News

IT security

• September 23, 2016 23 Sep'16

  Government mishandling smart meter roll-out, says committee

  The Science and Technology Committee accuses the government of being unclear on the benefits of gas and electricity smart meters, and mishandling aspects of the national roll-out

• September 23, 2016 23 Sep'16

  UK government partners with tech startups on cyber security

  Applications are open to cyber security startups for the first of two cyber innovation centres to receive £50m over five years, as part of the government’s £1.9bn National Cyber Security Programme

• September 23, 2016 23 Sep'16

  Yahoo under fire over data breach affecting 500 million users

  Yahoo comes under fire for not detecting and notifying users sooner of the biggest breach of personal details to date

• September 22, 2016 22 Sep'16

  Cyber attack aimed at destruction, says TV5Monde

  TV5Monde counting the cost of not being adequately prepared for a cyber attacked that downed the network in 2015

• September 21, 2016 21 Sep'16

  Many don’t test disaster recovery plans properly, survey finds

  Nearly 40% of UK organisations do not test disaster recovery plans properly, mainly because of concerns about disruption to production operations

• September 21, 2016 21 Sep'16

  London Capital Group improves service deployment with SDN

  Online trading firm has revitalised its service delivery after switching a legacy physical network for VMware NSX SDN

• September 21, 2016 21 Sep'16

  $81m cyber heist highlights gap between attacker and defenders, says Swift

  Secure messaging service Swift was surprised by the gaps in banks’ cyber security practises highlighted by mega cyber heist, says CISO Alain Desausoi

• September 21, 2016 21 Sep'16

  Qadars Trojan gears up to target UK banks

  Advanced Trojan that has been targeting different regions is now preparing to hit UK banks, according to IBM X-Force Research

• September 20, 2016 20 Sep'16

  Business warned not to be complacent about cyber security

  Lloyds of London survey reveals just how badly some European firms are failing in terms of cyber security and low levels of awareness about the role of cyber insurance

• September 20, 2016 20 Sep'16

  Cyber security a key feature of US rules on self-driving cars

  The US government publishes a policy aimed at ensuring the safety of self-driving cars

• September 19, 2016 19 Sep'16

  Consumers trust banks more than government for biometric security

  UK citizens think banks are the best organisations to provide biometric authentication for payments

• September 16, 2016 16 Sep'16

  Alleged hacker Lauri Love can be extradited to the US, court rules

  Westminster Magistrates’ Court has ruled that alleged hacker, Lauri Love, can be extradited to the US, where he could face a 99-year prison sentence

• September 15, 2016 15 Sep'16

  Cyber security awareness growing within business sector, research shows

  While awareness of cyber security risks is improving, fewer firms know how much an attack is likely to cost them

• September 15, 2016 15 Sep'16

  Gartner highlights gap between enterprise cloud adoption expectations and reality

  Market watcher claims enterprise aspirations around cloud adoption are not being met

• September 15, 2016 15 Sep'16

  Cabinet Office role in information security in government not clear

  The UK government has work to do to reduce complexity of security policies, according to the NAO

• September 14, 2016 14 Sep'16

  National Cyber Security Centre boss plans to scale up DNS filters

  National Cyber Security Centre boss Ciaran Martin sets out plans to launch a countrywide firewall, blocking malware and fight hackers

• September 14, 2016 14 Sep'16

  Crest takes over NSA Cira accreditation

  Crest hopes to grow the accreditation programme into a global initiative to certify cyber response capabilities

• September 14, 2016 14 Sep'16

  WADA condemns Russian hackers for leaking Olympic athletes' medical data

  The global anti-doping agency confirms attack on database led to leak of data belonging to Olympic athletes

• September 14, 2016 14 Sep'16

  NHS trusts and suppliers not ready for end of N3 network

  Network integrator Updata has warned that NHS organisations and network suppliers must mobilise now to get ready for the transition to the Health and Social Care Network next year

• September 13, 2016 13 Sep'16

  UK SMEs have false sense of cyber security

  Many small businesses have the mistaken impression that they are safe from cyber attacks and the huge damage they can cause

• September 13, 2016 13 Sep'16

  Insurance brokers fear regulatory action over SSP Worldwide cloud outage

  Insurance brokers hit out at disaster recovery arrangements, fearing two-week outage could put them at risk of action by Financial Conduct Authority

