News
Privacy and data protection
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January 31, 2023
31
Jan'23
MI5 unlawfully collected and held millions of people’s data
Secretive court finds MI5 knowingly acted unlawfully in use of bulk surveillance warrants, and the Home Office continued granting warrants despite information the agency was operating outside the law
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January 30, 2023
30
Jan'23
Data of 10 million JD Sports customers accessed in cyber attack
Data on 10 million people who shopped online at JD Sports over a two-year period was accessed and potentially stolen in a cyber attack
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January 26, 2023
26
Jan'23
Zero-trust implementations remain work in progress
Just one in 10 large enterprises are expected to have mature and measurable zero-trust programmes in place by 2026, study finds
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January 25, 2023
25
Jan'23
NCSC exposes Iranian, Russian spear-phishing campaign targeting UK
Spear-phishing campaigns likely linked to Iranian and Russian espionage activity are targeting persons of interest in the UK, warns the NCSC
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January 25, 2023
25
Jan'23
Arnold Clark cyber attack claimed by Play ransomware gang
A cyber attack that struck car dealer Arnold Clark prior to Christmas has been claimed as the work of the Play ransomware cartel
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January 25, 2023
25
Jan'23
Boards struggle to resolve cyber risk in digital supply chains
Accelerated digitisation of supply chains is introducing more cyber risk for which many organisations seem unprepared, according to the BSI’s annual report on supply chain risk
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January 25, 2023
25
Jan'23
Japan researchers develop new data encryption method
Researchers from Tokyo University of Science have combined the best of homomorphic encryption and secret sharing in a new method to handle encrypted data
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January 24, 2023
24
Jan'23
Chinese IoT suppliers expose UK businesses to espionage and data theft
Chinese companies supplying network components, known as IoT modules, post a greater long-term threat to UK security than the now banned 5G supplier Huawei, according to a study by a Chinese expert and former diplomat
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January 24, 2023
24
Jan'23
SSRF attacks hit 100,000 businesses globally since November
There has been a dramatic increase in attacks exploiting the ProxyNotShell/OWASSRF exploit chains to target Microsoft Exchange servers
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January 24, 2023
24
Jan'23
Fake online contest makes Yahoo! most phished brand of Q4 2022
Yahoo! was the most frequently phished brand during the last three months of 2022, according to a report
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January 23, 2023
23
Jan'23
Royal Society calls on public sector to pilot privacy tech
The Royal Society says public sector bodies should lead the way in piloting privacy-enhancing technologies to unlock the value of data without compromising privacy and data rights, but lack of standards and incentives mean adoption is slow
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January 23, 2023
23
Jan'23
NCSC warning over cyber risk to charity sector
Cash-strapped charities without the resource to tackle their resilience deficit are increasingly at risk from malicious actors, says the NCSC
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January 22, 2023
22
Jan'23
Royal Mail making limited progress on ransomware recovery
Royal Mail asks customers to hold back from sending post overseas as some services get back on track, while a report warns that disruptive attacks on critical infrastructure are set to become more common
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January 20, 2023
20
Jan'23
Veeam survey finds ransomware blocks digital transformation
Annual report shows secular trend to the cloud and increased use of containers, but prevalence of ransomware attacks means digital transformation is hindered
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January 19, 2023
19
Jan'23
International post resumes thanks to Royal Mail ‘workarounds’
Royal Mail has resumed limited international services after putting in place operational workarounds to bypass the impact of a ransomware attack
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January 19, 2023
19
Jan'23
KFC, Pizza Hut parent shuts UK restaurants after cyber attack
A ransomware attack on Yum! Brands, the parent organisation of restaurants including KFC and Pizza Hut, was forced to shut approximately 300 outlets in the UK following a ransomware attack by an unspecified group
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January 19, 2023
19
Jan'23
Mailchimp suffers third breach in 12 months
Email marketing service Mailchimp has suffered its third data breach in a year, but has been praised for being open about its latest attack
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January 19, 2023
19
Jan'23
Newham Council rejects use of live facial-recognition tech by police
Live facial-recognition technology should not be used by police in Newham until biometric and anti-discrimination safeguards are in place, according to a motion passed unanimously by the council, but the Met Police and the Home Office have indicated...
