News

Managing IT and business issues

June 29, 2020 29 Jun'20
MPs urged to back Finance Bill amendments to loan charge policy

Loan Charge Action Group urges its members to ask their MPs to support an amendment to the controversial loan charge policy that could see more people fall outside its scope
June 29, 2020 29 Jun'20
Phishing back in vogue as ransomware vector

Researchers have observed an increase in phishing as a means to deliver ransomware payloads – and organisations don’t appear to be prepared
June 29, 2020 29 Jun'20
Evil Corp’s latest ransomware project spreading fast

A new ransomware strain dubbed WastedLocker is spreading rapidly and targeting major corporations
June 29, 2020 29 Jun'20
Post-pandemic security market still set for growth, but slower

Frost & Sullivan report says the global security industry will withstand the economic crash caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, but growth will be slower for a few years

June 29, 2020 29 Jun'20
Airports deploy thermal cameras to control Covid-19, science suggests it’s merely ‘safety theatre’

UK airports are rolling out thermal surveillance cameras to identify people who may have coronavirus, but science says the technology is ineffective at detecting and preventing the spread of the disease
June 26, 2020 26 Jun'20
Standard Chartered embarks on virtual internship programme

Bank offers 300 candidates virtual placements on internship programme
June 26, 2020 26 Jun'20
Coronavirus: Cyber crime landscape evolving as lockdown eases

As some countries begin to gradually ease Covid-19 lockdown measures, cyber criminals’ tactics are changing, but the pandemic remains a tempting lure
June 25, 2020 25 Jun'20
Former Post Office CEO and Fujitsu play the blame game in Horizon IT scandal

Post Office and Fujitsu blame each other for many of the failings in the Horizon IT scandal that wrecked lives
June 24, 2020 24 Jun'20
EU judges GDPR an overall success, but changes still needed

Two years after its implementation, an EU report says that the GDPR is achieving what it set out to do, with a few reservations
June 24, 2020 24 Jun'20
Firm that investigated controversial Post Office IT system to support criminal conviction appeals

Second Sight is working with law firm in appeals by subpostmasters against criminal convictions in Horizon IT scandal

June 24, 2020 24 Jun'20
Brits will sell their personal data for pennies

Surprising findings from an Okta report on digital identity suggest Brits would be willing to part with valuable personal data for a surprisingly low amount
June 23, 2020 23 Jun'20
Neurodiversity on the rise among career hackers

More diverse hackers enhance the ability of both traditional and cutting-edge cyber security solutions to find and fix vulnerabilities, according to a new report from Bugcrowd
June 23, 2020 23 Jun'20
Twitter contacts business users over data exposure

Issue relates to how web browsers cached confidential data entered in Twitter’s ads and analytics services, but is unlikely to have resulted in compromise
June 23, 2020 23 Jun'20
Flash-based MacOS malware hides in plain sight

By masquerading as a legitimate Adobe web application, the new malware strains can trick Mac users into bypassing their on-board defences
June 23, 2020 23 Jun'20
ITAM Forum aims to raise the bar on tech management

Knowing what is deployed is the first step in any transformation exercise, and a strong IT asset management practice lowers risk
June 23, 2020 23 Jun'20
Concern over digital risk falls dramatically during pandemic

Brits are understandably more worried about the NHS than personal cyber security
June 23, 2020 23 Jun'20
Huawei to invest S$5m in Singapore to boost tech ecosystem

Huawei is pumping in S$5m this year to develop joint partner offerings in Singapore with a focus on artificial intelligence
June 19, 2020 19 Jun'20
Post Office Horizon scandal victims keep pressure on government’s doorstep

Subpostmasters fighting for justice in IT scandal are pressuring government on numerous fronts, as momentum is regained after reduced activity due to Covid-19 lockdown
June 19, 2020 19 Jun'20
Inside Lenovo’s transition to a solutions provider

Lenovo’s long-term transformation from a primarily hardware supplier to an IT solutions provider is progressing, but the journey isn’t over yet
June 18, 2020 18 Jun'20
Cisco patches dangerous Webex vulnerability

