News

Privacy and data protection

• January 07, 2025 07 Jan'25

  Saudi Arabia calls for humanitarian AI after tightening screws on rights protesters

  Oppressive state wants global digital identity system at the heart of all AI, to make it trustworthy and prevent it being used for ‘unauthorised surveillance’

• December 31, 2024 31 Dec'24

  Top 10 surveillance, journalism and encryption stories of 2024

  Revelations of covert and unlawful monitoring of journalists and their confidential sources by the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Metropolitan Police attracted a huge amount of attention this year

• December 27, 2024 27 Dec'24

  Top 10 ANZ stories of 2024

  The 2024 tech landscape in Australia and New Zealand was dotted with developments spanning cloud migrations and AI adoption to heightened data security and real-time data streaming

• December 24, 2024 24 Dec'24

  Top 10 police technology stories of 2024

  Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 police technology stories of 2024

• December 20, 2024 20 Dec'24

  Top 10 data and ethics stories of 2024

  Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 data and ethics stories of 2024

• December 18, 2024 18 Dec'24

  The Security Interviews: Martin Lee, Cisco Talos

  Threat intel expert and author Martin Lee, EMEA technical lead for security research at Cisco Talos, joins Computer Weekly to mark the 35th anniversary of the first ever ransomware attack

• December 18, 2024 18 Dec'24

  Top 10 cyber security stories of 2024

  Data breaches, data privacy and protection, and the thorny issue of open source security were all hot topics this year. Meanwhile, security companies frequently found themselves hitting the headlines, and not always for good reasons. Here are ...

• December 18, 2024 18 Dec'24

  Top 10 cyber crime stories of 2024

  From ransomware targeting the NHS to nation-state-backed intrusions, 2024 was another big year for cyber criminals and cyber spooks alike, but they didn't have it all their own way as the good guys fought back

• December 17, 2024 17 Dec'24

  Conservative MP adds to calls for public inquiry over PSNI police spying

  Conservative MP David Davis calls for a public inquiry following a court ruling that the PSNI and Metropolitan Police unlawfully placed journalists under electronic surveillance

• December 17, 2024 17 Dec'24

  Digital Ethics Summit 2024: recognising AI’s socio-technical nature

  At trade association TechUK’s eighth annual Digital Ethics Summit, public officials and industry figures and civil society groups met to discuss the ethical challenges associated with the proliferation of artificial intelligence tools globally and ...

• December 17, 2024 17 Dec'24

  Tribunal criticises PSNI and Met Police for spying operation to identify journalists’ sources

  The Investigatory Powers Tribunal has criticised the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Metropolitan Police for unlawfully spying on journalists

• December 13, 2024 13 Dec'24

  Computer Misuse Act reform gains traction in Parliament

  An amendment to the proposed Data (Access and Use) Bill that will right a 35-year-old wrong and protect security professionals from criminalisation is to be debated at Westminster

• December 12, 2024 12 Dec'24

  Emerging Ymir ransomware heralds more coordinated threats in 2025

  A newly observed ransomware strain has the community talking about more collaboration, and blurred lines, between threat groups next year, according to NCC’s monthly cyber barometer

• December 11, 2024 11 Dec'24

  Russia focuses cyber attacks on Ukraine rather than West despite rising tension

  Computer Weekly talks to GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre operations director Paul Chichester and former NCSC chief executive Ciaran Martin on Russia, China and Salt Typhoon

• December 10, 2024 10 Dec'24

  Dangerous CLFS and LDAP flaws stand out on Patch Tuesday

  Microsoft has fixed over 70 CVEs in its final Patch Tuesday update of the year, and defenders should prioritise a zero-day in the Common Log File System Driver, and another impactful flaw in the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol

• December 10, 2024 10 Dec'24

  iOS vuln leaves user data dangerously exposed

  Jamf threat researchers detail an exploit chain for a recently patched iOS vulnerability that enables a threat actor to steal sensitive data, warning that many organisations are still neglecting mobile updates

• December 10, 2024 10 Dec'24

  UK police continue to hold millions of custody images unlawfully

  Annual report from the biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner of England and Wales highlights the ongoing and unlawful retention millions of custody images of innocent people never charged with a crime by police

