News

IT security

• January 30, 2018 30 Jan'18

  Government surveillance regime unlawful, court rules in Tom Watson case

  Appeal court ruled in favour of Labour MP Tom Watson in a legal battle with the government over the UK’s surveillance laws, leading to calls to rethink controversial Investigatory Powers Act

• January 30, 2018 30 Jan'18

  IT Priorities 2018: Data protection a top priority ahead of GDPR

  Data protection continues to be a key focus for IT security investment for European firms in 2018, as does the emphasis on cloud and mobile security as companies move to these technology platforms

• January 30, 2018 30 Jan'18

  Most online retail sites put customers at risk of phishing

  Most top online retail sites fail to protect consumers from phishing attacks, a study has revealed

• January 30, 2018 30 Jan'18

  Davos: Cyber risks grow as countries turn towards protectionism

  The cost of natural disasters is now at record levels, but the cost of cyber crime is far higher. The World Economic Forum hopes to persuade governments to work together on the problem, but with isolationist politics back in fashion, can it succeed?

• January 29, 2018 29 Jan'18

  Millennials set to disrupt authentication, shows IBM study

  Young adults are lax on passwords, but are more comfortable than older generations with biometric and multifactor authentication, an IBM study shows

• January 29, 2018 29 Jan'18

  NGO to fight for GDPR rights set to launch

  A new breed of NGO aimed at helping EU citizens fight for privacy rights under the GDPR is set to launch after achieving the minimum funding required

• January 29, 2018 29 Jan'18

  Hefty fines confirmed for CNI providers with poor cyber security

  The government has confirmed that critical infrastructure providers with poor cyber security face fines of millions of pounds as the National Cyber Security Centre publishes new guidance for the industry

• January 29, 2018 29 Jan'18

  Business cyber crime up 63%, UK stats show  

  Despite an overall decrease in fraud and computer misuse in 2017, the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports show that incidents involving computer misuse and malware against business are way up

• January 28, 2018 28 Jan'18

  How blockchain can secure the IoT

  By doing away with a central authority in internet of things (IoT) networks, blockchain technology can reduce the risk of IoT devices being compromised by a single point of security failure

• January 26, 2018 26 Jan'18

  ICO launches data protection excellence award

  UK’s privacy watchdog launches data protection excellence award to mark international Data Protection Day, as security suppliers issue data protection tips and guidelines

• January 26, 2018 26 Jan'18

  UK likely to remain strategic EU data protection partner

  Head of European Union’s independent data protection authority says UK is likely to remain a strategic partner in data protection after Brexit

• January 26, 2018 26 Jan'18

  Government sets out further details of Digital Charter

  The government’s charter aims to tackle challenges and risks brought by technology in “an effective and responsible way”, thereby boosting the digital economy

• January 25, 2018 25 Jan'18

  IoT security risks need immediate action, says report

  The security failings in today’s internet-connected devices will only become more pervasive unless action is taken immediately, according to industry experts

• January 25, 2018 25 Jan'18

  Ransomware was most popular cyber crime tool in 2017

  Detections of ransomware increased by more than 90% last year compared with 2016

• January 25, 2018 25 Jan'18

  Hours lost on patching Meltdown and Spectre flaw

  IT administrators have already lost hours installing the processor patch from Intel, which causes PCs to lock up and systems to crash and slow down

• January 25, 2018 25 Jan'18

  Security spending not on most-effective controls, report reveals

  While planned spending on IT security is up globally, so too are data breaches, with evidence mounting that hackers are hitting the bottom line, a global security survey reveals

• January 24, 2018 24 Jan'18

  Most UK organisations unaware of new data protection laws

  The UK’s digital and culture secretary is urging businesses and charities to prepare for stronger data protection laws in the light of new information

• January 24, 2018 24 Jan'18

  GDPR worries hit cloud storage investments, says survey

  NetApp-sponsored survey finds lack of customer confidence in cloud service providers’ retention of GDPR-affected data has led organisations to rethink and scale back cloud investments

• January 24, 2018 24 Jan'18

  AI is moving towards acceptance in cyber security, says Check Point

  Artificial intelligence is well on its way to being a useful tool in the cyber security professional’s kit, but according to Check Point, there are still big challenges to overcome

• January 24, 2018 24 Jan'18

  Sweden puts government IT outsourcing under increased scrutiny

  Government introduces rules to tighten security in IT outsourcing deals following a very public data leak last year

• January 24, 2018 24 Jan'18

  Two-thirds of startups ill-prepared for GDPR

  While most startups collect personal data, a survey reveals that many are not very well prepared for compliance with the EU’s forthcoming data protection regulation

• January 24, 2018 24 Jan'18

  NHS organisations to get cyber security alerts service

  As part of a deal between NHS Digital and Microsoft, NHS organisations will be able to get a threat detection service, alerting them to any cyber security issues

• January 24, 2018 24 Jan'18

  Dark web Dream Market drives cyber fraud industry

  An international operation shut down the AlphaBay and Hansa marketplaces in July 2017, but new ones have sprung up on the dark web, with one in particular helping to drive cyber fraud

• January 23, 2018 23 Jan'18

  Intel recalls botched Spectre fix

  The inventor of Linux, Linus Torvalds, vents his frustration and suggests Intel has no plans to fix Spectre flaw

• January 23, 2018 23 Jan'18

  Mastercard sets biometric ID deadline for banks

  Mastercard has committed to guaranteeing that every one of its customers will have access to biometric authentication services by April 2019

