News

Privacy and data protection

• May 20, 2025 20 May'25

  Retail cyber attacks hit food distributor Peter Green Chilled

  Cold chain services provider Peter Green Chilled, which supplies the likes of Aldi, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, has been forced to halt operations after succumbing to a ransomware attack

• May 19, 2025 19 May'25

  Chinese cyber spooks lure laid-off US government workers

  A Washington DC-based think tank has published evidence that Chinese intelligence services have been running a network of digital ‘front’ companies targeting laid-off government workers as recruits

• May 19, 2025 19 May'25

  Legal Aid Agency breach may encompass millions of people

  Legal Aid Agency says the data of anybody who applied for legal aid over the past 15 years has been compromised in a cyber attack

• May 19, 2025 19 May'25

  Gartner: Most firms not tapping cloud’s full potential

  Organisations have not fully leveraged the full potential of cloud and must navigate emerging trends such as artificial intelligence, multicloud complexity and security perceptions to stay competitive

• May 16, 2025 16 May'25

  The Security Interviews: David Faugno, 1Password

  David Faugno, co-CEO of 1Password, discusses how his background led to him joining the company and why maintaining profitability is a key factor in overcoming the challenges of switching markets.

• May 15, 2025 15 May'25

  NHS asks suppliers to sign up to cyber covenant

  NHS digital and security leaders call on their suppliers to commit to a cyber security charter as the health service works to improve its resilience in the face of growing threat levels

• May 14, 2025 14 May'25

  Why we must reform the Computer Misuse Act: A cyber pro speaks out

  Britain’s outdated hacking laws are leaving the UK’s cyber practitioners hamstrung and afraid. Security professional Simon Whittaker reveals how he nearly ran afoul of the Computer Misuse Act, and why he’s speaking out for reform

• May 13, 2025 13 May'25

  M&S forces customer password resets after data breach

  M&S is instructing all of its customers to change their account passwords after a significant amount of data was stolen in a DragonForce ransomware attack

• May 13, 2025 13 May'25

  Australian data breaches hit record high in 2024

  More than 1,100 data breaches were reported in Australia last year, a 25% jump from 2023, prompting calls for stronger security measures across businesses and government agencies

• May 07, 2025 07 May'25

  Meta awarded $167m in court battle with spyware mercenaries

  WhatsApp owner Meta is awarded millions of dollars in damages and compensation after its service was exploited by users of mercenary spyware developer NSO’s infamous Pegasus mobile malware

• May 07, 2025 07 May'25

  Europe leads shift from cyber security ‘headcount gap’ to skills-based hiring

  Research from Sans Institute reveals European organisations are leading a global shift in hiring priorities, driven by regional regulatory frameworks

• May 07, 2025 07 May'25

  UK at risk of Russian cyber and physical attacks as Ukraine seeks peace deal

  UK cyber security chief warns of ‘direct connection’ between Russian cyber attacks and physical threats to the UK

• May 07, 2025 07 May'25

  DSIT aims to bolster expertise with year-long secondments

  To drive forward its Plan for Change, the Labour government is looking to hire 25 experts for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology Fellowship programme

• May 07, 2025 07 May'25

  UK critical systems at risk from ‘digital divide’ created by AI threats

  GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre warns that a growing ‘digital divide’ between organisations that can keep pace with AI-enabled threats and those that cannot is set to heighten the UK's overall cyber risk

• May 06, 2025 06 May'25

  Data issues cost Australian businesses nearly A$500k annually

  Research reveals Australian organisations are losing an average of nearly half a million dollars annually due to poor data integrity, hindering their ability to leverage AI and eroding their competitive edge

• May 02, 2025 02 May'25

  Government and Ofcom disagree about scope of Online Safety Act

  MPs heard different views from the online harms regulator and the UK government about whether and how the Online Safety Act obliges platforms to deal with disinformation

• May 01, 2025 01 May'25

  Thomas Herdman’s legal battle over Sky ECC encrypted phone distribution set to enter fifth year