• December 10, 2024 10 Dec'24

  DWP ‘fairness analysis’ reveals bias in AI fraud detection system

  Information about people’s age, disability, marital status and nationality influences decisions to investigate benefit claims for fraud, but the Department for Work and Pensions says there are ‘no immediate concerns of unfair treatment’

• December 06, 2024 06 Dec'24

  US TikTok ban imminent after appeal fails

  TikTok’s appeal against a US government ban has failed, with a judge dismissing its arguments that its First Amendment free speech rights are being restricted

• December 06, 2024 06 Dec'24

  TfL cyber attack cost over £30m to date

  TfL provides more detail on the financial impact of the September 2024 cyber attack that crippled several of its online systems

• December 05, 2024 05 Dec'24

  Government agencies urged to use encrypted messaging after Chinese Salt Typhoon hack

  Chinese hacking of US telecom networks raises questions about the exploitation by hostile hacking groups of government backdoors to provide lawful access to telecoms services

• December 05, 2024 05 Dec'24

  Met Police challenged on claim LFR supported by ‘majority of Lewisham residents’

  A community impact assessment for the Met Police’s deployment of live facial-recognition tech in Lewisham brings into question the force’s previous claims to Computer Weekly that its use of the technology is supported by ‘the majority of residents’

• December 04, 2024 04 Dec'24

  Shared digital gateway was source of three NHS ransomware attacks

  Alder Hey children’s hospital confirms ransomware operators accessed its systems through a shared digital gateway, but is standing firm in the face of the gang’s demands

• December 04, 2024 04 Dec'24

  NCA takes out network that laundered ransomware payments

  NCA-led Operation Destabilise disrupts Russian crime networks that funded the drugs and firearms trade in the UK, helped Russian oligarchs duck sanctions, and laundered money stolen from the NHS and others by ransomware gangs

• December 04, 2024 04 Dec'24

  Nordics move to deepen cyber security cooperation

  Nordic countries are increasing collaboration on cyber security amid more sophisticated and aggressive attacks

• December 03, 2024 03 Dec'24

  US updates telco security guidance after mass Chinese hack

  Following the widespread Salt Typhoon hacks of US telecoms operators including AT&T and Verizon, CISA and partner agencies have launched refreshed security guidance for network engineers and defenders alike

• December 03, 2024 03 Dec'24

  F1 heightens fan experiences with the power of Salesforce

  Learn how the technical teams behind Formula One are using Salesforce’s tools to enhance fan activation and engagement at 24 races across the world, and how they are bringing AI into play with Agentforce capabilities

• December 02, 2024 02 Dec'24

  NCSC boss calls for ‘sustained vigilance’ in an aggressive world

  NCSC CEO Richard Horne is to echo wider warnings about the growing number and severity of cyber threats facing the UK as he launches the security body’s eighth annual report

• December 02, 2024 02 Dec'24

  UK economy could see £600m boost through digital IDs for businesses

  Government-backed organisation kicks off initiative to widen use of digital identities, in an effort to streamline financial services and cut hundreds of millions of pounds of economic crime

• November 29, 2024 29 Nov'24

  Swedish authorities urged to discontinue AI welfare system

  Amnesty International is calling on Sweden’s social insurance agency to immediately discontinue its machine learning-based welfare system, following an investigation by Lighthouse Reports and Svenska Dagbladet that found it to be discriminatory

• November 27, 2024 27 Nov'24

  Scientists demonstrate Pixelator deepfake image verification tool

  With the age of deepfake imagery upon us, a team led by York St John University researchers has created a tool to help people ‘navigate the fine line between reality and fabrication’

• November 27, 2024 27 Nov'24

  Further disruption expected after latest NHS cyber attack

  IT and security teams at Wirral University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust continue to work around the clock following a major cyber incident, with services disrupted and no timeline for resolution

• November 25, 2024 25 Nov'24

  Metropolitan Police officer dismissed for unlawfully accessing Sarah Everard files

  Over 100 Met Police officers and staff have been investigated for accessing sensitive data related to the Sarah Everard case, leading to the dismissal of a Roads and Transport officer who accessed the information while off-duty