CVE-2020-3347 bug enables cyber criminals to steal meeting records from within Cisco’s Webex service
June 18, 2020 18 Jun'20
Check Point uncovers targeted Microsoft Office 365 phishing campaign

Organised criminal campaign exploited Adobe, Oxford University and Samsung web domains to trick users into giving up their passwords
June 18, 2020 18 Jun'20
Zoom U-turns on end-to-end encryption

Embattled video-conferencing provider Zoom backtracks on previous refusals to provide end-to-end encryption to free users
June 17, 2020 17 Jun'20
Cosmetics company Avon offline after cyber attack

Representatives left unable to place orders after company’s back-end systems went offline over a week ago
June 17, 2020 17 Jun'20
Coronavirus: Cyber security spend to slow in 2020

Analysts revise down previous growth targets for security technology as the Covid-19 pandemic bites
June 17, 2020 17 Jun'20
Coronavirus: 50% of security pros had no pandemic contingency plan

A survey of security professionals conducted on behalf of Bitdefender reveals the lack of forward planning for events such as the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic
June 16, 2020 16 Jun'20
Activists call on Zoom to implement encryption for all

A coalition of tech organisations and nonprofits have urged Zoom CEO Eric Yuan to make end-to-end encryption available to all users
June 15, 2020 15 Jun'20
Banking trojans roar back to prominence in May

Check Point sees an upswing in malicious activity around a number of classic banking trojan malware variants
June 15, 2020 15 Jun'20
Gartner: CIOs should start preparing for coronavirus recovery cost cutting

To recover from the Covid-19 lockdown, businesses will need to cut costs. In doing so, Gartner urges CIOs to look at value and cost optimisation
June 15, 2020 15 Jun'20
Accessories store Claire’s hit by Magecart credit card fraudsters

Attackers gained access to retailer’s website as long ago as March
June 15, 2020 15 Jun'20
Blow to government review of Post Office scandal as key forensic accountants refuse to support it

The government’s proposed review of the Post Office IT scandal has received a further setback as forensic accountants join subpostmasters in refusing to back it
June 12, 2020 12 Jun'20
NHS email service users ensnared in phishing attack

More than 100 accounts on the NHSmail service were affected by attack, but health service says no patient data was accessed
June 12, 2020 12 Jun'20
Fake contact-tracing apps delivering banking trojans

Spoof government coronavirus apps are popping up all over the world, says the Anomali Threat Research team
June 12, 2020 12 Jun'20
Twitter kills thousands of misinformation accounts

The accounts were linked to the governments of China, Russia and Turkey, and engaged in systematic operations against pro-democracy activists, political opponents and dissidents
June 12, 2020 12 Jun'20
Subpostmasters will not cooperate with government review into IT scandal

A group of subpostmasters who suffered at the hands of the Post Office’s error-prone IT system refuse to participate in a government review into the scandal, describing it as a sham
June 12, 2020 12 Jun'20
Coronavirus outbreak will speed up enterprise automation

Forrester calls for enterprises to automate with empathy as they deploy an increasing range of intelligent technologies to reduce their dependence on human labour
June 11, 2020 11 Jun'20
Tech firms respond to Nordic government calls

Nordic firms are working with tech suppliers to help them get back up and running after Covid-19
June 11, 2020 11 Jun'20
Coronavirus: Bungled British response leads to rise in security risks

Covid-19 cyber security threats are evolving over the course of the pandemic, becoming more targeted to virus hotspots such as the UK
June 11, 2020 11 Jun'20
CISOs buying into unified security proposition

The time is right for all-in-one security solutions, according to a report
June 10, 2020 10 Jun'20
Decade-old vulnerability among 129 Patch Tuesday fixes

A 10 year-old bug in Windows Group Policies could easily enable attackers to gain highly privileged user status on target systems, opening the doors to a wave of cyber attacks
June 10, 2020 10 Jun'20
Virtual GP practice accidentally exposes patient video calls

A small number of users of Babylon’s GP at Hand service were briefly able to view other patients’ video GP consultations thanks to a bug in a new software feature
June 10, 2020 10 Jun'20
Nasty surprises lurking in furloughed employees’ inboxes

