News

Privacy and data protection

• August 08, 2025 08 Aug'25

  OpenAI closes gap to artificial general intelligence with GPT-5

  As OpenAI’s latest large language model delivers smarter AI, experts are wary of the risks GPT-5 poses to human creativity

• August 06, 2025 06 Aug'25

  Black Hat USA: Startup breaks secrets management tools

  Researchers at Cyata, an agentic identity specialist that has just emerged from stealth, found 14 CVEs in the widely used CyberArk Conjur and HashiCorp Vault enterprise secrets management platforms

• August 06, 2025 06 Aug'25

  Companies House ID verification to start in November 2025

  Companies House plans to start vetting director identities from mid-November, but its reliance on the troubled One Login digital identity service may be cause for concern

• August 06, 2025 06 Aug'25

  Australian scaleup to bring AI-led data protection to the MoD

  The UK’s Ministry of Defence is embracing AI-led data protection in the wake of a major privacy breach, enlisting Australian cyber firm Castlepoint Systems to oversee sensitive records

• August 04, 2025 04 Aug'25

  Black Hat USA: Halcyon and Sophos tag-team ransomware fightback

  Ransomware experts Halcyon and Sophos are to pool their expertise in ransomware, working together to enhance data- and intelligence-sharing and bringing more comprehensive protection to customers

• August 04, 2025 04 Aug'25

  Proliferation of on-premise GenAI platforms is widening security risks

  Research finds increased adoption of unsanctioned generative artificial intelligence platforms is magnifying risk and causing a headache for security teams

• August 01, 2025 01 Aug'25

  Met Police to double facial recognition use amid budget cuts

  The UK’s largest police force is massively expanding its use of live facial recognition technology as it prepares to lose 1,700 officers and staff

• August 01, 2025 01 Aug'25

  Securing agentic identities focus of Palo Alto’s CyberArk buy

  Palo Alto Networks is entering the identity security space with a multibillion-dollar acquisition, and plans to address growing concerns around protecting identities associated with AI agents

• July 30, 2025 30 Jul'25

  Apple pushes almost 30 security fixes in mobile update

  Apple pushes what will likely be the last major security update to its current iPhone and iPad operating systems, fixing 29 vulnerabilities in its mobile ecosystem

• July 30, 2025 30 Jul'25

  Industry experts warn crypto infrastructure is ‘creaking’

  A report from experts at HSBC, Thales and InfoSec Global claims decades-old cryptographic systems are failing, putting businesses at risk from current vulnerabilities and the threat from quantum computing

• July 29, 2025 29 Jul'25

  Senator warns of new UK surveillance risks to US citizens following Apple ‘backdoor’ row

  US lawmaker calls for the US to publish an assessment of the risks posed by UK surveillance laws to US citizens in the wake of disclosures that the UK has ordered Apple to introduce ‘backdoors’ in Apple encryption

• July 29, 2025 29 Jul'25

  Austrian government faces likely legal challenge over state spyware

  Civil society groups are talking to opposition MPs about bringing a legal challenge to the Austrian constitutional court over ‘state trojan’ law

• July 29, 2025 29 Jul'25

  European Commission ignores calls to reassess Israel data adequacy

  The European Commission is ignoring calls to reassess Israel’s data adequacy status in spite of concerns raised about its data protection framework and use of personal data in ‘repressive practices’

• July 28, 2025 28 Jul'25

  Data resilience critical as ransomware attacks target backups

  With more threat actors targeting backup repositories to ensure a payday, Veeam urges organisations to treat data resilience as a competitive advantage, not just an insurance policy

• July 24, 2025 24 Jul'25

  US seeks ‘unquestioned’ AI dominance

  US AI action plan sets out aims to expand American dominance in the world of artificial intelligence

• July 24, 2025 24 Jul'25

  SharePoint users hit by Warlock ransomware, says Microsoft

  Microsoft’s security analysts confirm a number of cyber attacks on on-premise SharePoint Server users involve ransomware

• July 24, 2025 24 Jul'25

  Dutch researchers use heartbeat detection to unmask deepfakes

  Dutch method to counter deepfakes analyses blood flow patterns in faces that current deepfake generation tools cannot yet replicate