• November 25, 2024 25 Nov'24

  Geopolitical strife drives increased ransomware activity

  The lines between financially motivated cyber criminals and nation state APTs are rapidly blurring, as geopolitical influences weigh heavily on the threat landscape, according to data from NCC

• November 21, 2024 21 Nov'24

  Microsoft slaps down Egyptian-run rent-a-phish operation

  Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit has conducted a successful takedown of almost 250 malicious websites used in the cyber criminal ONNX phishing-as-a-service operation

• November 20, 2024 20 Nov'24

  Government issues strategic priorities for online safety regulator Ofcom

  Technology secretary Peter Kyle sets out the government’s strategic priorities for how Ofcom should approach regulating online safety, including embedding safety by design and supporting innovation in technologies to help protect people online

• November 18, 2024 18 Nov'24

  Denmark’s AI-powered welfare system fuels mass surveillance

  Research reveals the automated tools used to flag individuals for benefit fraud violate individuals’ privacy and risk discriminating against marginalised groups

• November 18, 2024 18 Nov'24

  UK consumers losing more than ever to holiday scams

  Last Christmas, UK consumers lost over £11m to cyber criminals. This year, to save them from tears, the NCSC and Action Fraud are teaming up to launch an anti-fraud campaign

• November 14, 2024 14 Nov'24

  Williams Racing F1 team supports kids cyber campaign

  A multi-region campaign will teach pre-teen children cyber security basics – with a little help from Formula 1 star Alex Albon

• November 14, 2024 14 Nov'24

  MPs hold first ever debate on live facial recognition

  MPs have held an open debate on police use of live facial recognition technology for the first time since it was initially deployed by the Met Police in August 2016

• November 13, 2024 13 Nov'24

  Ex-boxer fights US government over legality of Sky ECC cryptophone intercepts

  Lawyers for former heavyweight boxer Goran Gogic argue that US prosecutors’ reliance on messages obtained by a European police hacking operation into the SKY ECC encrypted phone network breaches the US constitution

• November 12, 2024 12 Nov'24

  More data stolen in 2023 MOVEit attacks comes to light

  Over a year since the infamous MOVEit Transfer cyber attacks affected thousands of organisations, more new victims have come to light after an anonymous threat actor leaked their data on the dark web

• November 12, 2024 12 Nov'24

  Police cloud project raises data protection concerns despite legal reforms

  Ongoing data protection issues with the use of hyperscale public cloud infrastructure by UK police could complicate the ambitions of nine forces to move their common records management system into the cloud

• November 11, 2024 11 Nov'24

  Fresh concerns over NHS England registries procurement

  Clinicians and technologists behind a number of medical devices registries being brought together by NHS England on a new common platform have accused the health service of flouting public sector procurement regulations

• November 07, 2024 07 Nov'24

  Interview: Petra Molnar, author of ‘The walls have eyes’

  Refugee lawyer and author Petra Molnar speaks to Computer Weekly about the extreme violence people on the move face at borders across the world, and how increasingly hostile anti-immigrant politics is being enabled and reinforced by a ‘lucrative ...

• November 06, 2024 06 Nov'24

  UK government launches AI assurance platform for enterprises

  The platform is designed to drive demand for the UK’s artificial intelligence assurance sector and help build greater trust in the technology by helping businesses identify and mitigate a range of AI-related risks

• November 06, 2024 06 Nov'24

  Starmer announces tech-enabled crackdown on people smuggling

  The UK government has announced a further £75m of funding for its Border Security Command, meaning it will now have £150m over two years to spend on new technologies and staff

• October 30, 2024 30 Oct'24

  RedLine, Meta malwares meet their demise at hands of Dutch cops

  A multinational action led by authorities in the Netherlands has resulted in the takedown of the notorious RedLine and Meta infostealer malwares

• October 28, 2024 28 Oct'24

  UK launches cyber guidance package for tech startups

  The NCSC and NPSA, alongside agencies from the Five Eyes alliance, have issued guidance for startups on how to secure themselves against common cyber threats and targeted industrial espionage

• October 28, 2024 28 Oct'24

  Inside Google Cloud’s secure AI framework

  Google Cloud’s secure AI framework that’s integrated into its Vertex AI platform offers practical tools and guidance to manage the lifecycle, data governance and operational risks of AI