News

IT security

• 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

• January 16, 2018 16 Jan'18

  Sweden pilots surveillance technology to combat terrorism and crime

  The Swedish police and security agencies are trialling surveillance equipment to help them respond to terrorism and crime more quickly

• January 16, 2018 16 Jan'18

  Skygofree Android spyware active since 2014, say researchers

  Powerful, highly advanced spyware has been targeting Android mobiles for the past four years, security researchers have discovered

• January 16, 2018 16 Jan'18

  Beware fake Meltdown and Spectre patches

  Security experts have warned that cyber attackers will be quick to use the Meltdown and Spectre exploits, but the first attempt to capitalise on them has come in the form of fake updates

• January 16, 2018 16 Jan'18

  Most UK enterprise mobiles not patched for Meltdown and Spectre

  Very few UK enterprise mobile devices have been patched against the recently discovered Meltdown and Spectre exploits and almost a quarter cannot be patched, a study shows

• January 15, 2018 15 Jan'18

  IT Priorities 2018: Growing interest in hybrid IT in ASEAN

  CIOs and IT professionals in Southeast Asia have earmarked hybrid infrastructure as a top priority in 2018, in spite of waning interest across the wider Asia-Pacific region

• January 15, 2018 15 Jan'18

  London cyber security careers fair highlights opportunities

  A cyber security careers fair in London on 17 January 2018 is aimed at anyone thinking of a career in the field, including experienced professionals and students

• January 15, 2018 15 Jan'18

  Ohio computer programmer faces 16 criminal charges over monitoring thousands of computers

  A 28-year-old computer expert has been charged for monitoring thousands of computers, using a form of malware he created

• January 12, 2018 12 Jan'18

  Call for statutory regulation of police number plate cameras amid concerns over accuracy

  The UK’s automatic number plate recognition database – one the largest non-military data-gathering systems – records up to 1.2 million false readings of number plates every day. It should be subject to statutory regulation, says an independent ...

• January 12, 2018 12 Jan'18

  Check Point finds AdultSwine malware in Google Play apps

  Security researchers have discovered new malware code hidden in game apps, mainly aimed at youngsters

• January 12, 2018 12 Jan'18

  Intel makes security-first pledge

  As it scrambles to deal with the Meltdown and Spectre processor exploits, Intel has made a series of security commitments

• January 12, 2018 12 Jan'18

  F-Secure highlights another critical Intel security issue

  As Intel scrambles to issue security updates to address the Meltdown and Spectre exploits, researchers have highlighted another, unrelated, critical security issue that could affect millions of corporate laptops

• January 11, 2018 11 Jan'18

  Mobile app flaws are a risk to industrial IT systems, says report

  Cyber security vulnerabilities in mobile applications could be exploited to compromise industrial network infrastructure, a report warns

• January 11, 2018 11 Jan'18

  CES 2018: Hyundai and Cisco bring SDN to the automobile

  Hyundai will debut a new generation of hyperconnected software-defined car in 2019, incorporating a Cisco-designed network platform

• January 11, 2018 11 Jan'18

  Spyware targets North Korean dissidents via social links, says McAfee

  Researchers at security firm McAfee have confirmed that social networks are being used to target North Korean dissidents with spyware

• January 11, 2018 11 Jan'18

  Nuclear weapons’ cyber attack risk relatively high, says report

  With the potential for catastrophic consequences from a nuclear weapons detonation attack, it is crucial to have the most robust nuclear policies in place, says an international affairs think-tank

• January 10, 2018 10 Jan'18

  EC underlines need for data transfer agreement post-Brexit

  The European Commission has emphasised the importance of having a data transfer agreement in place after the UK leaves the European Union

• January 10, 2018 10 Jan'18

  Cyber criminals exploit Oracle WebLogic flaw

  Researchers are urging companies to apply a security update to patch a flaw in Oracle’s WebLogic Server component that is being exploited to mine cryptocurrency

