News

Regulatory compliance and standard requirements

• May 12, 2021 12 May'21

  UK government publishes Online Safety Bill draft

  Bill builds on previous commitments by the government, which has added new measures to uphold democracy and freedom of speech while making tech giants more accountable

• May 11, 2021 11 May'21

  Collaboration key to success of UK’s Cyber Security Council

  The founders of the UK’s Cyber Security Council have been setting out their plans to professionalise the cyber sector at the NCSC’s CyberUK 2021 event

• May 11, 2021 11 May'21

  Government to reform Computer Misuse Act

  Home secretary Priti Patel will explore reforming the Computer Misuse Act as calls mount for the 31-year-old law to be updated to reflect the changed online world

• May 11, 2021 11 May'21

  Swedish court finds ambiguities in hacked EncroChat cryptophone evidence

  Defence lawyer claims evidence obtained by hacking the EncroChat encrypted phone network has ‘no legal’ value following Swedish appeal court ruling

• May 11, 2021 11 May'21

  Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack has grave consequences

  The ramifications of a major ransomware attack against a US fuel pipeline operator could spread far and wide

• May 07, 2021 07 May'21

  NCSC publishes smart city security guidelines

  Guidance for local authorities, IT and cyber professionals aims to ensure the security of connected, smart city projects

• May 07, 2021 07 May'21

  Cyber accreditation to improve legal standing of security pros

  Institute of Cyber Digital Investigations Professionals will help incident responders and cyber investigators get the professional recognition they deserve

• May 06, 2021 06 May'21

  Government urged to add scam protections to Online Safety Bill

  Group of organisations calls for the government to use the Online Safety Bill to protect people from cyber scams

• May 06, 2021 06 May'21

  Scammers accidentally reveal fake Amazon review data

  More than 13 million records relating to an organised fake review scam have been found on an unsecured ElasticSearch database, implicating hundreds of thousands of people in unethical behaviour

• May 06, 2021 06 May'21

  HSBC blocks £249m in UK fraud with voice biometrics

  HSBC voice recognition technology has reduced telephone banking fraud as demand for the channel increases

• May 05, 2021 05 May'21

  Why ITAM can aid IT-fuelled business recovery

  As a sense of normality returns, we look at why IT asset management is the stealth tool for clearing a path towards greater digitisation

• May 04, 2021 04 May'21

  Half of organisations breached via a third party in 12 months

  New report highlights the risks of outsourcing key business processes without paying due care and attention to your service provider’s security

• April 30, 2021 30 Apr'21

  EncroChat: Top lawyer warned CPS of risk that phone hacking warrants could be unlawful

  Lord David Anderson QC warned prosecutors that there were formidable arguments against the lawfulness of a police operation to infiltrate the encrypted phone network, EncroChat

• April 30, 2021 30 Apr'21

  MPs accuse government of unduly interfering in information commissioner appointment

  Cross-party group of MPs says government is influencing the appointment of a new information commissioner by explicitly seeking a candidate who will support its policy agenda, rather than regulate independently

• April 29, 2021 29 Apr'21

  G7 countries to cooperate on digital regulation

  Digital and technology ministers outline their agenda for how technology can be used to facilitate the post-Covid recovery, signalling closer collaboration in key areas of the digital economy

• April 28, 2021 28 Apr'21

  Covid-19 security challenges leave bank customers at risk

  Challenges arising from the pandemic have left gaping holes in banking security, putting consumers at risk of fraud

• April 28, 2021 28 Apr'21

  Recruiters can’t afford to hold out for cyber ‘unicorns’

  The perfect security candidate is hard to find, so hiring policy needs to be more pragmatic

• April 28, 2021 28 Apr'21

  Office 365 compromise likely led to Merseyrail ransomware attack

  Compromise of Merseyrail employee data seems to have begun after a key email account was hacked

• April 28, 2021 28 Apr'21

  NHS app to serve as vaccine passport for foreign holidays

  Existing NHS app will have vaccine passport functionality added to it, transport secretary confirms

• April 27, 2021 27 Apr'21

  UK supermarkets to trial age estimation tech for alcohol purchases

  Biometric age estimation technology developed by Yoti to be tested in UK supermarkets for alcohol purchases as part of government-led digital identities initiative

