News

Privacy and data protection

• June 30, 2021 30 Jun'21

  LinkedIn denies exposure of 700 million user records is a data breach

  Data relating to 700 million users of the LinkedIn networking platform has appeared for sale, but the firm says it is the victim of data scraping, not a security breach

• June 30, 2021 30 Jun'21

  Cops seize criminal VPN used by ransomware gangs

  A coordinated sting has ended the operations of the DoubleVPN service, the owners of which are accused of harbouring cyber criminal activity

• June 29, 2021 29 Jun'21

  EU recognises UK data protection adequacy but warns against divergence

  The European Commission has granted the UK data adequacy, allowing data sharing between the EU and the UK, but warns it may yet be revoked

• June 29, 2021 29 Jun'21

  Video game industry under relentless cyber attacks

  Web application attacks against the global video game industry grew by 340% in 2020 as more people turn to gaming during pandemic lockdowns

• June 28, 2021 28 Jun'21

  UK’s FCA bans crypto exchange Binance as crackdown spreads

  Ban on Binance Markets comes amid a wider global crackdown on the largely unregulated global market for cryptocurrencies and related assets.

• June 28, 2021 28 Jun'21

  HMRC-branded phishing scams surge despite protections

  The number of HMRC-branded phishing scams surged 87% in the past 12 months, according to latest revealed figures

• June 28, 2021 28 Jun'21

  Lazada rolls out public bug bounty programme

  Regional e-commerce giant Lazada is looking to uncover more vulnerabilities that could compromise data security in a public bug bounty programme that offers up to $10,000 per bounty

• June 25, 2021 25 Jun'21

  NCSC CEO: UK-Ireland collaboration crucial to stop cyber threats

  Speaking at a conference in Dublin, NCSC Lindy Cameron is highlighting the importance of continued collaboration between the UK and Ireland to protect shared interests and counter security threats

• June 25, 2021 25 Jun'21

  Anglesey schools offline after cyber attack

  Isle of Anglesey County Council is investigating a cyber attack that has forced it to shut down systems at all five secondary schools on the island

• June 25, 2021 25 Jun'21

  CMA to probe Amazon and Google over fake reviews

  The CMA has opened an investigation into Amazon and Google over possible breaches of consumer protection law

• June 24, 2021 24 Jun'21

  Google hands third-party cookies a stay of execution

  Google’s proposed Privacy Sandbox initiative – which will see third-party cookies phased out in the Chrome web browser – has been pushed back to 2023

• June 24, 2021 24 Jun'21

  Stalkerware apps becoming normalised among young people

  Data in a new report appears to show that dangerous stalkerware apps are becoming normalised in younger age groups

• June 23, 2021 23 Jun'21

  City of York picks Barracuda Networks for data protection

  York Council needed to refresh its backup service to bring new security protections after it went ‘all-in’ on Microsoft Office 365

• June 23, 2021 23 Jun'21

  UK councils reported over 700 data breaches to ICO in 2020

  Data disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act reveals an estimated 700 data breaches were reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office by local councils last year

• June 23, 2021 23 Jun'21

  Openness can protect Dutch companies against ransomware

  Dutch businesses that suffer ransomware attacks need to be more open about it, if this growing problem is to be brought under control

• June 22, 2021 22 Jun'21

  NSPCC, IWF help under-18s scrub their nude photos from the web

  Report Remove tool is designed to be used by under-18s to report nude images or videos of themselves that have appeared online

• June 21, 2021 21 Jun'21

  Parliamentary devices left in taxis, buses, trains and pubs

  Nearly 100 devices belonging to parliamentary staffers, including MPs and peers, were lost or stolen over the course of 2019 and 2020

• June 18, 2021 18 Jun'21

  NHS App reaches six million users, thanks to Covid vaccine feature

  More than two million new users have downloaded the NHS App since it was updated in May to include Covid-19 vaccination status

• June 18, 2021 18 Jun'21

  ICO issues guidance on facial recognition in public spaces

  Information commissioner’s concern over the problematic use of facial recognition in public spaces has prompted her to publish official guidance on its deployment, while civil society calls for an outright ban

• June 18, 2021 18 Jun'21

  Lorca Ignite programme targets breakout cyber talent

  Six of the most successful companies to have come through Lorca’s existing accelerators are being inducted into an intensive programme

• June 18, 2021 18 Jun'21

  Carnival Cruises hit by fourth cyber incident in a year

  Latest data breach at Covid-hit cruise line comes hot on the heels of two recent ransomware attacks and a spring 2020 breach

• June 17, 2021 17 Jun'21

  Cyber crooks target Amazon Prime users ahead of retail bonanza

  A surge in malicious domain registrations ahead of Amazon Prime Day indicates cyber criminals have set their sights on exploiting vulnerable shoppers

• June 15, 2021 15 Jun'21

  NHS Test and Trace picks Risk Ledger to secure supply chain

  Risk Ledger’s technology promises ‘unparalleled’ visibility into NHS Test and Trace’s supply chain

• June 15, 2021 15 Jun'21

  Privacy pro salaries rise throughout pandemic, but at a cost

  Data from the IAPP’s latest salary survey reveals some insight into how the pandemic impacted the privacy profession

• June 15, 2021 15 Jun'21

  The Security Interviews: How to build a government model to ‘hack for good’

  Kyle Hanslovan started Huntress to give back after a career in the intelligence sector. After US authorities took action to help people hit by the Microsoft Exchange attacks, we discussed how governments can ‘hack for good’