• January 23, 2018 23 Jan'18

  Thousands of critical systems affected by serious security flaws

  Multiple and serious vulnerabilities have been found in a software management system widely used in corporate and industrial control environments, researchers warn

• January 23, 2018 23 Jan'18

  Facebook offers funding to secure the internet

  Facebook has announced that it is offering funding for research into ways of improving internet security

• January 23, 2018 23 Jan'18

  New controversies as Trump passes US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

  The amended Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which seeks to legitimise US surveillance on foreigners, has been signed off by president Trump

• January 23, 2018 23 Jan'18

  Interview: Kaspar Korjus, Estonian e-Residency lead

  As the number of people signing up to become Estonian e-residents exceeds the country’s birth rate, Computer Weekly speaks to the man heading up the programme

• January 23, 2018 23 Jan'18

  Uncontrolled cyber attacks on UK cyber defenders’ radar

  Uncontrolled cyber attacks are just as much a threat as targeted attacks, according to the UK’s cyber defence agency, which continues to consider a major cyber attack imminent

• January 23, 2018 23 Jan'18

  Many councils admit they are not ready to upgrade from Windows 7

  With less than two years to go before Microsoft stops supporting Windows 7, a study has found many councils may struggle to meet this deadline

• January 23, 2018 23 Jan'18

  China’s Yitu eyes ASEAN market with facial recognition know-how

  Facial recognition software specialist Yitu, which recently won a face identification accuracy contest in the US, has already nabbed regional clients such as Singapore’s Certis Cisco

• January 22, 2018 22 Jan'18

  Taking complexity out of cyber security

  The key to improving the cyber security posture of organisations is to keep complexity at bay, according to a senior Microsoft executive

• January 22, 2018 22 Jan'18

  UK urged to up spending on cyber defence

  Cyber attacks that target military and civilian operations are one of the biggest threats facing the UK, according to a top military officer, but security experts say cyber defence spending must be carefully considered

• January 22, 2018 22 Jan'18

  Almost a quarter of London businesses unaware of GDPR

  Nearly one in four London businesses unaware of new data protection regulation, a survey has revealed, with just months before the compliance deadline

• January 22, 2018 22 Jan'18

  Norwegian healthcare breach alert failed GDPR requirements

  Norwegian healthcare authorities failed General Data Protection Regulation requirements for notifying those affected by a personal data breach by waiting a week before disclosing a breach discovered on 8 January 2018

• January 22, 2018 22 Jan'18

  Judge will take time to seek answers from EU court over Max Schrems Facebook privacy fight

  The Irish High Court will take time to decide what questions to put before the European Court of Justice in a case with significant implications for EU and US trade and the privacy of EU citizens

• January 22, 2018 22 Jan'18

  Privacy International warns of global risk to citizens if Microsoft loses US data access appeal

  Privacy International warns of widespread privacy violations if Microsoft loses US data access appeal

• January 22, 2018 22 Jan'18

  European Parliament votes to restrict exports of surveillance equipment

  European Parliament votes to tighten export controls to restrict supply of surveillance and encryption technology to states with poor human rights records amid fears British companies may not have to comply after Brexit

• January 22, 2018 22 Jan'18

  Cyber attackers exploiting trust in FTP servers

  Some cyber attackers are exploiting trust in FTP servers to distribute malware, security researchers warn

• January 22, 2018 22 Jan'18

  Powerful Zyklon malware exploiting MS Office flaws

  Cyber attackers are exploiting three recently discovered vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office to spread multifunction Zyklon malware, security researchers warn

• January 18, 2018 18 Jan'18

  Create security culture to boost cyber defences, says Troy Hunt

  Security suffers when there is tension between software developers and security professionals, but it is common in many organisations, says world-renowned security blogger and trainer

• January 18, 2018 18 Jan'18

  Cyber attackers upped their game in 2017, warns report

  Cyber attackers ranging from criminals to nation states have upped their game in the past year, “moving the needle” in terms of tactics, techniques and procedures, a report by a cyber security firm warns

• January 18, 2018 18 Jan'18

  Next-gen Mirai botnet targets cryptocurrency mining operations

  A variant of the Satori botnet, a successor of the IoT device hijacking Mirai botnet, is designed to hijack cryptocurrency mining operations, syphoning off newly created digital coins

• January 18, 2018 18 Jan'18

  Meltdown and Spectre: to patch or not to patch

  As IT recoils from the Spectre and Meltdown chip exploits, companies face patches that are incompatible, leading to crashes, reduced performance and lock-ups

• January 17, 2018 17 Jan'18

  Business needs to reduce cyber threat to payment card data

  Cardholder data is a prime target for cyber criminals, and that is only likely to increase in the coming year, according to a cloud-based secure payments firm

• January 17, 2018 17 Jan'18

  North Korean hackers tied to cryptocurrency attacks in South Korea

  North Korea's Lazarus Group targeted South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges and users in late 2017, but may soon go after exchanges and users in other countries, warns report

• January 17, 2018 17 Jan'18

  Davos: Disintegration of the internet could create economic turmoil

  Politicians and business leaders will discuss the risks posed by fake news, cyber attacks, and artificial intelligence to jobs, political stability and global security, at the World Economic Forum in Davos

• January 16, 2018 16 Jan'18

  Vulnerability exploit report shows importance of patching

  Latest vulnerability exploit report by security firm AlienVault shows the most popular vulnerabilities remain exploited for several years

• January 16, 2018 16 Jan'18

  LeakedSource operator could face up to 10 years in jail

  Canadian man accused of selling stolen identities and passwords on website