• July 24, 2025 24 Jul'25

  Monzo’s £21m fine highlights banks’ cyber security failures

  Monzo’s recent fine over failings in its customer verification processes highlights wider security and privacy shortcomings in the personal finance world

• July 23, 2025 23 Jul'25

  WhatsApp is refused right to intervene in Apple legal action on encryption ‘backdoors’

  Investigatory Powers Tribunal to hear arguments in public over lawfulness of secret UK order requiring Apple to give UK law enforcement access to users’ encrypted data stored on the Apple iCloud

• July 22, 2025 22 Jul'25

  Microsoft confirms China link to SharePoint hacks

  Microsoft confirms two known China-nexus threat actors, and one other suspected state-backed hacking group, are exploiting vulnerabilities in SharePoint Server

• July 22, 2025 22 Jul'25

  Chinese cyber spies among those linked to SharePoint attacks

  Exploitation of the ToolShell RCE zero-day in Microsoft SharePoint continues to gather pace, with evidence emerging of exploitation by nation state-backed threat actors

• July 22, 2025 22 Jul'25

  UK government to bring in ransomware payment ban

  Critical infrastructure operators, hospitals, local councils and schools will be among those banned from giving in to cyber criminal demands as the UK moves forward with proposals to address the scourge of ransomware

• July 21, 2025 21 Jul'25

  Netherlands calls for European shift to post-tracking internet as privacy laws fail

  Dutch research institute argues decade of regulation hasn’t curbed surveillance capitalism, proposes fundamental business model change

• July 18, 2025 18 Jul'25

  NCSC exposes Fancy Bear's Authentic Antics malware attacks

  Amid a new round of UK government sanctions targeting Moscow's intelligence apparatus, the NCSC has formally attributed attacks orchestrated with a cleverly-designed malware to the GRU's Fancy Bear cyber unit

• July 18, 2025 18 Jul'25

  DWP accused of shielding AI deployments from public scrutiny

  Amnesty International and Big Brother Watch say Department for Work and Pensions’ ‘unchecked’ and opaque use of AI in the UK benefits system treats claimants as suspicious and is shielded from public scrutiny

• July 16, 2025 16 Jul'25

  Co-op chief ‘incredibly sorry’ for theft of 6.5m members’ data

  Co-op chief executive Shirine Khoury-Haq has revealed that all the personal data of all 6.5 million of its members was compromised in the April 2025 cyber attack on its systems

• July 15, 2025 15 Jul'25

  MoD cyber breach put thousands of Afghan lives at risk

  More than 18,000 Afghan citizens eligible to relocate to the UK under a government programme to protect them from the Taliban were put at risk in a heretofore unreportable data breach

• July 11, 2025 11 Jul'25

  European Commission accused of rigging data watchdog appointment

  The European Commission has been accused of rigging the selection process for the next European Data Protection supervisor

• July 10, 2025 10 Jul'25

  Government funding to help SMEs protect their IP

  Scheme will see SMEs and innovative startups working in sensitive sectors receive advice on enhancing cyber and physical security measures to protect their valuable intellectual property

• July 10, 2025 10 Jul'25

  Four arrested in M&S cyber attack investigation

  Police have made four arrests in connection with a trio of cyber attacks on UK retailers Marks & Spencer, Co-op and Harrods

• July 09, 2025 09 Jul'25

  Qantas details impact of data breach on 5.7 million customers

  Australian flag carrier begins notifying millions of individuals after a cyber attack on a call centre, confirming that while financial and passport details are safe, a significant volume of other personal information was compromised

• July 08, 2025 08 Jul'25

  AI for Good: Signal president warns of agentic AI security flaw

  Secure by design is a mantra of the tech sector, but not if it’s agentic AI, which wants ‘root’ access to everything

• July 08, 2025 08 Jul'25

  Proofpoint bets on APAC growth amid spike in AI-driven threats

  With cyber attacks spiking in non-English-speaking markets such as Japan, the security firm is boosting its regional presence to combat a wave of AI-generated threats