• June 15, 2021 15 Jun'21

  How healthcare organisations are tapping data analytics

  Healthcare providers are harnessing data analytics to improve clinical and operational outcomes even as they continue to face challenges in data aggregation and data protection

• June 14, 2021 14 Jun'21

  G7 commits to action on ransomware, digital privacy

  The G7 urges Russia to do more to hold criminal ransomware gangs operating from within its borders to account as it commits to more action on the issue

• June 11, 2021 11 Jun'21

  FBI planned a sting against An0m cryptophone users over drinks with Australian investigators

  Australian Federal Police and the FBI came up with the idea over drinks: build a cryptophone network with a built-in backdoor and sell it to crime gangs around the world

• June 11, 2021 11 Jun'21

  CMA secures commitments from Google on future of cookies

  The Competition and Markets Authority is opening a consultation on commitments offered to it by Google to ensure its Privacy Sandbox proposals do not harm digital advertising markets

• June 11, 2021 11 Jun'21

  Australia names ‘strategic’ datacentre operators

  Australia’s Digital Transformation Agency certifies Macquarie Telecom, Canberra Data Centres and Australian Data Centres as strategic operators for hosting government data

• June 09, 2021 09 Jun'21

  FBI arrests distributors accused of selling An0m encrypted phones to crime groups

  Working with overseas law enforcement, the FBI has arrested eight people and named a further 13 accused of distributing An0m phones to organised crime groups

• June 08, 2021 08 Jun'21

  NHS Digital delays data collection plans until September

  NHS Digital has postponed its proposed collection of GP data for two months, to allow more time for the public to understand the process and opt out if wanted

• June 08, 2021 08 Jun'21

  National data guardian calls for dialogue on NHS Digital GP plans

  The UK’s national data guardian says it is important the public has clarity on how their confidential medical information will be used and kept secure under NHS data-sharing plans

• June 07, 2021 07 Jun'21

  Police raids around world after investigators crack An0m cryptophone app in major hacking operation

  Police in 16 countries carried out raids on after Australian Police and the FBI cracked an encrypted An0M communications network used by crime groups

• June 07, 2021 07 Jun'21

  EU privacy chief investigates use of US cloud services

  Use of Amazon and Microsoft’s cloud services by public sector bodies in the European Union is being scrutinised by the bloc’s privacy watchdog

• June 07, 2021 07 Jun'21

  NCSC updates schools ransomware guidance amid surge

  The National Cyber Security Centre says it is dealing with a renewed surge of ransomware attacks targeting schools, colleges and universities

• June 07, 2021 07 Jun'21

  Campaigners plan legal action over NHS data sharing

  Privacy coalition aims to force NHS Digital to push back its plans to scrape medical information on millions of patients into a central database

• June 07, 2021 07 Jun'21

  Updated standard contractual clauses will provide ‘legal certainty’ for transfer of data

  Organisations have 18 months to update data transfer agreements, known as standard contractual clauses, or SCCs, to continue sharing data outside the European Union

• June 04, 2021 04 Jun'21

  BCS: Lack of communication over NHS GPDPR ‘astonishing’

  The Chartered Institute for IT has warned that millions of people are not being properly informed of NHS Digital plans to harvest their data

• June 04, 2021 04 Jun'21

  Secrecy around EncroChat cryptophone hack breaches French constitution, court hears

  French lawyers claim that investigators are unlawfully withholding details of a cryptophone hacking operation in a case that could impact UK prosecutions

• June 04, 2021 04 Jun'21

  Government action on ransomware epidemic gathers pace

  The US government steps up action against ransomware operators, while the UK’s NCSC publishes guidance on preparing to deal with a ransomware attack

• June 03, 2021 03 Jun'21

  Norway’s auditor general lifts lid on energy industry’s cyber security risks

  Auditor General’s Office questions the security posture of Norway’s energy industry

• June 03, 2021 03 Jun'21

  Tories fined over email data protection breaches

  The Conservative Party broke the law by failing to properly keep records of who had unsubscribed from its mailing list

• June 03, 2021 03 Jun'21

  FireEye sold to private equity, Mandiant regains independence

  FireEye has agreed to sell its products business and name to a private equity consortium, while Mandiant will spin out as an independent threat intel business

• June 01, 2021 01 Jun'21

  Exagrid pays $2.6m to Conti ransomware attackers

  Backup appliance specialist hit by Conti ransomware in May with cyber criminals downloading employee and customer data, confidential contracts and source code

• May 28, 2021 28 May'21

  Privacy experts concerned over NHS data collection plans

  Security and data privacy experts warn NHS Digital that its data collection plans could increase risk and cause a public backlash

• May 27, 2021 27 May'21

  Loss of 150,000 police records made worse by management failures

  The loss of 150,000 records from a number of national policing systems was caused by a human coding error, but made worse by process and management failures

• May 27, 2021 27 May'21

  NGOs file complaints against Clearview AI in five countries

  Privacy and human rights organisations have asked data protection regulators in the UK, France, Austria, Italy and Greece to investigate controversial facial recognition company Clearview AI

• May 26, 2021 26 May'21

  More data stolen in January 2021 than in all of 2017, says report

  The volume of data being stolen through breaches is growing steadily and shows no sign of slowing, according to a report from Imperva

• May 26, 2021 26 May'21

  Millions of pounds lost to crypto fraud on social media

  More than £63m has been lost nationally by victims of investment fraud via a social media platform, says Action Fraud