News

IT security

• April 27, 2020 27 Apr'20

  Australia’s CovidSafe app debuts, source codes to follow

  Australia’s contact tracing app has been downloaded more than 1.1 million times, even as privacy concerns linger on

• April 24, 2020 24 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Dutch Covid-19 tracking app stirs national debate

  Privacy concerns raised over mobile app to help track and control the spread of coronavirus in the Netherlands

• April 24, 2020 24 Apr'20

  The Security Interviews: Can AV go from dodgy scareware to cyber hero?

  Alun Baker, CEO of Clario, is on a mission to rehabilitate the image of consumer security products and take the fear out of selling antivirus. We find out how things are changing

• April 23, 2020 23 Apr'20

  Ransomware-stricken Travelex up for sale

  Travelex’s parent Finablr is washing its hands of the ransomware-stricken forex provider as it struggles with the twin shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic and a developing fraud scandal

• April 23, 2020 23 Apr'20

  Public authorities set to receive expanded surveillance powers

  UK government wants to extend the number of public authorities able to obtain communications data using mass surveillance

• April 23, 2020 23 Apr'20

  iOS zero-day leaves iPhone users dangerously exposed

  Researchers identify dangerous vulnerabilities in Apple’s iOS operating system that allow remote code execution on target devices

• April 23, 2020 23 Apr'20

  Zoom to roll out fresh cyber security updates

  New features include support for advanced AES 256-bit encryption

• April 22, 2020 22 Apr'20

  NCSC overwhelmed by response to coronavirus campaign

  The UK’s NCSC has taken down more than 80 malicious web campaigns and received 5,000 reports of suspicious emails within 24 hours of launching reporting service

• April 22, 2020 22 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Banking and mobile sectors collaborate to stop text scams

  Initiative aims to protect 50 genuine brands and government organisations from being impersonated by cyber criminals

• April 22, 2020 22 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Cyber criminals may be changing tactics

  Cyber criminals “may soon shift to heavier exploitation of footholds established through phishing and other scams”, warns Cyber Threat Coalition

• April 22, 2020 22 Apr'20

  Amazon’s Whole Foods uses heat mapping to track unionisation efforts

  Whole Foods is using mapping technology to predict where strikes or union activity will happen, but organisers can use similar tools for the inverse of bolstering their actions too

• April 21, 2020 21 Apr'20

  Revealed: The man behind the first major computer virus pandemic

  After 20 years of silence, Onel de Guzman has admitted unleashing the “Love Bug”, the computer virus that caused havoc by infecting 45 million machines around the world

• April 21, 2020 21 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: HMRC job retention scheme targeted by cyber criminals

  The UK government’s scheme to pay furloughed employees 80% of their wages is being targeted by cyber criminals

• April 21, 2020 21 Apr'20

  When data protection is not enough

  Organisations should take a holistic approach to data protection and cyber security in what the CEO of Acronis deems a “cyber protection” strategy

• April 20, 2020 20 Apr'20

  NCSC launches coronavirus cyber security campaign

  The National Cyber Security Centre has launched a reporting service for scam emails as part of a campaign to help people protect themselves from cyber criminals exploiting the pandemic

• April 20, 2020 20 Apr'20

  IT services company Cognizant warns customers after ‘Maze’ ransomware attack

  US IT services company Cognizant alerts customers after the Maze ransomware group launches a cyber attack

• April 20, 2020 20 Apr'20

  Zoom and WebEx users targeted by credential stealing attempts

  Videoconferencing apps such as Zoom and Cisco’s WebEx are being targeted by cyber criminals trying to steal users’ personal data

• April 20, 2020 20 Apr'20

  Dutch organisations address business email compromise fraud

  Public-private partnership in the Netherlands works to break the chains used by fraudsters to carry out BEC attacks

• April 20, 2020 20 Apr'20

  Australian workers are weakest link in fight against cyber attacks

  About four in 10 employees are sharing inappropriate data across mobile devices and half of all security incidents in 2019 occurred through inappropriate IT use, new study finds

• April 17, 2020 17 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: How Nominet fights back against malicious domains

  Domain name registry has thwarted hundreds of attempts to register malicious .uk domain names during the coronavirus pandemic