• January 10, 2018 10 Jan'18

  Margot James takes over as digital minister after government reshuffle

  Former minister for business succeeds Matt Hancock after his promotion to secretary of state

• January 10, 2018 10 Jan'18

  UAE tech growth prompts firms to review internal IT security

  As IT becomes more prominent in the UAE economy, more and more internal connections between people and systems are created, all of which need to be secured

• January 10, 2018 10 Jan'18

  ICO fines Carphone Warehouse £400,000

  Mobile retailer hit with one of the highest fines for putting personal data at risk as UK privacy watchdog warns that more stringent data protection laws will apply from 25 May 2018

• January 10, 2018 10 Jan'18

  Spectre: How reverse-engineering a microprocessor revealed a fundamental flaw

  Researchers have published their work on Spectre, a flaw that affects every modern CPU. We find out what went wrong from one of the engineers

• January 09, 2018 09 Jan'18

  Max Schrems champions NGO to fight for GDPR rights

  Privacy activist whose legal challenge of Facebook led to the scrapping of the Safe Harbour Agreement says crowdfunding a new type of non-government organisation is essential to deliver privacy rights

• January 09, 2018 09 Jan'18

  Meltdown and Spectre a big deal for enterprises

  Although consumers are relatively unaffected by the recently disclosed security vulnerabilities in most modern processors, enterprises need to take the threat seriously. Computer Weekly looks at how enterprise IT and security professionals should be...

• January 09, 2018 09 Jan'18

  Cyber attacks in 2017 drive Nordic security efforts

  The volume of cyber attacks last year has increased boardroom focus on security in the Nordic region

• January 09, 2018 09 Jan'18

  Intel to set up new group to focus on hardware security

  Chip maker is reportedly planning to form a new group to focus on hardware security as it scrambles to limit the impact of recently discovered security flaws in chip designs

• January 08, 2018 08 Jan'18

  Sweden steps up cyber defence measures

  Sweden is tightening up its cyber security defences as part of a wider national security strategy

• January 08, 2018 08 Jan'18

  Florida warns 30,000 medical records may have been exposed

  The health agency in the US state of Florida has warned that the records of up to 30,000 Medicaid patients may have been exposed when the agency’s IT systems were breached

• January 08, 2018 08 Jan'18

  IT Priorities 2018: ANZ ups ante on cloud services and software

  Organisations in Australia and New Zealand are bullish on IT spending, particularly in cloud infrastructure services, cloud applications and all-flash storage arrays

• January 05, 2018 05 Jan'18

  Patch systems against Meltdown and Spectre, urges ICO

  UK’s data protection watchdog is calling for organisations to apply security updates to mitigate against exploits of microprocessor flaws as soon as possible to safeguard personal data

• January 05, 2018 05 Jan'18

  2018 could be year of critical infrastructure attacks, says report

  The coming year is likely to see an increase in the number of cyber attacks on critical national infrastructure (CNI), according to a report based on experts’ forecasts

• January 05, 2018 05 Jan'18

  Apple confirms all devices affected by Meltdown and Spectre

  Apple has confirmed that all iPhones, iPads and Mac computers are affected by the recently discovered microprocessor exploits as the financial services industry assesses the risk

• January 04, 2018 04 Jan'18

  Meltdown and Spectre: AWS, Google and Microsoft rush to patch cloud chip flaws

  Amazon, Google and Microsoft rush to fix chip flaws that could leave cloud customers at risk of having their data accessed or stolen by other users

• January 03, 2018 03 Jan'18

  Critical Intel security patch will slow PCs, servers and Macs

  AMD shares rise on news that the performance of millions of Windows PCs, Linux servers and Apple Macs is to be impacted by critical updates for a recently discovered security flaw in Intel chips manufactured in the past 10 years

• January 03, 2018 03 Jan'18

  What the EU’s new data protection regime means for ASEAN

  A large proportion of businesses in the regional economic grouping will be affected by Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation, but awareness of the new rules remains low, even in countries with existing data protection laws