• April 27, 2021 27 Apr'21

  The Security Interviews: Making sense of outbound email security

  Screening inbound emails is an accepted part of an organisation’s security posture, but the topic of securing outbound traffic is less often discussed. Zivver’s Rick Goud is on a mission to change this

• April 22, 2021 22 Apr'21

  GCHQ: Cyber investment a guarantor of UK’s global status

  GCHQ director Jeremy Fleming sets out a vision for the UK’s cyber security future

• April 21, 2021 21 Apr'21

  NCSC offers teachers free cyber security training

  The NCSC’s latest security training offer builds on a package of measures designed to protect schools from cyber attack

• April 21, 2021 21 Apr'21

  EU lays out plans to regulate AI development

  Proposal aims to encourage the development of ethical artificial intelligence systems that do not infringe the human rights of EU citizens

• April 20, 2021 20 Apr'21

  Health app myGP adds Covid-19 vaccine passport function

  The new feature is described as the UK’s first NHS-assured Covid-19 certification feature

• April 20, 2021 20 Apr'21

  UK’s proposed IoT cyber security law gathers momentum

  New statistics appear to vindicate UK government proposals to force suppliers to be upfront about IoT security

• April 18, 2021 18 Apr'21

  Government puts Facebook under pressure to stop end-to-end encryption over child abuse risks

  Facebook faces growing government pressure to abandon its plans to offer users end-to-end encryption to secure the privacy of their messages as the NSPCC raises concerns about child protection

• April 16, 2021 16 Apr'21

  Finnish government strengthens country’s IT network security

  Finland’s government has created a new national organisation to help public and private bodies improve network security

• April 15, 2021 15 Apr'21

  Biden sanctions Russia over SolarWinds cyber attacks

  US president imposes new sanctions on Russia following malicious cyber attacks against the US and allies

• April 15, 2021 15 Apr'21

  Ireland’s DPC launches probe into Facebook leak

  The Irish Data Protection Commission has launched an ‘own volition’ inquiry into the leak of data from 500 million Facebook profiles

• April 11, 2021 11 Apr'21

  Executive interview: Unleashing blockchain’s potential

  Labrys founder and CEO Lachlan Feeney offers his observations about blockchain adoption in Australia, and what his firm is doing to help organisations unleash the full potential of the technology

• April 08, 2021 08 Apr'21

  Nation-state cyber attacks double in three years

  Cyber attacks backed by nation states are becoming more frequent and varied, moving the world closer to a point of ‘advanced cyber-conflict’, according to a University of Surrey research project

• April 07, 2021 07 Apr'21

  A billion extra contactless payments in year since limit increase

  Visa said there was an extra one billion contactless payments made by its customers last year

• April 01, 2021 01 Apr'21

  EncroChat hearings delayed as lawyers seek disclosure on police hacking

  Court hearings precipitated by police cracking the EncroChat secure mobile phone network have been delayed after defence lawyers request further disclosures on police decryption capabilities

• March 31, 2021 31 Mar'21

  NHS is apparently closing security skills gap

  By the end of 2020, there were more than twice as many in-house security professionals at NHS trusts as there were two years before

• March 31, 2021 31 Mar'21

  Cyber Security Council to champion UK security pros

  A new cyber security professional body has launched with the aim of developing and promoting UK cyber security excellence globally and growing the skills base

• March 31, 2021 31 Mar'21

  Nordics run information sharing on digital vaccination passports

  Nordic countries advance plans for digital Covid-19 vaccination passports in a bid to kick-start their economies

• March 26, 2021 26 Mar'21

  Surveillance expert ‘unfairly’ refused job at intelligence regulator after MI5 intervened

  The Home Office unfairly refused Eric Kind, a specialist in criminal justice and UK surveillance law, clearance for a job at an intelligence watchdog after MI5 claimed he was “insufficiently deferential”

• March 25, 2021 25 Mar'21

  Cyber security complacency puts UK at risk, says NCSC head

  National Cyber Security Centre CEO Lindy Cameron, in her maiden speech in the role, warns of challenges ahead for the UK and sets out the future agenda for cyber