• September 12, 2016 12 Sep'16

  MaidSafe secure internet concept enters testing phase

  Scottish internet startup MaidSafe brings its vision for a more private and secure approach to the web a step closer to reality

• September 09, 2016 09 Sep'16

  Cloud security processes need to mature, says panel

  Many organisations still need to adapt their business practices to ensure security in the cloud, according to a panel of IT leaders

• September 09, 2016 09 Sep'16

  RSA upbeat about future in Dell Technologies

  RSA to maintain its independence, but will benefit from being part of Dell Technologies, says RSA president Amit Yoran

• September 09, 2016 09 Sep'16

  GDS looks for councils to pilot Gov.uk Verify

  The Government Digital Service plans to launch two pilot projects and is looking for councils to trial the identity assurance service free of charge

• September 08, 2016 08 Sep'16

  Understanding criminal underground key to defence, says Trend Micro

  Studying criminal undergrounds provides clues as to how to plan cyber defences, says Trend Micro researcher

• September 08, 2016 08 Sep'16

  NHS Digital to expand cyber security service

  NHS Digital’s cyber security arm, CareCert, has developed an e-learning portal, a support service and a security assessment service

• September 08, 2016 08 Sep'16

  RSA’s mission unchanged by Dell-EMC merger, says Amit Yoran

  It is business as usual, says Amit Yoran, chief of EMC security division RSA, as the company officially becomes part of the newly formed tech giant to be known as Dell Technologies

• September 08, 2016 08 Sep'16

  Enterprise network access policies must change to account for IoT

  With IoT devices set to outnumber notebooks, smartphones and tablets by more than three times, businesses will need to adjust their network access policies to keep things running smoothly, says Gartner

• September 08, 2016 08 Sep'16

  Intel to raise $3.1bn by spinning off security business

  Ending what many saw as an uncomfortable marriage, Intel is to spin off its security business as a standalone pure-play cyber security company

• September 07, 2016 07 Sep'16

  Expanded Security Serious Week returns in October

  The second annual Security Serious Week in October is to include a government-backed conference and an awards ceremony for unsung IT security heroes

• September 07, 2016 07 Sep'16

  Private encryption key sharing worrying but not new, say security experts

  A study has revealed a 40% increase in the past year in the number of internet-connected devices using shared encryption certificates, highlighting that this security risk of mass hacking is growing

• September 07, 2016 07 Sep'16

  NSA used Iraq war to develop surveillance capability, documents show

  As the controversial Investigatory Powers Bill inches closer to becoming law, NSA documents reveal that the agency used the Iraq war to develop and expand its surveillance infrastructure

• September 07, 2016 07 Sep'16

  Basic security could have prevented OPM breach, says report

  Basic security controls and malware-detection tools could have prevented the breach of more than 21 million records at the US Office of Personnel Management in 2015, claims a congressional report

• September 07, 2016 07 Sep'16

  MoD becomes first tenant in Microsoft's UK Azure datacentre

  Microsoft’s UK Azure cloud is now fully operational, offering Azure cloud services and Office 365

• September 06, 2016 06 Sep'16

  Identity prominent in Australian security debate

  Identity is at the forefront of the cyber security debate in Australia

• September 06, 2016 06 Sep'16

  Use ransomware to get security buy-in, says Trend Micro CTO

  Ransomware is one of the top cyber threats to business, but organisations should use that to engage stakeholders and review processes and defences, says Trend Micro CTO Raimund Genes

• September 05, 2016 05 Sep'16

  Mobile device use feeds card fraud in Asean region

  Card fraud is rising in Asean countries, with the high use of mobile devices a contributing factor.

• September 05, 2016 05 Sep'16

  Simulated cyber attack in London adds finalists to 2016 UK Cyber Security Challenge

  Ten would-be cyber warriors head to the final of the UK Cyber Security Challenge after showing off their skills to prospective employers in dealing with a simulated cyber attack

• September 05, 2016 05 Sep'16

  HSBC business customers can open accounts with a selfie as ID

  HSBC is using facial recognition technology in a mobile app to make it easier for business customers to open accounts.