Research conducted by KnowBe4 points to a looming email security problem as furloughed employees head back to work
June 10, 2020 10 Jun'20
Coronavirus: Danske Bank to make permanent changes to working practices

Danske Bank has seen the value of remote working during the unplanned proof of concept triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic
June 10, 2020 10 Jun'20
CaixaBank introduces facial recognition ATMs

Spanish bank broadens its use of facial recognition technology on cash machines
June 09, 2020 09 Jun'20
Honda investigates suspected Snake ransomware attack

Attack disrupts global operations at carmaker, with assembly lines falling silent and sales suspended
June 09, 2020 09 Jun'20
Cyber security needs more women role models, says report

A report compiled by security assurance organisation Crest highlights the progress made on gender diversity in cyber security, and offers pointers for next steps
June 09, 2020 09 Jun'20
Poorly-secured AWS buckets used to launch Magecart attacks

Cyber criminals are exploiting misconfigured AWS S3 buckets to run credit card fraud and malvertising campaigns, according to new data
June 09, 2020 09 Jun'20
How Malaysia’s Gain Secure stood tall amid Covid-19

Walter Wong, executive director of Gain Secure and former Microsoft employee, talks up how his business is coping during Malaysia’s lockdown
June 08, 2020 08 Jun'20
Nordic CIO interview: Janne Puustinen, Valmet

Janne Puustinen built Finnish industrial technology company Valmet’s entire IT organisation from scratch after a demerger
June 05, 2020 05 Jun'20
Businesses develop apps quickly to manage disruption of Covid-19

Healthcare companies, insurers, government agencies and big tech companies have used technology from Pegasystems to develop apps to manage the disruption caused by coronavirus
June 05, 2020 05 Jun'20
Police chiefs working with Public Health England on contact-tracing security

Police force representatives are in talks with Public Health England over operational security concerns arising from the NHS Test and Trace coronavirus contact-tracing scheme
June 05, 2020 05 Jun'20
Coronavirus: Digital bank Monzo cuts 120 staff

Digital challenger Monzo has announced 120 job cuts as it navigates the current economic slowdown
June 04, 2020 04 Jun'20
Small businesses failing on remote worker protection

Only one-third of people working for small businesses have received any guidance from their employers on how to secure their remote working set-up
June 04, 2020 04 Jun'20
The Security Interviews: How the BSI protects the IoT from itself

David Mudd of the BSI reveals how a pragmatic and realistic approach to security vulnerabilities underpins its internet of things kitemark, helping give users the confidence to buy smart devices safely
June 04, 2020 04 Jun'20
MPs' investigation into Post Office Horizon IT scandal bares teeth

Select committee chair writes to former Post Office CEO demanding answers over her role in IT scandal
June 04, 2020 04 Jun'20
Coronavirus: Cyber criminals target laid-off workers

Malicious actors are targeting workers laid-off or furloughed during the coronavirus pandemic
June 03, 2020 03 Jun'20
Sodinokibi data auctions highlight changing criminal tactics

The operators of the Sodinokibi ransomware strain are auctioning off swathes of stolen data in an apparent bid to raise cash. What is motivating this new tactic?
June 03, 2020 03 Jun'20
Security procurement framework goes live for NHS and public sector

Cyber Security Services Framework, developed by NHS Shared Business Services, has formally launched
June 03, 2020 03 Jun'20
Infosec 2020: Covid-19 an opportunity to change security thinking

The annual Infosecurity Europe is being held virtually this year, and speakers at an online panel session have been considering the impact of the pandemic on security awareness
June 03, 2020 03 Jun'20
Aston Martin swaps out legacy antivirus for AI-driven service

Luxury car manufacturer says the advent of artificial intelligence-powered services will revolutionise its security posture
June 03, 2020 03 Jun'20
Keeping IT operations running for remote workers

Measuring employee experience and enabling self-service are some of the ways businesses can manage and empower a remote workforce
June 03, 2020 03 Jun'20
How Australia’s Shockbyte scales with cloud

