News

Privacy and data protection

• March 16, 2023 16 Mar'23

  TikTok banned on UK government devices

  The UK government has followed in the footsteps of its US and European counterparts and banned the use of Chinese social media app TikTok on official devices

• March 16, 2023 16 Mar'23

  Rubrik customer, partner data exposed in possible Clop attack

  Rubrik was supposedly compromised by the Clop ransomware gang via a zero-day vulnerability in a managed file transfer software package it uses

• March 15, 2023 15 Mar'23

  Chinese Silkloader cyber attack tool falls into Russian hands

  A loader tool used by Chinese cyber criminals seems to have been enthusiastically taken up in recent weeks by Russian ransomware operators

• March 14, 2023 14 Mar'23

  NatWest introduces limits on crypto trading to prevent fraud

  UK bank says its retail customers will benefit from daily and monthly limits on the amount they can pay into cryptocurrency exchanges

• March 14, 2023 14 Mar'23

  NCSC warns over AI language models but rejects cyber alarmism

  The UK's NCSC has issued advice for those using the technology underpinning AI tools such as ChatGPT, but says some of the security doomsday scenarios being proposed right now are not necessarily realistic

• March 14, 2023 14 Mar'23

  AI interview: Elke Schwarz, professor of political theory

  Elke Schwarz speaks with Computer Weekly about the ethics of military artificial intelligence and the dangers of allowing governments and corporations to push forward without oversight or scrutiny

• March 13, 2023 13 Mar'23

  MI5 to oversee new National Protective Security Authority

  The new National Protective Security Authority will address various national security threats including state-sponsored cyber espionage against UK targets

• March 10, 2023 10 Mar'23

  Technology minister Michelle Donelan defends data reforms

  Secretary of state Michelle Donelan has defended the government’s new data reforms as providing certainty for businesses while simultaneously retaining high standards of data protection, but industry figures are having mixed reactions

• March 08, 2023 08 Mar'23

  UK government introduces revised data reform bill to Parliament

  Designed in close collaboration with technology businesses, the UK government is re-introducing an updated version of its Data Protection and Digital Information Bill to Parliament, which civil society groups say upends key safeguards

• March 08, 2023 08 Mar'23

  How ForgeRock is tackling identity management

  ForgeRock CEO Fran Rosch has set the identity and access management software supplier on a path to deliver a frictionless identity experience without compromising security or privacy

• March 07, 2023 07 Mar'23

  Nine in 10 enterprises fell victim to successful phishing in 2022

  Egress annual email security risk report breaks down impacts of email-based phishing attacks and data loss, and the effect these can have on organisations in terms of staff retention and morale

• March 07, 2023 07 Mar'23

  Taking back control: Could a distributed model breed a better AI?

  AI tools such as ChatGPT are trained on datasets scraped from the web, but you don’t have much say if your data is used. Technologist Bruce Schneier says it’s time to give control of AI training data back to the people

• March 03, 2023 03 Mar'23

  White House unveils National Cybersecurity Strategy

  The strategy will focus on ensuring closer collaboration on cyber security between government and industry, while giving software and other tech companies a bigger role in combatting threats due to their resources and expertise

• March 02, 2023 02 Mar'23

  AI interview: Michael Osborne, professor of machine learning

  Artificial intelligence researcher speaks with Computer Weekly about the implications of a market-driven AI arms race and the overwhelming dominance of the private sector over the technology

• March 02, 2023 02 Mar'23

  Uber introduces dynamic pricing algorithm in London

  The dynamic pricing algorithm will allow Uber to set variable pay and pricing levels, but drivers are concerned about how their personal data will be used and the impact the algorithm will have on their livelihoods

• March 02, 2023 02 Mar'23

  WH Smith staff data accessed in cyber attack

  The retailer has said that customer data has not been affected by the incident as it is held in different systems, and that investigations into the attack are ongoing