• April 17, 2020 17 Apr'20

  EU warns no compromise on privacy as NHS clashes with tech firms on contact tracing

  EU and UK regulators express data privacy concerns days after Silicon Valley giants announce collaboration on contact-tracing apps to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus

• April 17, 2020 17 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Security certification body puts exams online

  Candidates for certification by the International Association of Privacy Professionals will now be able to sit their exams remotely

• April 16, 2020 16 Apr'20

  Check Point sounds alarm over double extortion ransomware threat

  Researchers say double extortion ransomware attacks are likely to increase in frequency, and warn organisations to be on guard

• April 16, 2020 16 Apr'20

  DWP turns to Government Gateway to support Universal Credit claims

  Existing users of HMRC’s digital identity system can use their credentials to apply for benefits, in a move designed to ease bottlenecks caused by Gov.uk Verify performance problems

• April 16, 2020 16 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: India eases lockdown restrictions for IT service providers

  Indian government allows IT services firms to bring half their staff back to delivery centres

• April 16, 2020 16 Apr'20

  NHS Wales to get free security services during coronavirus pandemic

  NHS Wales Informatics Services enlists Thales to help it face down security threats and let its teams focus on the Covid-19 coronavirus crisis

• April 16, 2020 16 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Cyber attacks on banks seen spiking, says Carbon Black

  VMware’s Carbon Black observes a spike in cyber attacks on financial services organisations

• April 16, 2020 16 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Indian IT sector takes hit

  India’s IT market will see slower growth this year though opportunities abound in artificial intelligence and cyber security

• April 15, 2020 15 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: ICO temporarily relaxes regulatory approach

  The Information Commissioner’s Office sets out a revised approach to its regulatory duties during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic

• April 15, 2020 15 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Standard Chartered bans employees from Zoom

  Standard Chartered is the first bank to have instructed its staff to refrain from using Zoom

• April 15, 2020 15 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Researcher finds security vulnerability in Slack

  Some common assumptions about the security of cloud-based messaging platform Slack may not be entirely accurate, says an Alien Labs researcher

• April 15, 2020 15 Apr'20

  Microsoft patches 19 critical bugs in another heavy Patch Tuesday

  The volume of vulnerabilities being uncovered by Microsoft remains high, with more than 100 fixes pushed out in April’s Patch Tuesday

• April 14, 2020 14 Apr'20

  Apple and Netflix most imitated brands in phishing attacks

  A new report highlights the brands which are being most frequently spoofed by cyber criminals in phishing attacks

• April 14, 2020 14 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Zoom user credentials for sale on dark web

  IntSight researchers say they have found a database containing thousands of Zoom usernames and passwords being sold on the dark web

• April 14, 2020 14 Apr'20

  Coronavirus puts brakes on 5G core deployments

  Research firm identifies short- and long-term impacts that global pandemic will have on 5G core and edge networks

• April 13, 2020 13 Apr'20

  How Singapore’s Niometrics is changing network analytics

  By extracting granular data and emphasising privacy protection, Niometrics’ network analytics technology is being put through its paces in a variety of use cases

• April 10, 2020 10 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Warning over surge in Zoom security incidents

  Check Point researchers have observed a surge in suspicious Zoom domains as cyber criminals target popular remote working and collaboration tools

• April 09, 2020 09 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Zoom restricted or banned at multiple organisations

  Use of videoconferencing tool has been banned at Google and in parts of the German and US governments

• April 08, 2020 08 Apr'20

  Revealed: Estonia targeted by Russia-linked disinformation deluge

  Kremlin-linked threat actors are undermining the government of Estonia and its relationship with the European Union through a concerted disinformation campaign, with wider ramifications

• April 08, 2020 08 Apr'20

  Despite coronavirus, overall cyber crime volumes hold steady

  The UK’s NCSC and the US’s CISA see little change in overall volumes of cyber crime in spite of the coronavirus crisis – for the time being

• April 08, 2020 08 Apr'20

  Australian open source project to expand global reach

  Data61’s open source seL4 microkernel project will be supported by a new foundation created under the auspices of the Linux Foundation

• April 08, 2020 08 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: McAfee unearths dark web blood bank