Australian game server provider Shockbyte uses bare metal servers on the cloud to meet the needs of demanding gaming applications and to grow its global footprint
June 02, 2020 02 Jun'20
Government departments could cut payment costs through API deal

The UK government adds fintech to its approved procurement list which promises to cut the costs of receiving payments
June 02, 2020 02 Jun'20
VMware vulnerability leaves private clouds open to takeover

Ethical hackers from Citadelo uncovered a vulnerability in VMware Cloud Director that left private cloud owners open to takeover
June 02, 2020 02 Jun'20
How to succeed at site reliability engineering

Adoption of site reliability engineering is growing in Asia-Pacific, but organisations need to have the right organisational structure and culture to succeed
June 02, 2020 02 Jun'20
Subpostmasters to force scrutiny of government’s role in Post Office IT scandal

The government's role in the Post Office Horizon IT scandal could soon be put under the microscope as subpostmasters take their complaints to the Parliamentary Ombudsman
June 01, 2020 01 Jun'20
Privacy campaigners call for radical changes to contact-tracing app

Liberty, Privacy International and the Open Rights Group join calls for the government to either put in place better data protection policies or abandon its Covid-19 contact-tracing app altogether
June 01, 2020 01 Jun'20
How Saudi Arabia is using cloud to navigate the Covid-19 downturn

Organisations in Saudi Arabia are using cloud computing services to help them navigate challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic
June 01, 2020 01 Jun'20
Coronavirus: Government under renewed pressure to ramp up support for limited company directors

Chancellor of the Exchequer's announced extensions of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme prompt renewed calls for more tailored financial support for limited companies
June 01, 2020 01 Jun'20
Inside India: The world’s IT powerhouse

The Covid-19 pandemic is turning out to be a big fork in the road for many companies. But what about the industry that keeps the lights on for them?
June 01, 2020 01 Jun'20
How managed threat hunting helps bust malicious insiders

Managed threat hunting services can help take some of the pressure off security operations centres and help ensure potential breaches don’t escalate into something far worse. We explore one such case with a happy ending
May 28, 2020 28 May'20
IT contractors hit by delays in Covid-19 furlough scheme payments from umbrella companies

A lack of clarity over how Covid-19-related furlough pay calculations should be totalled up for IT contractors working for umbrella companies has left many facing financial hardship, it is claimed
May 28, 2020 28 May'20
IoT buyers eye private network deployments for added security

Fully private, segregated networks for IoT deployments are becoming increasingly attractive to many organisations, according to a report
May 27, 2020 27 May'20
Revealed: Surveillance camera network that covered Dominic Cummings’ lockdown travel

A network of automatic number plate recognition and local authority traffic cameras could help police track Downing Street chief of staff Dominic Cummings’ journeys to Durham and Barnard Castle during the Covid-19 lockdown
May 27, 2020 27 May'20
Hospital uses robots to manage air supply to patients

Northampton General Hospital deploys automation to ensure oxygen is always available as demand increases amid Covid-19 crisis
May 27, 2020 27 May'20
Enterprise clouds hammered by cyber attacks during pandemic

Remote workers logging onto enterprise cloud service accounts are an easy access point for attackers, says McAfee
May 27, 2020 27 May'20
Fears contact-tracing app will open the floodgates for cyber criminals

Study of UK consumers reveals worries over an uptick in cyber crime and a lack of trust in government
May 26, 2020 26 May'20
Max Schrems accuses Ireland of ‘Kafkaesque’ delay in Facebook GDPR investigation

Privacy campaigner Max Schrems has urged the European Commission to intervene after the Irish Data Protection Commission allegedly used ‘Kafkaesque’ tactics to delay investigations into Facebook’s compliance with GDPR
May 26, 2020 26 May'20
One-third of all bank jobs are now tech-related

The proportion of jobs in banks that are technology-related is growing quickly, accelerated further by the Covid-19 pandemic
May 26, 2020 26 May'20
900 more criminal prosecutions of subpostmasters could be unsafe because of IT failures

Post Office re-examines hundreds of prosecutions that could have resulted from faults in Horizon IT system
May 26, 2020 26 May'20
Android security vulnerabilities differ by country, say researchers

Manufacturers of Android devices including Huawei, Samsung and Xiaomi shipped devices with different levels of security in different regions, leaving their users exposed to attack
May 26, 2020 26 May'20
The Security Interviews: Temper tantrums ahead as GDPR enters its terrible twos?