• July 07, 2025 07 Jul'25

  Digital warfare is blurring civilian front lines

  Singapore’s defence cyber chief warns that the traditional lines between military conflict and civilian life are blurring, with adversaries now targeting civilian systems and using AI to put the threat landscape on steroids

• July 04, 2025 04 Jul'25

  Medow Health AI debuts AI scribe tool in Singapore

  The Australian health technology company has launched its AI-powered scribe platform in Singapore to help healthcare professionals automatically capture and structure clinical notes, reports and referral letters

• July 02, 2025 02 Jul'25

  US CISA agency extends Iran cyber alert, warns of CNI threat

  The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency reiterates guidance for operators of critical national infrastructure as it eyes the possibility of cyber attacks from Iran

• July 02, 2025 02 Jul'25

  Google fixes type confusion flaw in Chrome browser

  An actively exploited type confusion vulnerability in the Google Chrome web browser needs immediate attention from users

• July 02, 2025 02 Jul'25

  Dutch study uncovers cognitive biases undermining cyber security board decisions

  Dutch research reveals how cognitive biases can lead to catastrophic security decisions

• July 02, 2025 02 Jul'25

  Qantas customer data exposed in contact centre breach

  Australian flag carrier is investigating significant data theft of personal information for up to six million customers after a third-party platform used by its call centre was compromised

• July 01, 2025 01 Jul'25

  Cloudflare to let customers block AI web crawlers

  Publishers and other providers of creative content now have the option to block AI crawlers from accessing and scraping their intellectual property with new tools from Cloudflare.

• June 27, 2025 27 Jun'25

  Scattered Spider cyber gang turns fire on aviation sector

  Multiple reports are emerging of cyber attacks on airlines – Google Cloud’s Mandiant believes them to be linked

• June 27, 2025 27 Jun'25

  Over 2 million affected by US supermarket breach

  Belgian-Dutch supermarket operator Ahold Delhaize reveals that more than two million people, including employees, had their data compromised following a November 2024 ransomware attack

• June 27, 2025 27 Jun'25

  Ciaran Martin: AI might disturb attacker-defender security balance

  The founder of the National Cyber Security Centre spoke with Computer Weekly at Infosecurity Europe 2025 about how artificial intelligence might disturb the attacker-defender security equilibrium

• June 26, 2025 26 Jun'25

  Sky ECC distributor released from French custody pending trial

  Canadian businessman accused of distributing Sky ECC encrypted phones has been released on bail after over four years in custody without a trial

• June 24, 2025 24 Jun'25

  One year since being freed, Julian Assange still a victim of state secrecy

  If the State Department’s arguments prevail in FOIA litigation, the truth about US action against Julian Assange and WikiLeaks journalists will never be known

• June 23, 2025 23 Jun'25

  Police to gain powers to grab online data when they seize phones and laptops

  Academics and civil liberties experts say that proposed ‘authoritarian’ powers to allow police to trawl online and cloud services used by owners of seized devices should require approval from a judge

• June 16, 2025 16 Jun'25

  Intelligence sharing key to cyber security in Europe, says EU Commission cyber expert

  Cyber criminals choose not to attack Europe due to its resilience and preparedness, says the EU Commission’s principal advisor for cyber security coordination, Despina Spanou

• June 12, 2025 12 Jun'25

  UKtech50 2025: the longlist of the UK’s influential tech leaders

  Each year, Computer Weekly launches a search for the most influential people in UK IT, asking the tech community who it thinks should be in the top 50 – here is the longlist of everyone nominated for 2025

• June 12, 2025 12 Jun'25

  Apple encryption row: Does law enforcement need to use Technical Capability Notices?

  History shows that law enforcement can bring successful prosecutions without the need for the Home Office to introduce ‘backdoors’ into end-to-end encryption

• June 11, 2025 11 Jun'25

  WhatsApp seeks to join Apple in legal challenge against Home Office encryption orders

  WhatsApp today applied to intervene in an Investigatory Powers Tribunal case that is considering the UK’s ability to issue a technical capability notice on Apple to ‘weaken encryption’