  Cyber criminals are selling fake goods and running scams on online marketplaces during the Covid-19 pandemic. Don’t be taken in

• April 08, 2020 08 Apr'20

  Coronavirus threats ramp up as more hospitals come under attack

  The Covid-19 Cyber Threat Coalition finds the majority of security pros have been targeted by cyber criminals exploiting the coronavirus pandemic, and adds to warnings of increased activity targeting the health sector

• April 07, 2020 07 Apr'20

  Judge refuses to delay Assange's extradition hearing over coronavirus pandemic

  District Judge Vanessa Baraitser says extradition proceedings will go ahead against Julian Assange, after his lawyers argued that the coronavirus lockdown means they cannot prepare their defence

• April 07, 2020 07 Apr'20

  Happy developers write secure code, report claims

  DevOps specialist Sonatype claims to have found a direct correlation between satisfied developers and application security hygiene

• April 07, 2020 07 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Criminals using Zoom installer to spread cryptominer

  Videoconferencing application targeted to deliver cryptomining malware to unsuspecting victims

• April 06, 2020 06 Apr'20

  Two-factor authentication is broken: What comes next?

  Two-factor authentication is seen by many as a robust authentication method, but is it really as impervious as it seems?

• April 06, 2020 06 Apr'20

  BA and Marriott get GDPR fine reprieve

  Both British Airways and Marriott International have had their General Data Protection Regulation fines deferred until later in 2020

• April 06, 2020 06 Apr'20

  Zero-day exploits increasingly commodified, say researchers

  The exploitation of zero-day vulnerabilities increasingly demonstrates access to cash, rather than skills

• April 05, 2020 05 Apr'20

  Interpol warns of more ransomware attacks against healthcare sector

  Purple notice issued to alert police forces around the world of ransomware attacks against hospitals and other healthcare institutions

• April 05, 2020 05 Apr'20

  Google data shows high interest in security and remote working

  An analysis of the most Googled technology terms during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the scale of the cyber security challenge presented by the crisis

• April 03, 2020 03 Apr'20

  Covid-19 apps pose threat to digital privacy on a global scale

  Digital security firm Surfshark has reviewed a number of apps aimed at tackling the spread of coronavirus, and found that many pose a threat to people’s digital privacy

• April 02, 2020 02 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Magecart attacks on online retailers jump 20%

  RiskIQ researchers have observed a sharp uptick in Magecart credit card attacks, driven by increased traffic to online retailers during the coronavirus pandemic

• April 02, 2020 02 Apr'20

  Morrisons appeal success is cold comfort for enterprises

  The success of Morrisons’ appeal against judgments that it should be held vicariously liable for an insider data breach will be welcomed by businesses, but may be of limited comfort to them

• April 02, 2020 02 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Is Zoom safe and should security teams ban it?

  Zoom’s rapid rise to prominence has highlighted a score of security problems with the service. Should CISOs try to steer their organisations away from it, or ban it outright?

• April 02, 2020 02 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Three tips to maintain remote productivity

  As the lockdown continues, businesses are having to make use of remote working technologies. We investigate

• April 02, 2020 02 Apr'20

  Australian broadband providers team up to meet network demand

  NBN Co and five retail service providers have formed a working group to manage congestion and take steps to address the surge in demand for broadband connectivity amid the Covid-19 outbreak

• April 01, 2020 01 Apr'20

  What we can learn from Marriott’s new data breach embarrassment

  Marriott International has egg on its face once again following a second data breach in as many years, but there are encouraging signs in its response that suggest it is at least trying to learn from its experiences

• April 01, 2020 01 Apr'20

  Morrisons not liable for 2014 data breach, says Supreme Court

  Court allows supermarket chain’s appeal against judgments holding it liable for a 2014 insider data breach, saying previous rulings misunderstood the concept of vicarious liability

• April 01, 2020 01 Apr'20

  Swedbank to rebuild anti-money laundering systems after damning report

  Report finds that €36.7bn in transactions, all carrying a high risk for money laundering, were processed through the bank’s branch network in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

• April 01, 2020 01 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: WHO, Rakuten collaborate on anti-disinformation chatbot