• March 24, 2021 24 Mar'21

  UK faces significant cyber talent shortfall

  Cyber security sector is struggling to attract the talented workforce it needs

• March 22, 2021 22 Mar'21

  Unionised drivers call on Microsoft to suspend Uber’s Face API licences

  Unionised private hire drivers in the UK are calling for Microsoft to suspend Uber’s licences to use its Face API technology after claims the ride-hailing firm’s ID-checking system has led to drivers losing their jobs and having licences revoked

• March 18, 2021 18 Mar'21

  Eastern Health reports ‘cyber incident’, takes systems offline

  Australian healthcare provider Eastern Health takes IT systems offline as a precaution while it looks into a cyber incident

• March 17, 2021 17 Mar'21

  Digital Green Certificate proposed for travel in Europe

  Digital Green Certificates will supposedly help re-establish freedom of movement within the European Union

• March 17, 2021 17 Mar'21

  Cyber sector welcomes PM’s defence review

  Security commentators approve of measures to improve the UK’s cyber resilience, strengthen its R&D and skills base, lead on the development of new technology and promote a free, open, peaceful and secure global internet

• March 16, 2021 16 Mar'21

  Uber and Ola ordered to hand over more data to drivers

  A Dutch court has rejected Uber and Ola’s claims that drivers collectively taking action to access their data amounts to an abuse of their individual data access rights, laying the ground for drivers to form their own union-controlled data trust

• March 16, 2021 16 Mar'21

  MoD partners playing fast and loose with confidential data

  Clear spike in data breach incidents at defence partners may reflect better reporting standards, claims MoD

• March 16, 2021 16 Mar'21

  ST Engineering teams up with Google Cloud

  Singapore’s ST Engineering and Google Cloud will explore offering secure cloud services for organisations in regulated industries

• March 15, 2021 15 Mar'21

  UK plans ‘full spectrum’ approach to national cyber security

  PM Boris Johnson expands on proposed National Cyber Force and plans to set up a north of England Cyber Corridor

• March 15, 2021 15 Mar'21

  Judges refuse EncroChat defendants’ appeal to Supreme Court

  Experts suggest Parliament and Investigatory Powers Tribunal need to consider the implications of a court decision on police use of data from the EncroChat phone network

• March 12, 2021 12 Mar'21

  CW Innovation Awards: Fighting fake Covid-19 vaccines with blockchain

  A blockchain-based system developed by Singapore-based Zuellig Pharma can help governments and healthcare providers weed out fake vaccines and manage vaccine distribution and administration

• March 11, 2021 11 Mar'21

  UK digital regulators set out plans to strengthen cooperation

  Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum outlines plans for the coming year, marking a shift towards a more collaborative regulatory approach

• March 11, 2021 11 Mar'21

  Attack on surveillance cameras a warning over security, ethics

  The attack on a video surveillance startup by a hacktivist group raises questions not just over cyber security, but the use and extent of surveillance technology

• March 09, 2021 09 Mar'21

  EBA restores services after Microsoft Exchange attack

  European Banking Authority was breached through vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server, but is now back online

• March 05, 2021 05 Mar'21

  Nottinghamshire schools suspend online learning following cyber attack

  Cyber attack on central trust that manages secondary schools in Nottinghamshire leaves them unable to access IT systems and deliver remote lessons

• March 05, 2021 05 Mar'21

  Singapore Airlines the latest victim of supply chain attack

  A restricted set of data of over 580,000 frequent flyer members of Singapore Airlines was exposed in a supply chain attack against Sita’s passenger service system

• March 04, 2021 04 Mar'21

  UK contactless payment limit more than doubled

  UK increases the amount that can be spent in one go using a contactless payments card to £100

• March 04, 2021 04 Mar'21

  Veritas looks beyond NetBackup for growth in ASEAN

  Veritas has seen increased demand for its availability tools as it looks to address backup and recovery requirements from cloud, database and VMware workloads

• March 02, 2021 02 Mar'21

  EU seeking pan-European Covid-19 passport solution

  The European Union’s proposal could see the creation of a Covid-19 vaccine passport to enable travel across the EU

• March 01, 2021 01 Mar'21

  Digital secretary Dowden outlines UK post-Brexit data approach

  The UK government is searching for a new information commissioner with an updated remit to use data to support growth and innovation, and plans on reaching new international data partnerships

• February 25, 2021 25 Feb'21

  GCHQ sets out rules of the road for AI in cyber

  A paper produced by GCHQ shows how the intelligence agency can use artificial intelligence responsibly as a tool to protect the UK’s national security