  Computer Weekly speaks to Julie Kawai Herdman, daughter of Thomas Herdman, the only person in custody for distributing Sky ECC encrypted phones

• April 30, 2025 30 Apr'25

  AI in national security raises proportionality and privacy concerns

  AI could enable investigations to cover far more individuals than was ever previously possible, which is why oversight is needed

• April 25, 2025 25 Apr'25

  M&S suspends all online sales as cyber attack worsens

  M&S shuts down online sales as it works to contain and mitigate a severe cyber attack on its systems

• April 22, 2025 22 Apr'25

  Ofcom bans leasing of Global Titles to crackdown on spoofing

  Telco regulator Ofcom is cracking down on a loophole being exploited by cyber criminals to access sensitive mobile data

• April 22, 2025 22 Apr'25

  Investigatory Powers Tribunal has no power to award costs against PSNI over evidence failures

  Investigatory Powers Tribunal judges have called for the Home Secretary to step in after finding they have no powers to award costs against government bodies that fail to disclose evidence

• April 17, 2025 17 Apr'25

  Standard Chartered grounds AI ambitions in data governance

  The bank’s group chief data officer, Mohammed Rahim, outlines how the bank is modernising its data infrastructure and governance practices to support its AI initiatives

• April 16, 2025 16 Apr'25

  Footballers object to processing of performance data

  Football players are seeking to gain more control of their performance data through ‘stop processing’ requests, in an attempt to strike a better balance between firms’ commercial interests and the data rights of footballers

• April 15, 2025 15 Apr'25

  Hertz warns UK customers of Cleo-linked data breach

  Car hire giant Hertz reveals UK customer data was affected in a cyber incident orchestrated via a series of vulnerabilities in Cleo managed file transfer products

• April 15, 2025 15 Apr'25

  The Investigatory Powers Tribunal explained

  The Investigatory Powers Tribunal is a semi-secret judicial body that has made significant legal rulings on privacy, surveillance and the use of investigatory powers. What does it do and why is it important? 

• April 14, 2025 14 Apr'25

  Meta settles lawsuit over surveillance business model

  Meta settles lawsuit over use of personal data in targeted advertising, opening up the possibility of other UK users raising legal objections to its processing

• April 14, 2025 14 Apr'25

  Government faces claims of serious security and data protection problems in One Login digital ID

  The Government Digital Service was warned about serious cyber security and data protection problems in its flagship digital identity system, with insider claims that the data of three million users may still be at risk

• April 11, 2025 11 Apr'25

  AI surveillance towers place migrants in ‘even greater jeopardy’

  The use of autonomous surveillance towers throughout the English coast forces migrants into increasingly dangerous routes and contributes to their criminalisation

• April 11, 2025 11 Apr'25

  Met Police to deploy permanent facial recognition tech in Croydon

  The Met Police is set deploy permanent live facial recognition cameras on street furniture in Croydon from summer 2025, but local councillors say the decision – which has taken place with no community input – will further contribute the ...

• April 11, 2025 11 Apr'25

  Warranty fraud fuels hidden army of hardware hackers

  Widespread warranty fraud is not only costing companies billions but also creating a breeding ground for advanced hardware exploits, warns hardware hacker and researcher Bunnie Huang at Black Hat Asia 2025

• April 10, 2025 10 Apr'25

  Google bets on unifying security tools to ease CISO pain

  At Google Cloud Next in Las Vegas, Google launches its Unified Security platform with the goal of bringing together disparate security solutions to help cyber leaders and practitioners address their most keenly felt pain points

• April 10, 2025 10 Apr'25

  Spirit of openness helps banks get serious about stopping scams

  Recent announcements show that banks, financial services firms and IT companies are increasing efforts to curb online scams

• April 10, 2025 10 Apr'25

  Investigative reporter files legal action over police surveillance and social media monitoring

  Journalist complains to Investigatory Powers Tribunal after Northern Irish police placed him under surveillance as he investigated their handling of a high-profile death