  The World Health Organisation and Rakuten Viber have built an interactive, multi-language chatbot to try to get on top of the growing problem of disinformation during the coronavirus pandemic

• April 01, 2020 01 Apr'20

  CDN and cloud suppliers join routing security initiative

  Akamai and Amazon Web Services are among a group of cloud and content delivery network providers to participate in a global initiative to address the security threats to internet routing systems

• March 31, 2020 31 Mar'20

  Nigerian email attacks evolving into credible, dangerous threat

  Palo Alto’s Unit 42 reports on Nigeria’s SilverTerrier cyber crime group, which is becoming a highly dangerous threat to businesses worldwide

• March 31, 2020 31 Mar'20

  Marriott International hotel chain in second data breach

  Marriott International notifies customers of a major data breach that unfolded earlier in 2020 – the second it has experienced in the past two years

• March 31, 2020 31 Mar'20

  How IT leaders and their teams are supporting employees through the coronavirus crisis

  We talk to four top IT chiefs across the UK to find out how their teams are supporting their organisations and staff to keep working through the Covid-19 outbreak

• March 31, 2020 31 Mar'20

  Too late to protect online privacy, say Brits

  Most UK consumers are concerned about data privacy, but think it’s too late to do much about it, according to a report

• March 31, 2020 31 Mar'20

  Coronavirus readiness: Three technology-led steps the NHS is taking

  With the risk of the Covid-19 virus spreading, NHS Digital has needed to make rapid changes to its 111 service

• March 31, 2020 31 Mar'20

  Houseparty denies hack as credential stuffing attacks spread

  Social media service denies its service has been hacked, and is offering a million-dollar bounty to anybody who can prove otherwise

• March 31, 2020 31 Mar'20

  Hackathon launched to help fight coronavirus pandemic

  Virtual hackathon seeks to develop a suite of applications to help people during the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak through ethically built technology

• March 30, 2020 30 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: Don’t fall for fake cures, warns UK government

  Government urges people to be more vigilant about what they read and share online as it relaunches its Don’t Feed the Beast campaign to counter coronavirus disinformation

• March 29, 2020 29 Mar'20

  Australian government unveils Covid-19 app

  Federal government launches Coronavirus Australia app to keep Australians updated on the latest developments in its fight against the coronavirus outbreak

• March 27, 2020 27 Mar'20

  Insurance firm Chubb may be latest Maze ransomware victim

  Maze ransomware group claims to have stolen personal data from the systems of cyber security insurance firm Chubb

• March 27, 2020 27 Mar'20

  Lorca calls on security scaleups to tackle coronavirus challenge

  Lorca innovation programme has launched an open call for its next cohort of cyber security scaleups, with a timely focus on coronavirus challenges

• March 26, 2020 26 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: What are the latest free cyber security offers?

  We round up the latest free offers on cyber security products and services being made available during the Covid-19 coronavirus crisis

• March 26, 2020 26 Mar'20

  Tupperware fixes hacked site, but questions remain over response

  Kitchenware brand removes active digital credit card skimmer from its website and insists it takes security seriously despite ignoring repeated attempts to contact it

• March 26, 2020 26 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: Be alert to rogue mobile apps exploiting outbreak

  Well-meaning developers are beginning to offer medical apps to monitor coronavirus symptoms and provide information on the pandemic. Opportunists and cyber criminals are not far behind them

• March 26, 2020 26 Mar'20

  Developed APAC states most exposed to cyber risks

  Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand have the highest exposure to cyber risks, but they are also the most prepared to deal with cyber attacks, study finds

• March 25, 2020 25 Mar'20

  Kitchenware brand Tupperware is ignoring hacked website

  Website has been hacked in a targeted cyber attack, and the dangerous vulnerability has not been addressed

• March 25, 2020 25 Mar'20

  Almost half of UK businesses suffered a cyber attack in past year

  Latest government statistics reveal the scale of the cyber security challenge facing UK plc, but reveals some cause for optimism

• March 25, 2020 25 Mar'20

  Australia inks digital economy pact with Singapore

  Australia’s digital economy agreement with Singapore will pave the way for data transfers and other digital trade opportunities