• September 05, 2016 05 Sep'16

  Microsoft gets wide support in fight against US gagging orders

  Microsoft wins support from a wide range of US organisations in its push back against the secrecy of US government data access requests

• September 02, 2016 02 Sep'16

  Last.FM joins Dropbox in confirming 2012 hack figure

  More than 43 million accounts have been confirmed as compromised in a hack at Last.FM in 2012, underlining the weaknesses of password-based security

• September 02, 2016 02 Sep'16

  Crest report outlines ways to address cyber security gender gap

  Report on the causes and potential remedies for addressing the gender gap in cyber security is aimed at stimulating debate and co-operation in the industry

• September 01, 2016 01 Sep'16

  More IoT botnets connected to DDoS attacks

  Security researchers have found another botnet operation exploiting internet of things devices to carry out powerful distributed denial of service attacks, prompting calls for IoT device makers to improve security

• September 01, 2016 01 Sep'16

  Lessons from the Dropbox breach

  Dropbox is the latest major company to confirm a data breach, albeit four years old, but – as with all recent data breaches by cloud-based services – it highlights some key security lessons

• August 31, 2016 31 Aug'16

  Businesses struggling with EU-US data transfer uncertainty

  Businesses are facing a highly complex regulatory landscape due to uncertainty around the future of transatlantic data transfers, according to the initial findings of an IAPP report

• August 31, 2016 31 Aug'16

  Evidence of DNS tunnelling in two-fifths of business networks

  Cyber criminals are capitalising on the failure of many businesses to examine their DNS traffic for malware insertion and data exfiltration, according to Infoblox

• August 31, 2016 31 Aug'16

  Cyber security breaches reported to ICO double in a year

  An increase in cyber security incidents reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office is further evidence of the need to shift to automated, artificial intelligence-led defences, says Huntsman Security

• August 31, 2016 31 Aug'16

  Swift warns banks of fresh wave of cyber heists

  An undisclosed number of banks have been targeted and some have lost money in a new wave of cyber thefts, Swift has warned

• August 30, 2016 30 Aug'16

  Asean ministers discuss Europol equivalent in Singapore

  Governments in Southeast Asia are considering setting up a regional equivalent of Europol to help fight cyber crime

• August 30, 2016 30 Aug'16

  Westpac bank launches Databank data protection service

  Australia's Westpac bank is offering organisations that share customer data a service that it says securely locks down personal information

• August 30, 2016 30 Aug'16

  Encryption hiding malware in half of cyber attacks

  Cyber attackers are using encryption to hide malicious activity, making it increasingly difficult to find as more organisations turn to encryption to protect data, a study has revealed

• August 30, 2016 30 Aug'16

  Less than a third of organisations prepared for IoT security risks

  The security industry needs to address the security basics with the growing number of IoT devices in corporate networks, according to security firm Tripwire

• August 26, 2016 26 Aug'16

  Ramnit Trojan targeting UK banks reactivated

  IBM X-Force researchers advise banks to use adaptive malware detection and real-time endpoint malware intelligence to counter the latest evolution of Ramnit banking malware

• August 26, 2016 26 Aug'16

  Law firms planning litigation market for GDPR

  Businesses should be preparing for the storm of litigation that is likely to be unleashed when the GDPR goes into force, warns Stewart Room of PwC Legal

• August 26, 2016 26 Aug'16

  Apple patches triple iOS security threat

  Businesses and consumers are being urged to update their versions of Apple's iOS to fix three critical, zero-day vulnerabilities that enable attackers to spy on victims

• August 25, 2016 25 Aug'16

  A quarter of financial sector data breaches linked to lost or stolen devices

  Financial sector breaches in the US doubled in 2015 over the year before, according to a report by security firm Bitglass

• August 25, 2016 25 Aug'16

  French submarine maker data breach highlights challenges of IP security

  French naval contractor data breach proves that protecting intellectual property is challenging, say security experts

• August 24, 2016 24 Aug'16

  UK organisations still not taking ransomware seriously

  Security experts say UK organisations are not taking ransomware attacks seriously enough, after two studies reveal that tens of UK universities and NHS Trusts have been attacked

• August 24, 2016 24 Aug'16

  UK second only to US in DDoS attacks

  Distributed denial of service attacks on UK organisations have eased from a peak in the fourth quarter of 2015, but the UK remains the world’s second most targeted country

• August 23, 2016 23 Aug'16

  Trend Micro confirms rise of ransomware and whaling

  Ransomware is confirmed as a pervasive threat and whaling emerges as a strong trend, according to the latest security report by Trend Micro