• April 08, 2025 08 Apr'25

  NCSC issues warning over Chinese Moonshine and BadBazaar spyware

  Two spyware variants are being used to target the mobile devices of persons of interest to Chinese intelligence, including individuals in the Taiwanese, Tibetan and Uyghur communities

• April 08, 2025 08 Apr'25

  Spoofing vuln threatens security of WhatsApp Windows users

  Meta has disclosed and patched a potentially dangerous spoofing flaw in WhatsApp for Windows that could have caused big problems for unwitting users

• April 08, 2025 08 Apr'25

  Over £18m stolen from Santander UK customers in first three months of year

  Bank’s latest quarterly report on scams said over £18m was stolen from its UK customers by scammers

• April 08, 2025 08 Apr'25

  UK authority’s search for answers over deleted Julian Assange emails comes too late to retrieve data

  The Crown Prosecution Service has finally searched for information about the destruction of emails from the WikiLeaks founder’s lawyer – but too late to retrieve data about the deleted documents

• April 07, 2025 07 Apr'25

  Court rejects Home Office bid for blanket secrecy in hearings over Apple encryption case

  Investigatory Powers Tribunal rejects Home Office arguments that identifying the ‘bare details’ of legal action by Apple would damage national security, leaving open possibility of future open court hearings

• April 04, 2025 04 Apr'25

  Norway and Nordic financial sector ramps up cyber security

  Finans Norge sets up cyber security unit CTSU to support the finance sector in Norway amid increasing threats

• April 03, 2025 03 Apr'25

  Are LLM firewalls the future of AI security?

  As large language models permeate industries, experts at Black Hat Asia 2025 debate the need for LLM firewalls and explore their role in fending off emerging AI threats

• April 01, 2025 01 Apr'25

  Gmail ‘bubble’ encryption may be an S/MIME killer, says Google

  Marking the 21st anniversary of Gmail, Google is preparing to roll out an end-to-end encryption standard for its email service in hopes of democratising encryption and leaving old standards in the dust

• April 01, 2025 01 Apr'25

  Apple devices are at ‘most risk’ in UK following government ‘backdoor’ order

  Home Office refuses to answer questions from Lords over technical capability notice issued against Apple’s iCloud Advanced Data Protection encryption services

• March 31, 2025 31 Mar'25

  Reassessing UK law enforcement data adequacy

  Computer Weekly takes stock of proposed changes to the UK’s law enforcement data protection rules and how it could affect data adequacy with the European Union

• March 31, 2025 31 Mar'25

  UK law enforcement data adequacy at risk

  The UK government says reforms to police data protection rules will help to simplify law enforcement data processing, but critics argue the changes will lower protection to the point where the UK risks losing its European data adequacy

• March 27, 2025 27 Mar'25

  Research team demonstrates certified quantum randomness

  A 56-qubit trapped ion quantum computer from Quantinuum has demonstrated quantum supremacy as a random number generator

• March 26, 2025 26 Mar'25

  Advanced Software fined £3m over LockBit attack

  The ICO has issued a £3m fine to software provider Advanced in the wake of security failings that led to significant disruption to NHS customers in a ransomware attack

• March 25, 2025 25 Mar'25

  ETSI launches first post-quantum encryption standard

  European telco standards body launches its first post-quantum cryptography cyber standard, covering the security of critical data and communications

• March 25, 2025 25 Mar'25

  Scottish police hold almost no data on facial recognition use

  It is currently impossible to assess Police Scotland’s use of retrospective facial recognition for efficacy and fairness because the force does not collect meaningful information that would enable a proper evaluation

• March 25, 2025 25 Mar'25

  Tech specialist files legal claim after being refused security clearance for MI6 role

  An IT specialist has asked the Investigatory Powers Tribunal to investigate a series of hacking incidents after disclosing their social media accounts to MI6 vetting staff

• March 20, 2025 20 Mar'25

  NCSC proposes three-step plan to move to quantum-safe encryption

  The NCSC urges service providers, large organisations and critical sectors to start thinking today about how they will migrate to post-quantum cryptography over the next decade