• March 24, 2020 24 Mar'20

  Huge queues for Universal Credit online applications due to coronavirus surge

  Online queues in the tens of thousands are hindering emergency applications for Universal Credit, with the Gov.uk Verify identity verification system becoming a particular bottleneck

• March 24, 2020 24 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: Contactless spending limit increased to fight pandemic

  Banking and financial services trade body UK Finance to increase spending limit for contactless payments to £45 from the start of April

• March 24, 2020 24 Mar'20

  Fake antivirus site promises coronavirus protection, delivers trojan

  Researchers at Malwarebytes have warned of an increasing volume of scam sites exploiting the Covid-19 coronavirus

• March 24, 2020 24 Mar'20

  Tekya auto-clicker malware exploits kids’ Android apps

  Google has removed multiple apps for children that were found to contain Tekya auto-clicker malware

• March 24, 2020 24 Mar'20

  Legacy AV defenceless against onslaught of evasive malware

  More than two-thirds of malware detected by WatchGuard in the last three months of 2019 was able to evade signature-based antivirus products, rendering them effectively useless in most instances

• March 23, 2020 23 Mar'20

  Singapore government to open source contact-tracing protocol

  Singapore’s Government Technology Agency is contributing the source codes of the BlueTrace protocol that powers its contact-tracing app

• March 23, 2020 23 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: Kaspersky, Bitdefender make products free to NHS

  Kaspersky and Bitdefender have both made various products and services available free to healthcare customers as the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic intensifies

• March 23, 2020 23 Mar'20

  Thousands of Netflix, Disney+ streaming accounts being stolen

  Proofpoint has urged users of streaming services to be alert to cyber criminals hijacking their accounts

• March 23, 2020 23 Mar'20

  Interview: Jamil Farshchi, CISO, Equifax

  Equifax CISO Jamil Farshchi discusses public cloud and why it’s not something IT security professionals should be afraid of

• March 23, 2020 23 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: UK mobile operators discuss sharing crowd movement data with government

  Reports emerge of unprecedented cooperation between UK telcos and government to provide people-modelling data to prevent spread of coronavirus

• March 22, 2020 22 Mar'20

  Cyber gangsters hit UK medical firm poised for work on coronavirus with Maze ransomware attack

  The Maze ransomware group has published personal and medical details of thousands of former patients of a London-based medical research company after a failed attempt to disable the firm's computer systems

• March 20, 2020 20 Mar'20

  UK Coronavirus Bill relaxes restrictions on mass surveillance powers

  Emergency legislation would massively expand state surveillance and police detainment powers

• March 20, 2020 20 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: Sans Institute issues cyber security advice for parents

  With schools now shut across the UK, parents will bear more responsibility for keeping children safe online and educating them about online harms

• March 20, 2020 20 Mar'20

  Unpatched Zyxel storage devices co-opted into IoT botnet

  Owners of Zyxel network-attached storage devices are in danger of being hijacked by Mukashi, a descendant of the infamous Mirai botnet, if they don’t patch a critical vulnerability

• March 19, 2020 19 Mar'20

  IT Priorities 2020: ANZ firms to spend more on cyber security

  Over half of respondents in Australia and New Zealand plan to invest more in cyber security, especially in key areas such as data loss prevention

• March 19, 2020 19 Mar'20

  Volume of computer misuse incidents falling, says ONS

  Downward trend comes despite an overall increase in fraud, according to new statistics

• March 19, 2020 19 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: NHS to roll out Microsoft Teams to hospitals

  Secure, cloud-based Microsoft collaboration tool Teams will be made available across the NHS, even those hospitals not on NHSMail

• March 18, 2020 18 Mar'20

  Ocado pulls website amid coronavirus shopping frenzy

  Ocado has closed its website and will not take any new orders for several days thanks to sheer volume of traffic

• March 18, 2020 18 Mar'20

  Coronavirus now possibly largest-ever cyber security threat

  The cumulative volume of coronavirus-related email lures and other threats is the largest collection of attack types exploiting a single theme for years, possibly ever

• March 18, 2020 18 Mar'20

  Prudential turns to AI to secure computer networks against cyber attacks

  Prudential, the UK’s largest listed insurer, is turning to artificial intelligence to protect its computer networks in the US, Asia and Africa from malware hackers and internal threats