• January 03, 2018 03 Jan'18

  IoT botnet DDoS attacks predicted after exploit code published

  Security researchers are urging businesses to ensure they are prepared for large-scale DDoS attacks following the online publication of code to exploit a vulnerability in Huawei HG532 routers

• January 03, 2018 03 Jan'18

  Top IT priorities for Nordic CIOs in 2018

  Nordic CIOs tell Computer Weekly about their intentions for the year ahead

• January 02, 2018 02 Jan'18

  Top UK and US firms still overestimating GDPR readiness

  Less than five months before the compliance deadline for the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), most top UK and US firms are still overestimating their state of readiness, a study suggests

• January 02, 2018 02 Jan'18

  Ransomware to hit cloud computing in 2018, predicts MIT

  Ransomware targeting cloud services is one of the six biggest cyber threats likely to face organisations in 2018, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• December 28, 2017 28 Dec'17

  Top 10 stories on state surveillance, technology and the law in 2017

  In 2017, the government faced multiple legal challenges over the legality of mass surveillance of the population, most of whom pose no threat, in cases that will set the parameters between individual freedom and state intrusion

• December 27, 2017 27 Dec'17

  The CW500 Club in 2017

  Computer Weekly’s CW500 Club attracts the top IT leaders in the UK to talk to their peers. We present coverage of the 2017 events, including articles and video interviews

• December 27, 2017 27 Dec'17

  Top 10 NHS IT stories of 2017

  In the year the NHS fell victim to its largest-ever cyber attack and NHS Digital got a new boss, the health service has taken significant digital steps forward, including Wi-Fi in doctors’ surgeries and launching a GP information-sharing system in ...

• December 25, 2017 25 Dec'17

  Top 10 Australia IT stories of 2017

  Australia capped the year with a slew of game-changing technology initiatives, from bolstering its supercomputing infrastructure and productivity of police officers to outlining an ambitious space programme

• December 21, 2017 21 Dec'17

  Top 10 ASEAN stories of 2017

  ASEAN countries have been forerunners in driving digital transformation through various smart city initiatives and industry transformation roadmaps

• December 21, 2017 21 Dec'17

  Royal Mail research reveals UK firms lack data quality for GDPR

  A Royal Mail Data Services survey has found that three out of 10 UK companies are falling short of the data quality required for the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation

• December 21, 2017 21 Dec'17

  Hancock sure UK will obtain and maintain EU data protection adequacy

  Minister for digital tells Lords committee he is confident the UK will obtain and maintain “adequacy” for smooth data transfers with the EU after Brexit

• December 21, 2017 21 Dec'17

  Top 10 IT security stories of 2017

  Here are Computer Weekly's top 10 IT security stories of 2017

• December 21, 2017 21 Dec'17

  IT Priorities 2018: South Korea to spend more on big data and IoT

  South Korean companies are expected to spend more in emerging technologies as well as move more workloads to the cloud in the coming year

• December 20, 2017 20 Dec'17

  Top 10 enterprise IT in the Middle East stories in 2017

  Countries in the Middle East are putting digital transformation high on their priority lists and are already leaders in areas such as smart city development

• December 20, 2017 20 Dec'17

  Top 10 cyber crime stories of 2017

  Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 cyber crime stories of 2017

• December 20, 2017 20 Dec'17

  UK government blames North Korea for WannaCry cyber attack

  The UK and US governments say a North Korean group was responsible for the ransomware attacks that hit the NHS and other organisations globally this year

• December 19, 2017 19 Dec'17

  Australia to focus on cyber security and IT outcomes in 2018

  Besides transforming themselves through AI and automation, businesses down under will keep a closer eye on cyber security and the outcomes of their technology investments

• December 19, 2017 19 Dec'17

  Kaspersky Lab appeals US ban

  Russian security software giant appeals US government's decision to ban the use of its products in federal agencies

• December 15, 2017 15 Dec'17

  NHS builds online ID verification platform

  NHS England’s chief digital officer Juliet Bauer reveals the NHS is working to build its own online ID verification system