• February 25, 2021 25 Feb'21

  Npower shuts off app after credential stuffing attack

  Npower customers will have to log in to their accounts on its website after its app was withdrawn following a security breach

• February 24, 2021 24 Feb'21

  Transport for NSW hit by Accellion breach

  Australian state agency Transport for New South Wales is the latest victim of the supply chain attack against Accellion’s legacy file transfer system

• February 24, 2021 24 Feb'21

  Vaccine passports prove an ethical minefield

  Privacy campaigners warn that vaccine passports may turn out to be discriminatory and invasive, while technologists agree careful consideration must be given to their design

• February 24, 2021 24 Feb'21

  Is Clubhouse safe, and should CISOs stop its use?

  With more concerns being raised over the privacy and security of social media app Clubhouse, we consider whether security teams should consider restricting or stopping employees from using it

• February 23, 2021 23 Feb'21

  CyberScotland offers centralised security resource hub

  Newly launched partnership brings together security resources for individuals and organisations across Scotland

• February 22, 2021 22 Feb'21

  Pandemic has exposed fractures in cyber fraud strategy

  RUSI report urges a bolder and more coordinated response to cyber-enabled fraud as the pandemic lays bear the scale of the problem

• February 19, 2021 19 Feb'21

  European Commission proposes UK data adequacy agreement

  The publication of two draft data adequacy decisions brings the UK closer to a final positive decision, which will enable the continued free flow of data between the EU and the UK if green-lit by member states

• February 19, 2021 19 Feb'21

  Biden will act on cyber security to fix SolarWinds mess

  US will take action to modernise its defences in the wake of the SolarWinds attack, says US government cyber lead Anne Neuberger

• February 18, 2021 18 Feb'21

  Swedish police fined for unlawful use of facial-recognition app

  Sweden’s data watchdog has found that Swedish police failed to conduct the data protection checks required by law before using controversial facial-recognition tool

• February 18, 2021 18 Feb'21

  City of Helsinki adopts MyData principles to improve digital services

  Principles on the use of personal data for the benefit of society will guide Finnish capital’s ambitious digital plans

• February 18, 2021 18 Feb'21

  2020 a record year for cyber, thanks to Covid

  The UK’s cyber industry now employs close to 50,000 people and contributes billions to the economy

• February 18, 2021 18 Feb'21

  Assessing UK law enforcement data adequacy

  Data protection experts discuss the consequences of achieving data adequacy between the UK and EU for the UK’s intelligence services and criminal justice sector

• February 17, 2021 17 Feb'21

  Security pros agree: We need to take a break

  As many as 85% of security staff engage in leisure activities during working hours, but they have excellent reasons for doing so

• February 16, 2021 16 Feb'21

  Qatar regulator launches platform to monitor human understanding of financial crime

  Qatari financial services regulator works with global body to provide digital platform to assess whether financial services workers understand how to prevent financial crime

• February 11, 2021 11 Feb'21

  Hacked Finnish therapy business collapses

  Vastaamo, the Finnish psychotherapy centre whose patients were blackmailed by a cyber criminal gang, has filed for bankruptcy

• February 11, 2021 11 Feb'21

  Singtel falls prey to supply chain attack

  The Singapore telco reveals that its Accellion file sharing system was illegally hacked in a supply chain attack

• February 09, 2021 09 Feb'21

  Facebook sued for data-sharing practices with third parties

  Data protection claim filed in London against social media giant for its alleged failure to give at least one million users in England and Wales meaningful control over their personal data

• February 09, 2021 09 Feb'21

  ‘Batman Begins’ cyber attack is a warning to CNI providers

  A thwarted cyber attack in a Florida town that could have resulted in the poisoning of the water supply is a timely reminder of the vulnerability of critical services

• February 08, 2021 08 Feb'21

  UK Cyber Security Council to take charge of skills strategy

  New government-backed body will be set up to boost careers opportunities and professional standards in the cyber security sector

• February 08, 2021 08 Feb'21

  Too few UK organisations offering cyber training for remote work

  Nearly a year into the pandemic, a study reveals a concerning tendency for organisations not to bother offering security training for remote workers

