News

IT security

• August 24, 2021 24 Aug'21

  Campaign groups claim police have bypassed Parliament with plans for live facial-recognition tech

  Civil society groups call for Parliament to scrutinise the use of live facial-recognition cameras

• August 24, 2021 24 Aug'21

  More data breaches in Australia arising from ransomware

  The number of data breaches in Australia arising out of ransomware attacks grew by 24% during the first half of 2021, according to OAIC’s latest data breach report

• August 23, 2021 23 Aug'21

  Flexxon and Lenovo tie up on AI-infused SSDs

  Singapore-based Flexxon teams up with Lenovo to make its solid-state drive that uses artificial intelligence to fend off cyber threats available on ThinkPad-based laptops

• August 20, 2021 20 Aug'21

  Swedish IT industry braced for China’s response to Huawei 5G ban

  Swedish IT and communications equipment suppliers fear economic backlash from China following Huawei ban

• August 20, 2021 20 Aug'21

  How the pandemic transformed IAG’s Hangar 51 accelerator

  Businesses of all shapes and sizes have had to take a different approach during the pandemic – Dupsy Abiola, head of global innovation at IAG, explains how IAG transformed its Hangar 51 accelerator during the coronavirus outbreak

• August 19, 2021 19 Aug'21

  Pub apps harvesting swathes of customer data unnecessarily

  Some pub and restaurant chain apps demand data such as gender and marital status, raising eyebrows among privacy campaigners

• August 19, 2021 19 Aug'21

  IT leaders fear ‘trickle-down’ of nation-state cyber attacks

  Three-quarters of IT decision-makers are concerned that the tactics, techniques and procedures used by nation-state attackers could be used against them

• August 18, 2021 18 Aug'21

  How Australia’s Octopus Deploy is simplifying DevOps

  Brisbane-based startup Octopus Deploy recently secured $172.5m in venture funding to advance its goal of simplifying software deployments for DevOps teams

• August 18, 2021 18 Aug'21

  MoD seeks security tech to harden military systems

  The Defence and Security Accelerator has launched a programme to root out technology that will reduce the military’s exposure to cyber attacks

• August 18, 2021 18 Aug'21

  Global VPN downloads soar in first half of 2021

  Song remains the same with VPNs as repressive regimes’ continued regulatory demands and remote working see virtual private network usage rocket over the first six months of the year

• August 17, 2021 17 Aug'21

  Educational publisher Pearson fined for data breach cover-up

  Securities and Exchange Commission says publisher misled its investors over the extent of a 2018 data breach

• August 17, 2021 17 Aug'21

  Security Think Tank: Building privacy-preserving apps and platforms

  ISACA’s Gaurav Deep Singh Johar explores how to embed privacy practices into digital platform architecture

• August 16, 2021 16 Aug'21

  ICO consults public on personal data in employment practices

  The ICO has launched a public consultation on employers’ use of personal data to help it provide practical guidance for both businesses and workers

• August 16, 2021 16 Aug'21

  Nearly half of retailers hit by ransomware in 2020

  In the face of increasingly prevalent and sophisticated ransomware attacks, retail organisations need to develop alternative ways of restoring lost or encrypted data, as paying the ransom does not guarantee its return in almost a third of cases

• August 13, 2021 13 Aug'21

  UN special rapporteurs call for surveillance tech moratorium

  In the wake of revelations about NSO Groups Pegasus spyware, a number of special rapporteurs from the United Nations are re-igniting calls for a global moratorium on the sale and transfer of surveillance technologies

• August 13, 2021 13 Aug'21

  Cyber Runway programme supports new security businesses

  The Cyber Runway programme is a government-backed scheme to support entrepreneurs, startups and scaleups in launching and growing new security businesses

• August 13, 2021 13 Aug'21

  Hospitals see cyber security investment as a low priority

  Almost half of hospitals have experienced an IT shutdown as a result of a cyber attack in the past six months, but just over one in 10 hospital executives see cyber security investment as a high priority

• August 12, 2021 12 Aug'21

  ICO consults on new international data transfer agreement

  Information Commissioner’s Office to consult on its draft international data transfer agreement and guidance, which will replace standard contractual clauses to protect personal data during overseas transfers

• August 12, 2021 12 Aug'21

  LGA goes live with Digital Pathfinders Programme

  Programme offers £20,000 in funding to councils that come up with ‘pioneering solutions’ for cyber security, digital inclusion and connectivity

• August 11, 2021 11 Aug'21

  US wins bid to widen grounds of appeal in Julian Assange extradition case

  The US government accused medical expert professor Michael Kopelman of misleading the court by failing to disclose details of Assange’s relationship 

• August 11, 2021 11 Aug'21

  Hacker makes off with $600m in world’s largest crypto-heist

  Despite bagging $600m worth of cryptocurrency in what has been described as the biggest decentralised finance hack, the hacker has already started returning the funds

• August 11, 2021 11 Aug'21

  Microsoft fixes seven critical bugs on light Patch Tuesday

  All seven critical vulnerabilities in Microsoft’s August Patch Tuesday were related to remote code execution, and there was one zero-day related to Windows Update Medic Service

• August 11, 2021 11 Aug'21

  The Netherlands still lacks digital resilience, says report

  Report by National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security says the Netherlands’ digital resilience has improved, but is still insufficient

• August 10, 2021 10 Aug'21

  Ransomware demands and payments hit new records

  Ransomware groups continue to intensify their operations as ransom demands and payments increase alongside use of “quadruple extortion” tactics during first half of 2021

• August 10, 2021 10 Aug'21

  Third of finance firms accelerate use of artificial intelligence to detect money laundering

  Financial services firms are stepping up their use of artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to fight increasing money laundering activity