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January 18, 2023
18
Jan'23
David Anderson KC to review UK surveillance laws
Home Office commissions independent review of the Investigatory Powers Act, known as the snoopers’ charter. It will include a review of bulk datasets and government access to internet connection records held by phone and internet companies
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January 18, 2023
18
Jan'23
Oracle and CBI: companies cautious, selective in 2023 IT, business investment
Oracle and the CBI are seeing much the same picture of cautious technology investment of UK businesses in 2023, in the context of long Covid and the energy price inflation crisis
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January 18, 2023
18
Jan'23
Ukraine cyber teams responded to more than 2,000 attacks in 2022
The Ukrainian authorities responded to more than 2,000 major cyber incidents during 2022, and are blocking thousands more potential attacks every day
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January 17, 2023
17
Jan'23
Cloudflare urged to clamp down on pirates, counterfeiters
A whitepaper produced by brand protection specialist Corsearch calls on Cloudflare to do more to stop online content piracy and sales of counterfeit goods
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January 17, 2023
17
Jan'23
Royal Mail promises ‘workarounds’ to restore services after ransomware attack
Royal Mail CEO Simon Thompson apologises to customers whose businesses are being disrupted by a ransomware attack and promises a ‘workaround’ will be in place in the near future
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January 16, 2023
16
Jan'23
The Security Interviews: Protecting your digital self
Our digital self – the virtual presence of who we are online – has a pervasive influence in the real world. People make judgements based on these digital depictions, so what can be done to ensure positive representation?
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January 14, 2023
14
Jan'23
Experts concerned over silence around government obligation to review UK surveillance laws
The government is required to review the UK’s surveillance law, the Investigatory Powers Act, but experts say they are in the dark about its plans. The National Crime Agency’s operation Venetic has highlighted the need for urgent reforms
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January 13, 2023
13
Jan'23
Cabinet Office looks to expand public data sharing for digital ID
Cabinet Office seeks feedback on proposed legislation to enhance data sharing across the public sector, in support of the UK government’s ambition to have a single sign-on identity-check system for all public services
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January 13, 2023
13
Jan'23
LockBit cartel suspected of Royal Mail cyber attack
The still-developing cyber incident at Royal Mail may be the work of the infamous LockBit ransomware operation
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January 12, 2023
12
Jan'23
UK government completes trials of age estimation technology
Government-led trials of age estimation and verification technologies for the sale of alcohol in nightlife venues and supermarkets have been completed, with both government and retail lobbyists pushing for legislation that would allow retailers to ...
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January 12, 2023
12
Jan'23
Chrome vulnerability could have led to widespread data theft
A dangerous vulnerability in Google Chrome and Chromium-based browsers could have put billions of users’ files at risk of being stolen
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January 12, 2023
12
Jan'23
Guardian confirms Christmas 2022 cyber attack was ransomware
Guardian Media Group bosses confirm the 20 December cyber attack that left staff locked out of its London office and disrupted several key systems was an untargeted ransomware attack
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January 11, 2023
11
Jan'23
NHS data platform costing £480m to supersede Covid-19 data store underway
NHS England has invited suppliers to tender for a data platform that will supersede the Covid-19 data store controversial for the involvement of data analytics firm Palantir
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January 11, 2023
11
Jan'23
Davos 2023: Pervasive cyber crime and cyber security gaps pose severe risk to organisations
Governments and organisations face tough trade-offs as they balance immediate problems caused by economic recession, energy shortages and rising interest rates with longer-term risks, including the impact of global warming
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January 11, 2023
11
Jan'23
What’s happening with quantum-safe cryptography?