• March 02, 2023 02 Mar'23

  Salt Labs identifies OAuth security flaw within Booking.com

  Security flaw in Booking.com OAuth implementation could be used to launch account takeovers, but researchers discovered and flagged the issue before it could be exploited in the wild

• March 01, 2023 01 Mar'23

  Data breaches in Australia on the rise, says OAIC

  Cyber security incidents were the cause of most data breaches, which rose by 26% in the second half of 2022, according to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

• February 24, 2023 24 Feb'23

  UK police have ‘culture of retention’ around biometric data

  A culture of retention around biometric data in UK policing is damaging public trust, says UK biometrics commissioner, who is calling for clear regulation to govern police use of biometric technologies

• February 22, 2023 22 Feb'23

  Researchers find new bug ‘class’ in Apple devices

  A group of vulnerabilities in Apple products that stem from the ForcedEntry exploit used by spyware firm NSO constitutes a whole new class of bug, say researchers at Trellix

• February 22, 2023 22 Feb'23

  Institute for Government cautions government to draw right lessons from pandemic

  The Institute for Government has published a policy document warning government not to draw wrong lessons from data sharing during pandemic

• February 20, 2023 20 Feb'23

  Singapore organisations struggle to operationalise threat intelligence

  Organisations in the city-state were satisfied with the quality of their threat intelligence, but they struggled to operationalise the information due to talent shortages and other challenges

• February 20, 2023 20 Feb'23

  Twitter 2FA changes bring more risks than benefits

  Twitter’s approach to nudging users away from insecure SMS-based 2FA is being questioned over its logic

• February 16, 2023 16 Feb'23

  Mock crime prediction tool profiles MEPs as potential criminals

  Developed by Fair Trials, the example crime prediction tool uses the same information as police systems to assess the likelihood of someone committing a crime in the future

• February 16, 2023 16 Feb'23

  How to tame the identity sprawl

  Organisations should find a comprehensive way to gain full visibility into their digital identities and leverage automation to tame the identify sprawl

• February 15, 2023 15 Feb'23

  Royal Mail refused to pay £66m LockBit ransom demand, logs reveal

  Leaked chat logs reveal Royal Mail has supposedly refused to pay a £66m ransom demand from the LockBit ransomware gang

• February 14, 2023 14 Feb'23

  UK authorities clamp down on illegal crypto ATMs

  The Financial Conduct Authority and West Yorkshire Police have disrupted a number of illegal crypto ATMs

• February 14, 2023 14 Feb'23

  Researcher exposes crypto scam network exploiting YouTube

  A massive network of fake YouTube videos promoted by automated sock puppet accounts is reeling in hundreds of cryptocurrency enthusiasts and persuading them to hand over their money, WithSecure researchers found

• February 13, 2023 13 Feb'23

  Russian spear phishing campaign escalates efforts toward critical UK, US and European targets

  Russian hacking group Seaborgium refines its tactics in a continuation of attacks against targets including not-for-profit organisations with geopolitical affiliations

• February 13, 2023 13 Feb'23

  Investigatory Powers Act: Home Office proposes rethink of safeguards on bulk data collection

  David Anderson KC will review the safeguards on intelligence service and police use of bulk datasets following a Home Office assessment that they are 'disproportionate'.

• February 13, 2023 13 Feb'23

  Police tech needs clear legal rules, says biometrics regulator

  Police use of artificial intelligence and facial recognition needs to be controlled by strict rules and mechanisms to ensure public trust

• February 10, 2023 10 Feb'23

  Social media platform Reddit breached in phishing attack

  An unspecified threat actor obtained access to internal documents, code and business systems at Reddit after stealing employee credentials in a phishing attack

• February 09, 2023 09 Feb'23

  How Check Point is keeping pace with the cyber security landscape

  Check Point Software CEO Gil Shwed talks up the company’s growth areas, its approach to cloud security and the impact of generative AI on cyber security