• February 08, 2021 08 Feb'21

  Data of thousands of Dutch citizens leaked from government Covid-19 systems

  Weak access controls and outdated systems blamed for leaking of the personal details of thousands of Dutch citizens tested for Covid-19

• February 05, 2021 05 Feb'21

  EncroChat: Appeal court finds ‘digital phone tapping’ admissible in criminal trials

  Appeal Court decides EncroChat-encrypted phone records can be used in criminal trials. Critics say the decision means phone tapping no longer has a ‘clear meaning in the digital age’

• February 04, 2021 04 Feb'21

  Fraud and cyber crime still vastly under-reported

  The scale of digitally enabled crime in the UK is dramatically under-reported, new statistics indicate

• February 01, 2021 01 Feb'21

  ‘Victory for free speech and openness’ after tribunal confirms no territorial restrictions to FOIA

  Freedom of information tribunal rules that investigative journalists and others can use the Freedom of Information Act if they live outside the UK or are not British citizens

• January 29, 2021 29 Jan'21

  Hunting and anti-hunting groups locked in tit-for-tat row over data gathering

  The leaking of internal documents has prompted a row between pro- and anti-hunting groups about the legality of the other’s data collection practices

• January 29, 2021 29 Jan'21

  Biometrics ethics group addresses public-private use of facial recognition

  Home Office’s Biometrics and Forensics Ethics Group releases briefing note on the use of live facial recognition in public–private collaborations following a year-long investigation

• January 29, 2021 29 Jan'21

  Human factor dominates Australia’s latest data breach numbers

  The number of data breaches resulting from human error increased by 18% in the second half of 2020, according to Australian government’s latest notifiable data breaches report

• January 26, 2021 26 Jan'21

  Conservatives broke data law to racially profile millions

  The Conservative Party acted illegally in collecting data that inferred voters’ ethnicity and religious background, a Select Committee has heard

• January 26, 2021 26 Jan'21

  ICO extends commissioner Denham’s term of office

  Extension of Elizabeth Denham’s tenure as information commissioner will give the government more time to appoint her successor

• January 21, 2021 21 Jan'21

  Two-thirds of CISOs say they’ll be cyber attack victims this year

  Security professionals are ever alert to the threats they face, but some still seem to think it is unlikely they will be attacked

• January 21, 2021 21 Jan'21

  Interview: Tony Porter, chief privacy officer, Corsight AI

  Tony Porter speaks to Computer Weekly about the changes in facial-recognition during his time as surveillance camera commissioner, the ethics of using the technology, and his new role as chief privacy officer at Corsight AI

• January 19, 2021 19 Jan'21

  UK fraud agency deploys ArcGIS dashboard for data sharing

  The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau says it has achieved improved transparency with the public, as well as saving 3,500 staff hours and £100,000

• January 19, 2021 19 Jan'21

  Value of GDPR fines shows dramatic increase in 2020

  European regulators imposed almost €160m worth of fines during the past 12 months, a substantial rise

• January 19, 2021 19 Jan'21

  Criminals fiddled stolen Covid-19 vaccine data to damage trust

  Malicious actors manipulated stolen Covid-19 data in a way clearly intended to damage public trust in vaccines, says the EMA

• January 19, 2021 19 Jan'21

  MAS offers guidance on mitigating supply chain threats

  Monetary Authority of Singapore revises its technology risk management guidelines to help the financial sector guard against supply chain attacks

• January 18, 2021 18 Jan'21

  Australians lost A$176m to scams in 2020

  Investment scams topped the list of scams, which grew by 23.1% in 2020 as criminals exploited human psychology using social engineering

• January 15, 2021 15 Jan'21

  150,000 records accidentally wiped from police systems

  Home Office claims data wiped from national police systems only relates to people who have never been convicted of a crime or had further police action taken against them following an arrest

• January 15, 2021 15 Jan'21

  US cyber security agencies get $9bn in Biden plan

  New funding proposals come as US government reels from the impact of the December 2020 SolarWinds attack

• January 14, 2021 14 Jan'21

  All EU states can take data protection cases against Facebook, says EU court

  An opinion from the European Court of Justice has the potential to lead to a flood of privacy complaints against Facebook if upheld

• January 14, 2021 14 Jan'21

  Experian calls for less bureaucratic data regulations

  Open banking requires cross-industry collaboration, but sharing personal data requires explicit consent, which can become a bottleneck