On the General Data Protection Regulation’s second birthday, Tim Hickman, a data protection lawyer and partner at White & Case LLP, discusses the regulation’s teething troubles and assesses how best to maintain optimum compliance
May 22, 2020 22 May'20
EasyJet to be sued over customer data breach

If successful, airline’s potential liability for the loss of millions of customer records could be as high as £18bn
May 22, 2020 22 May'20
Covid-19 will leave organisations exposed to higher cyber risks

Hacking attacks and phishing emails could become the new norm, according to research by the World Economic Forum
May 22, 2020 22 May'20
Hancock to Harman: No contact-tracing privacy law

Health secretary claims existing data protection law is good enough to guarantee the security of contact-tracing data
May 21, 2020 21 May'20
Coronavirus: Dutch work on XR technology shows promise in pandemic scenario

Netherlands leads the way in the development of extended reality technology, which could prove its value in a crisis such as Covid-19
May 20, 2020 20 May'20
Serco exposes contact tracers’ data in email error

Error saw almost 300 coronavirus contact tracers’ email addresses made visible to other recipients of the message
May 19, 2020 19 May'20
Cancelled NCSC CyberUK event gets green light for 2021

The NCSC’s popular CyberUK event has been rescheduled to next year, and will again take place in Newport in south Wales
May 19, 2020 19 May'20
GDPR wholly inappropriate to govern contact-tracing data

Human Rights Committee Chair Harriet Harman says current data protection law is not up to the job of governing the data collected by the Covid-19 contact-tracing app
May 19, 2020 19 May'20
Post Office executive who tried to mislead judge in Horizon trial leaves via back door

Angela van den Bogerd leaves position as Post Office director quietly, despite many years of service
May 19, 2020 19 May'20
Nine million EasyJet customer details lost in data breach

Cyber attack on EasyJet’s systems originated from a highly sophisticated source, says the airline
May 19, 2020 19 May'20
Sodinokibi cyber criminals plot to ‘auction’ Madonna data

The cyber criminal gang behind a recent attack on a New York law firm is planning to auction off its client data, one person at a time
May 19, 2020 19 May'20
NHS trusts sign up to automation app store

Healthcare trusts extend relationships with automation supplier through access to a cloud-based marketplace of pre-baked automation
May 19, 2020 19 May'20
GitLab makes foray into Southeast Asia

GitLab expands in Southeast Asia with a Singapore presence to shore up its growing footprint across the Asia-Pacific region
May 19, 2020 19 May'20
Vast majority of cyber attacks are easy to stop, says Verizon

Almost 90% of data breaches are motivated by the prospect of financial gain, but cyber criminals have clearly defined breach pathways, giving the good guys an advantage if they care to use it
May 18, 2020 18 May'20
Flagship digital investment at Abu Dhabi’s Adnoc pays off

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company sees flagship digital project in high demand after proving its value in responding to the Covid-19 crisis
May 18, 2020 18 May'20
Why a pandemic-specific BCP matters

Many organisations still do not have scenario-specific business continuity plans, which are helpful when the situation requires a customised response, such as a pandemic, according to Forrester
May 15, 2020 15 May'20
Sweden’s Preem puts automation to the test

Preem is automating software testing as part of a wider plan that includes the introduction of robotic process automation software
May 15, 2020 15 May'20
Questions raised after UK’s electrical grid shrugs off cyber attack

Attack on Elexon was resolved within hours with no impact on the national electricity supply, but it could have been much worse
May 15, 2020 15 May'20
Law firm hackers threaten to release dirt on Trump

A new ransom demand of $42m has been made against New York law firm Grubman, Shire, Meiselas and Sacks, and it may be the largest ever, say security experts
May 14, 2020 14 May'20
Coronavirus: Nearly £2bn of UK fintech investment lost so far

Investment into UK fintechs falls dramatically during Covid-19 pandemic as venture capitalists hold back