• August 23, 2016 23 Aug'16

  400 security events a second monitored on Olympics network

  IT records as well as sporting records were set at the recent Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro

• August 23, 2016 23 Aug'16

  Cyber criminals target holiday-related P2P media platforms

  Cyber criminals capitalise on the popularity of holiday-related media sites to spread malware

• August 22, 2016 22 Aug'16

  Australian census website failure spreads skepticism

  The public post-mortem of the Australian census website meltdown continues as the IT industry gives its opinions

• August 22, 2016 22 Aug'16

  Mixed reaction to Anderson review of bulk surveillance powers

  While the Anderson review’s recommendation of a technical advisory panel has been welcomed, human rights groups say the opportunity to move to more targeted surveillance has been missed

• August 19, 2016 19 Aug'16

  No alternative to bulk surveillance powers, says Anderson report

  The government welcomes a review of the controversial Investigatory Powers Bill that found there is no viable alternative to the bulk data collection powers proposed by the bill

• August 19, 2016 19 Aug'16

  Expect ransomware arrests soon, says bitcoin tracking firm Chainalysis

  Law enforcement organisations are set to ramp up arrests of cyber criminals behind ransomware attacks, according to financial technology startup Chainalysis

• August 19, 2016 19 Aug'16

  Police arrest woman in connection with Sage data breach

  A woman has been arrested on suspicion of fraud in connection with a data breach at accounting software firm Sage

• August 18, 2016 18 Aug'16

  Isaca holds first online infosec career fair

  Information professionals’ organisation Isaca is to hold an online career fair to give cyber security job seekers direct access to employer organisations

• August 18, 2016 18 Aug'16

  Australian 2016 census sabotage puts a question mark on private cloud

  Industry experts question why the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ website for the 2016 census, which recently underwent a DDoS attack, was not run on public cloud

• August 18, 2016 18 Aug'16

  Cisco confirms 5,500 lay-offs amid restructuring

  Networking giant has confirmed it will cut more than 5,500 jobs in an effort to trim the fat in low-growth business areas and enhance its performance elsewhere

• August 18, 2016 18 Aug'16

  Nearly two-thirds of IT leaders expect a serious data breach

  Many organisations need to update IT systems to ensure business operations are both truly agile and secure, a report has revealed

• August 17, 2016 17 Aug'16

  Cyber attack recovery 300% dearer due to skills shortage

  The improvement of specialist security expertise is one of the top three drivers for an additional investment in IT security, but many struggle to find people with the skills they need, a report reveals

• August 16, 2016 16 Aug'16

  Cerber ransomware service reaps $195,000 profit in a month

  Franchises such as Cerber are making highly profitable ransomware available to a broader range of cyber criminals, according to a report by security firm Check Point

• August 16, 2016 16 Aug'16

  Google takes on FaceTime and Skype with Duo

  Google is betting on simplicity, cross-platform functionality and privacy concerns to attract smartphone uses to its Duo video-calling app

• August 16, 2016 16 Aug'16

  PoS malware attacks highlights need for security standards in hotel industry

  Ongoing data breaches through point of sale malware highlights the need for security standards and central support for franchisees in the hotel industry, say security experts

• August 15, 2016 15 Aug'16

  Financial sector faces era of cyber mega heists

  Banks and other financial institutions are threatened by a new breed of elite cyber criminals running professional operations that will use any means to achieve their goals, says Barclays security chief

• August 15, 2016 15 Aug'16

  Sage data breach underlines insider threat

  Organisations need to take insider threats more seriously say security experts, as Sage warns that a data breach using an internal log-in may have compromised employee data at nearly 300 UK firms

• August 15, 2016 15 Aug'16

  Slow response to Privacy Shield EU-US data transfer programme

  Only 40 US firms has been certified under the Privacy Shield transatlantic data transfer programme, but this is expected to gain momentum

• August 12, 2016 12 Aug'16

  Financial cyber attacks increase as malware writers join forces

  Financial malware attacks increased 16% in the second quarter of the year, driven by collaboration between the developers of two banking Trojans in the top the financial malware threats, says Kaspersky Lab

• August 11, 2016 11 Aug'16

  Security pros split on government access to cloud data, survey shows

  Despite rapid cloud services adoption, security and compliance concerns revolving around inappropriate use or access of sensitive cloud data continue to loom large, a survey has revealed

