firm Kaspersky Lab
August 02, 2017 02 Aug'17
Apple share price reaches record high on quarterly results

Apple’s share price rose 6% in after-hours trading to reach a record high in response to the company’s quarterly financial report
August 01, 2017 01 Aug'17
Why Facebook’s AI termination raises safety concerns

Revelations that researchers at Facebook had to switch off two bots that went rogue have raised questions about the safety of artificial intelligence
July 28, 2017 28 Jul'17
CIA hacking tools for Mac OS and Linux exposed by WikiLeaks

WikiLeaks has exposed hacking tools targeting the Mac and Linux operating systems in the latest of its series of leaks allegedly from the US Central Intelligence Agency
July 26, 2017 26 Jul'17
Radiation detection devices open to cyber attack, researcher finds

A security researcher has discovered numerous security flaws in multiple devices that are used to detect radiation in critical facilities
July 26, 2017 26 Jul'17
Adobe to kill off Flash Player by end of 2020

Adobe has announced it is to stop updating and distributing Flash Player in just over three years’ time
July 25, 2017 25 Jul'17
North Korean web users enjoy Amazon, Facebook and YouTube, report claims

Threat intelligence specialist Recorded Future claims that the North Korean elite are as plugged in to the worldwide web as any western citizen
July 25, 2017 25 Jul'17
Big data means big risk, Swedish Transport Agency leak shows

The Swedish Transport Agency exposed sensitive information by transferring its databases to a third party cloud provider without following data protection procedures
July 24, 2017 24 Jul'17
Tech disruption forces CEOs to rethink leadership

Headline figures from KPMG’s Outlook 2017 survey of 1500 CEOs shows that 40% expect technology innovation to cause major disruption
July 20, 2017 20 Jul'17
Retail data breaches still high as GDPR deadline looms

As the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation compliance deadline approaches, retail data breaches remain unacceptably high, a data threat report reveals
July 20, 2017 20 Jul'17
TSB to introduce iris scan authentication in September 2017

TSB customers will soon be able to access their mobile bank accounts through iris scanning, which is regarded as the most secure biometric authentication available
July 19, 2017 19 Jul'17
Newcastle council data leak shows need for security automation

Leak of child adoption information by Newcastle City Council resulted from accidental email attachment by employee
July 19, 2017 19 Jul'17
IBM results show slow transition to new business model

Cognitive is one of the cornerstones of IBM’s ‘strategic imperatives’, yet building out a portfolio of products and services will take time, IBM’s CFO admits
July 17, 2017 17 Jul'17
IBM claims breakthrough in mainframe encryption

IBM says its new mainframe ushers in a new era of data protection in response to a call to action from chief information security officers and security experts worldwide
July 14, 2017 14 Jul'17
Defence minister opens £3m cyber security centre in Gloucester

UK minister for defence procurement has opened Lockheed Martin’s job-creating cyber security centre aimed at boosting UK cyber defence capability and skills
July 14, 2017 14 Jul'17
NHS urged to spend extra cyber defence funds wisely

The NHS has been urged to invest wisely in cyber defences after the government announced plans to increase data security funding by millions of pounds in response to the Caldicott review
July 14, 2017 14 Jul'17
Australia to push ahead with decryption plans

The Australian government remains undaunted in requiring tech firms to provide access to encrypted communications in law enforcement efforts
July 13, 2017 13 Jul'17
Encryption keys too predictable, warn security researchers

Encryption keys are not as random as most people think, which means encrypting data is often not as secure as it could be, according to security researchers
July 13, 2017 13 Jul'17
Verizon denies data loss but admits potentially huge breach

Verizon has responded to reports of millions of customer records being exposed to the internet by saying no data was accessed by malicious third parties, but the incident raises thorny issues
July 13, 2017 13 Jul'17
What Singapore can learn from Israel’s cyber security playbook

A former Unit 8200 captain from the Israel Defense Forces shares what Singapore can learn from Israel’s approach to cyber security
July 06, 2017 06 Jul'17
Kaspersky researcher in Asia develops cyber forensics tool

The open source tool lets cyber forensics investigators access infected machines remotely to collect malware artefacts without compromising system integrity
July 04, 2017 04 Jul'17
Royal Free and Google DeepMind data sharing not compliant with DPA, ICO rules

Information Commissioner’s Office finds that the controversial NHS data-sharing deal with Google DeepMind did not fully comply with the Data Protection Act
July 04, 2017 04 Jul'17
Collaboration is key to combating cyber crime

Interpol has called for speedy and effective information-sharing between law enforcement agencies, governments, businesses and cyber security companies to counter growing cyber threats
June 30, 2017 30 Jun'17
Danish shipping giant Maersk recovering from major Petya cyber attack

Company confirms attack took down its IT system across multiple sites and business units, but has now been contained
June 29, 2017 29 Jun'17
Key lessons from ‘Petya’ ransomware attack

While the cyber security community is still working to understand the latest ransomware attack that has reportedly hit 60 countries, there are key lessons to be learned
June 29, 2017 29 Jun'17
Policing should embrace IoT opportunities

The internet of things brings more opportunities than challenges for the UK’s police forces, according to a TechUK report that urges the police to embrace digital technologies
June 29, 2017 29 Jun'17
Petya ransomware hits Aussie businesses

The latest ransomware attack has reached Australia’s shores, prompting calls to dump on-premise IT infrastructure for the cloud
June 28, 2017 28 Jun'17
Singapore authorities issue alert on Petya ransomware

The country’s emergency response team has called for users to boost their cyber defences as the Petya ransomware rages through IT systems in Asia and Australia
June 27, 2017 27 Jun'17
Another global ransomware attack underway as reports of Petya exploit spread

Latest cyber attack appears to be based on the same EternalBlue exploit used by the WannaCry ransomware that hit the NHS in May
June 26, 2017 26 Jun'17
Palo Alto Networks confident of taking security into SaaS era

Security platforms could make it easier to take products to market and improve firms’ security posture by making innovative products easier to consume, but the biggest winners could be the platform providers
June 22, 2017 22 Jun'17
Voice biometrics still relatively unheard

Authentication system could help reduce UK fraud by making it hard for fraudsters to glean information from contact centres
June 21, 2017 21 Jun'17
Microsoft admits Windows 10 disables third-party security software

Microsoft has admitted Windows 10 disables some third-party security software, but claims this is purely because of compatibility issues
June 21, 2017 21 Jun'17
Queen’s Speech highlights digital charter and data protection

Government confirms plans to create a digital charter to ensure the UK is “the safest place to be online”, and a new law protecting personal data
June 21, 2017 21 Jun'17
Pirated software used to spread malware in APAC

A regional study by a Singapore university has found that counterfeit software distributed through discs and file-sharing networks is plagued by malware
June 20, 2017 20 Jun'17
Web hosting firm agrees to pay $1m ransomware demand

South Korean hosting firm Nayana agrees to pay more than $1m to restore data that was encrypted by a ransomware attack on its Linux servers on 10 June 2017
June 19, 2017 19 Jun'17
Abu Dhabi uses surveillance tech to protect Grand Prix

Police use surveillance technology and monitoring software to ensure public safety when Formula One visits the UAE each year
June 16, 2017 16 Jun'17
North Korean Lazarus botnet linked to WannaCry attack

US-Cert puts out an alert on DeltaCharlie, a distributed denial of service tool from North Korean hacker group Lazarus