• February 08, 2023 08 Feb'23

  Russian hacking group Seaborgium targets SNP MP Stewart McDonald

  Scottish National Party MP Stewart McDonald says his personal emails have been hacked by a group linked to the Russian state in a targeted phishing attack

• February 08, 2023 08 Feb'23

  Prolific social media fraudster jailed for three years

  Ramzan Abubakarov of Hendon will serve three-year prison sentence after using Telegram to coordinate series of frauds which netted almost £2m

• February 08, 2023 08 Feb'23

  Campaigners lament lack of movement on Computer Misuse Act reform

  Westminster has opened a new consultation on proposed reforms to the Computer Misuse Act of 1990, but campaigners who want the law changed to protect cyber professionals have been left disappointed

• February 08, 2023 08 Feb'23

  India launches homegrown BharOS

  The homegrown Android-based mobile operating system could reduce India’s reliance on foreign software, but uncertainties around market adoption and software updates remain

• February 07, 2023 07 Feb'23

  LockBit cartel finally claims Royal Mail ransomware attack

  The LockBit ransomware gang claims it has stolen sensitive data from Royal Mail and will leak it later this week if its demands go unmet

• February 06, 2023 06 Feb'23

  Cops make arrests and seize drugs after hacking Exclu encrypted messaging app

  Police in the Netherlands, Belgium and Poland raided 80 addresses after covertly intercepting messages from the Exclu encrypted messaging app

• February 06, 2023 06 Feb'23

  Online banks still riddled with cyber security flaws, report says

  Online bank Virgin Money was found to have the weakest online and application security measures in a Which? study but Nationwide, TSB and The Co-Operative Bank all failed on multiple points, too.

• February 06, 2023 06 Feb'23

  The Security Interviews: How to overcome data protection compliance challenges

  Complying with the vast swathe of data protection legislation around the world is complex, especially for smaller organisations without the necessary expertise. Could the compliance process be simplified, and if so, how?

• February 03, 2023 03 Feb'23

  LockBit gang confirms Ion cyber attack as disruption continues

  The LockBit ransomware cartel has taken responsibility for this week’s attack on financial software firm Ion, and is threatening to leak stolen data on Saturday 4 February

• February 03, 2023 03 Feb'23

  FCA cracks down on misleading promos by social media influencers

  Social media is becoming a major part of the FCA’s work in clamping down on misleading financial advertising and promotions, with multiple influencers rapped for their behaviour

• February 03, 2023 03 Feb'23

  MEPs vote to amend platform worker directive

  MEPs have voted in favour of amendments to the European Commission’s platform worker directive that would introduce a presumption of employment and increase algorithmic transparency

• February 02, 2023 02 Feb'23

  Suspected LockBit ransomware attack causes havoc in City of London

  A suspected LockBit ransomware attack on trading software firm Ion has caused chaos for City of London traders

• February 02, 2023 02 Feb'23

  Arnold Clark customer data was stolen in Play ransomware attack

  Arnold Clark confirms data leaked on dark web was stolen from its systems in ransomware attack

• February 01, 2023 01 Feb'23

  Romance fraudsters stole £65m from Brits since 2020

  Online romance fraudsters have scammed Brits out of £65m in the past three years, according to retail bank TSB

• February 01, 2023 01 Feb'23

  NCSC for Startups inducts four companies into programme

  Four more startups are set to join the NCSC accelerator, which helps the UK government develop technology and approaches to pressing cyber security challenges

• February 01, 2023 01 Feb'23

  CryptoRom scam abuses Apple and Google app stores to claim victims

  Sophos researchers report on two fake apps used by romance scammers to lure victims into parting with their money, both of which were able to escape the attention of Apple and Google app store safeguards

• February 01, 2023 01 Feb'23

  Innovative Technology deploys age estimation tech in shops and pubs

  A company involved in Home Office-led trials of biometric age estimation technologies has begun rolling out its hardware to UK shops and pubs so they can use its facial recognition algorithm to assure customers’ ages