Chinese researchers claim quantum technology is reaching a point where a quantum device will soon be able to crack RSA 2048 public key encryption
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January 08, 2023
08
Jan'23
Vulnerable organisations to get free Cyber Essentials support
Charities and legal aid firms are among those to be offered free security checks and certifications from the National Cyber Security Centre
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January 06, 2023
06
Jan'23
Proposed digital fraud refund rules risk excluding many victims
Proposals to establish a fraud refund mechanism in the UK risk excluding many victims of digitally enabled fraud, a major bank has warned
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January 06, 2023
06
Jan'23
Vice Society cyber gang targeted multiple UK schools
The Vice Society ransomware gang has made a habit of attacking educational institutions, and now appears to have struck multiple schools, colleges and universities in the UK
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January 06, 2023
06
Jan'23
Meta to appeal £345m fine for Facebook and Instagram privacy breaches
Social media company Meta is to appeal after the Irish Data Protection Commission fined the company for breaching GDPR
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January 05, 2023
05
Jan'23
Fallout from Guardian cyber attack to last at least a month
The Guardian newspaper’s offices remained shut into the New Year following a supposed ransomware attack, with disruption likely to last some time
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January 03, 2023
03
Jan'23
Test of digital ID tech at Surrey nightclub proclaimed success
The majority of visitors to a Camberley venue who piloted a digital identification app developed by 1account said they found it easy to use and preferred it to standard physical ID
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January 02, 2023
02
Jan'23
China and India governments among top targets for cyber attackers
Chinese and Indian governments targeted by hacktivists and ransomware groups out to make statement or expose flaws in their respective security postures
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December 29, 2022
29
Dec'22
Top 10 technology and ethics stories of 2022
Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 technology and ethics stories of 2022
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December 28, 2022
28
Dec'22
Complaints that NCA failed in duty of candour over EncroChat warrants ‘incredible’, court hears
NCA lawyers argue that a decision by an NCA intelligence officer to disclose notes of a key meeting after two-and-a-half years boosts her credibility as a witness
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December 22, 2022
22
Dec'22
NCA ‘wrong-footed’ defence lawyers after agreeing to take expert evidence on EncroChat ‘as read’
The National Crime Agency argued at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal that expert evidence it agreed to ‘take as read’ is limited, flawed and often based on an incorrect interpretation of the law
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December 22, 2022
22
Dec'22
Top 10 cyber security stories of 2022
The war in Ukraine loomed large over the cyber security news agenda, but 2022 also saw growing awareness of open source security, discussion around cyber insurance, and more besides
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December 22, 2022
22
Dec'22
Top 10 crime, national security and law stories of 2022
Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 crime, national security and law stories of 2022
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December 22, 2022
22
Dec'22
Top 10 cyber crime stories of 2022
Cyber crime continued to hit the headlines in 2022, with impactful cyber attacks abounding, digitally enabled fraud ever more widespread and plenty of ransomware incidents
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December 16, 2022
16
Dec'22
Shiseido data breach victims plan legal action over fake companies
Employees and former employees of cosmetics firm Shiseido whose data was stolen in a recent breach are planning group legal action after their information was used to establish fraudulent companies in their names
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December 16, 2022
16
Dec'22
Defence lawyers claim NCA witness gave unreliable evidence on EncroChat hacking operation
National Crime Agency argues that the lawfulness of surveillance warrants issued to hack the EncroChat phone network should only be considered in the light of facts and assessments known at the time
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December 15, 2022
15
Dec'22
Lego fixes dangerous API vulnerability in BrickLink service
The Lego Group has remediated two potentially serious API vulnerabilities in its BrickLink digital resale platform, just in time for Christmas
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December 15, 2022
15
Dec'22
Cops dismantle 48 DDoS-for-hire websites
An operation combining law enforcement from the UK, US, Netherlands and Europol has disrupted 48 of the world’s most popular DDoS booter websites