• August 10, 2016 10 Aug'16

  Prisons to get power to remotely pull plug on illicit mobile phones

  The Home Office is to give prisons in the UK new powers to cut off illicit use of mobile phones by inmates

• August 10, 2016 10 Aug'16

  UK well equipped to protect data after Brexit, says new ICO head

  The public sector, industry, civil society and the public at large all have a role to play in effective data protection regulation, says new UK information commissioner Elizabeth Denham

• August 10, 2016 10 Aug'16

  Facebook suppresses ad blockers to maintain revenues

  The social media site now provides a new dashboard to enable users to specify what adverts they don't want to see

• August 10, 2016 10 Aug'16

  Intel to acquire AI firm Nervana Systems

  Chip maker Intel is to acquire artificial intelligence firm Nervana Systems in a bid to take AI to the next level based on its Xeon and Phi processors

• August 10, 2016 10 Aug'16

  IPT fines Police Scotland for communications breach of privacy

  The case comes as the UK government prepares to introduce the Investigatory Powers Bill, which will give sweeping powers for suspicion-less surveillance of telephone, web and email communications

• August 10, 2016 10 Aug'16

  MI5 staff repeatedly overrode data surveillance rules

  Security service MI5 is responsible for 210 “clear contraventions” over five years for the way it accessed private internet and telephone data

• August 09, 2016 09 Aug'16

  PwC Australia uses gamification to teach cyber security lessons

  With the number of cyber incidents identified by Australian organisations more than doubling in the past year, PwC is using an online game to give enterprises first-hand experience of what it means to face a cyber attack

• August 09, 2016 09 Aug'16

  Global infosec spending to reach £63bn in 2016, says Gartner

  Although security spending is moving to detection and response, Gartner expects preventive security to continue strong growth

• August 09, 2016 09 Aug'16

  Oracle Micros breach highlights PoS and supply chain security risks

  Oracle Micros breach shows supply chain and point of sale systems continue to be popular avenues of attack for cyber criminals

• August 09, 2016 09 Aug'16

  Half of vehicle cyber vulnerabilities could give hackers control, study shows

  Half of vehicle vulnerabilities could allow cyber attackers to take control of a vehicle and 71% are easy to exploit, according to a three-year study by IOActive

• August 08, 2016 08 Aug'16

  Australians vent census privacy concerns

  The Australian census has triggered a privacy debate after it emerged that the citizen data it collects will be held for years

• August 08, 2016 08 Aug'16

  IT failure grounds Delta flights worldwide

  US airline Delta has temporarily grounded flights worldwide after a power failure took key IT systems offline in its home base of Atlanta, Georgia

• August 08, 2016 08 Aug'16

  Strider cyber attack group deploying malware for espionage

  Symantec security researchers have uncovered a spying campaign by a previously unknown group using modular malware as stealthware

• August 08, 2016 08 Aug'16

  900 million Android devices vulnerable to attackers

  Enterprises and individuals need to install security updates for all devices with vulnerable Qualcomm chip drivers if they want to ensure attackers can‘t take control of them, warns Check Point

• August 05, 2016 05 Aug'16

  Banner Health cyber breach underlines need for faster intrusion detection

  A data breach at Banner Health has highlighted the importance of intrusion detection and prompted calls for greater cyber security investment in the increasingly targeted healthcare industry

• August 05, 2016 05 Aug'16

  Artificial intelligence takes centre stage in cyber security

  Artificial intelligence-led cyber security technology has been in the spotlight at two major industry conferences in Las Vegas, signalling a firm trend in cyber defence research

• August 04, 2016 04 Aug'16

  Italian-based Android RAT spies on mobiles in Japan and China, say researchers

  Researchers discover an Italian-based Android RAT designed for spying that is targeting mobile devices using their unique identification codes

• August 04, 2016 04 Aug'16

  Context warns of VoIP wars at Black Hat USA

  A lack of understanding of modern VoIP and unified communications security opens many service providers and businesses to cyber attack, a Context IS researcher warns at Black Hat USA

• August 04, 2016 04 Aug'16

  Bitcoin exchange hack highlights security weaknesses

  The breach of the Bitfinex bitcoin exchange highlights the need to follow best practices and to improve security around exchanges and wallets, say security experts