• August 10, 2021 10 Aug'21

  Dutch lead the way in protecting themselves against internet risks

  Dutch citizens come top in a study on awareness of internet risks in Europe, which showed major differences across the continent

• August 10, 2021 10 Aug'21

  Researchers uncover database with 126 million unsecured records

  Business-to-business marketing firm OneMoreLead was storing tens of millions of records in an unsecured database, exposing at least 63 million people to fraud, identify theft and phishing campaigns

• August 10, 2021 10 Aug'21

  How Grab is using Kafka in fraud detection

  Grab is using Apache Kafka in its fraud detection and prevention platform to ingest event streams from its mobile software development kits and client backends to pick up fraudulent activities

• August 09, 2021 09 Aug'21

  Possible ransomware attack hits Italian vaccine booking system

  It is still unclear who is behind the attack that caused Covid-19 vaccine bookings in Lazio, Italy, to grind to a halt, as despite masses of files being encrypted no specific ransom demands have been made for the decryptor

• August 06, 2021 06 Aug'21

  Apple unveils plans to scan US iPhones for child sex abuse images

  Apple will introduce child sexual abuse material detection for US users later this year, but some experts are worried that the technology could be repurposed to scan phones for other kinds of content

• August 05, 2021 05 Aug'21

  11 areas will trial digital identity scheme for residential property sector

  MyIdentity scheme will allow estate agents, conveyancers, solicitors and mortgage providers across 11 locations to trial the use of digital identity to speed up and make home buying more secure

• August 05, 2021 05 Aug'21

  Nine security flaws found in critical hospital infrastructure

  The ‘PwnedPiper’ vulnerabilities identified in systems used by 80% of US hospitals could be used to launch ransomware attacks

• August 05, 2021 05 Aug'21

  BlackMatter goes on the record about DarkSide and REvil links

  BlackMatter gives details of its ransomware-as-a-service operation and distinguishes itself from now-defunct ransomware gangs in interview with cyber security analysts from Recorded Future

• August 05, 2021 05 Aug'21

  SAP customers more alert to internal than external threats

  SAP customers are more concerned by insider threats than by external attacks, according to a report. And yet the average SAP customer has around 2,500 vulnerabilities within their customised SAP code

• August 05, 2021 05 Aug'21

  Cloud misconfiguration a growing cause of security incidents

  Rapid cloud adoption during the pandemic has increased the attack surface and heightened the risk of misconfiguring services, leaving organisations more vulnerable to cyber attacks

• August 04, 2021 04 Aug'21

  Six Isle of Wight schools hit by ransomware attack

  Authorities are still working to manage the fallout from the attack, which has already forced at least one school to delay the start of the new term in September

• August 04, 2021 04 Aug'21

  Leading venture capital firms are failing to protect human rights

  Venture capital firms and high-profile tech accelerators are not conducting human rights due diligence on their investments, which means they cannot be sure the companies they invest in are not causing, or contributing to, human rights abuses

• August 04, 2021 04 Aug'21

  Initial access brokers unaffected by ransomware content bans

  Banning ransomware content from cyber crime forums has done little to prevent initial access brokers from advertising their services, with the number of access listings increasing in the second quarter of 2021

• August 04, 2021 04 Aug'21

  Fred IT replaces paper prescriptions with QR codes

  Fred IT’s eRX Script Exchange is now used by 21,000 doctors and 95% of Australian pharmacies, delivering more than 11 million digital prescriptions by July 2021

• August 03, 2021 03 Aug'21

  UK MoD turns to hackers to help secure digital assets

  Hackers given direct access to internal Ministry of Defence systems to identify and report security vulnerabilities

• August 03, 2021 03 Aug'21

  New ransomware gang spins out of DarkSide

  The emergence of a ransomware gang known as BlackMatter raises questions that it could be a re-brand of REvil or DarkSide

• August 03, 2021 03 Aug'21

  Destruction and integrity cyber attacks on the rise

  Cyber security professionals have reported a sharp rise in debilitating attacks aimed at destroying or manipulating data

• August 03, 2021 03 Aug'21

  Ransomware attacks increase dramatically during 2021

  Dramatic increase in ransomware attacks globally during first half of 2021 driven by triple extortion technique, and is only set to expand further

• August 02, 2021 02 Aug'21

  Government publishes second version of digital identity trust framework

  The second iteration of the framework, still in alpha version, sets out how organisations can become certified digital identity service providers

• July 30, 2021 30 Jul'21

  Hospitality firms must accelerate digital transformation to secure long-term recovery

  Key retail sector must respond quickly to new post-pandemic digital-first demands and consumer behaviours to regain competitive edge, says study

• July 29, 2021 29 Jul'21

  Technical hiccups force Babuk ransomware gang to change tactics

  The Babuk ransomware operation backed away from encrypting its victims’ files, and technical difficulties may be to blame, reports McAfee

• July 29, 2021 29 Jul'21

  Investigatory Powers Tribunal finds UK spy agencies unlawfully collected personal data

  Campaign groups Privacy International and Liberty are gearing up to bring further legal action after a court found that UK spy agencies unlawfully collected phone and internet records

• July 28, 2021 28 Jul'21

  Almost half unaware of GP data-sharing plans

  Around half of adults in England – approximately 20 million people – remain unaware of the scope of the NHS GPDPR programme, prompting calls for a public education campaign

• July 28, 2021 28 Jul'21

  Top vulnerabilities target perimeter devices

  The most frequently exploited CVEs of the year so far are to be found in perimeter and network access devices, according to a joint advisory from the NCSC and partners

• July 28, 2021 28 Jul'21

  COP26 cyber resource hub launched for Glasgow businesses

  New digital information hub for Glasgow business to help organisations keep secure both physically and online ahead of major climate change summit