News

Security policy and user awareness

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 10, 2021 10 Jun'21
Risk data shows UK energy sector most vulnerable to cyber attack

New report compiled by insurance firm Hiscox reveals the state of cyber preparedness in the UK and beyond
June 10, 2021 10 Jun'21
Australian organisations face heightened cyber attacks

Nearly three in four Australian organisations experienced cyber attacks that largely resulted from a growing remote workforce in 2020
June 09, 2021 09 Jun'21
Unit 42 warns of emergent Prometheus ransomware

Palo Alto’s Unit 42 shares intel on the emergent Prometheus ransomware gang, with apparent links to the Thanos crew

June 09, 2021 09 Jun'21
Microsoft fixes seven zero-days on its Patch Tuesday rounds

Fixes for six actively-exploited – and one yet-to-be-exploited – zero-day bugs are released in the June 2021 Patch Tuesday update
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
We Open Tech community supports non-binary and trans security pros

New tech community established to advocate for the interests of non-binary people, trans and cis women, trans men, and other marginalised genders in security
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
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 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
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 02, 2021 02 Jun'21
Scottish businesses missing out on Cyber Essentials benefits

More than a third of Scottish businesses do not believe they are adequately prepared to deal with a cyber security incident
June 01, 2021 01 Jun'21
Ex-IT manager stole over £800,000 from NHS trust

A former senior IT manager at an Essex NHS trust has pleaded guilty to defrauding his employer out of more than £800,000
May 31, 2021 31 May'21
Microsoft brings APAC policymakers together in security council

Microsoft’s APAC public sector security council will meet once a quarter to share threat intelligence and best practices for combating cyber threats
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
Security ops teams struggle to switch off at home

Spiralling stress levels among SOC and IT security teams can be attributed mainly to alert overload, says Trend Micro
May 25, 2021 25 May'21
CyberSprinters game gives kids a head start, says NCSC

An online game for primary schools, clubs and youth organisations will teach children aged seven to 11 the fundamentals of staying safe online
May 25, 2021 25 May'21
Threat of group GDPR legal action haunts CISOs

The vast majority of security leaders questioned for a new report say they are concerned about the possibility of group legal settlements against them following a serious data breach
May 25, 2021 25 May'21
McAfee to change terms of auto-renewing consumer plans

Consumers who found their McAfee antivirus contracts auto-renewed will be able to get out of their contracts and get their money back
May 25, 2021 25 May'21
Industry reflects on three years of GDPR

Looking back on 12 tumultuous months, we assess how GDPR has weathered the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit, and consider what the coming year may hold for data protection
May 24, 2021 24 May'21
Air India is latest victim of Sita hack

Data on millions of people who flew with Air India between 2011 and 2021 appears to have been compromised in the recent Sita supply chain attack
May 24, 2021 24 May'21
Dutch researchers build security software to mimic human immune system

Software could help IT systems develop immunity to some cyber attacks in a similar way to how the body fights infection
May 24, 2021 24 May'21
MEPs urge European Commission to revise UK adequacy decisions

Members of the European Parliament are calling for the European Commission to ensure EU citizens have greater privacy rights
May 21, 2021 21 May'21
Lack of developer attention to cloud security prompts alerts

The personal data of over 100 million Android users may have been put at risk through a variety of cloud service misconfigurations
May 20, 2021 20 May'21
Pandemic tech use heightens consumer privacy fears

Report on consumer attitudes to privacy finds evidence of a “heightened sense of fear” as digital footprints expand inexorably
May 20, 2021 20 May'21
Malicious scans for at-risk systems start minutes after disclosure

Statistics collated by Palo Alto Networks reveal malicious actors begin scanning the internet for systems at risk of new CVEs within minutes
May 20, 2021 20 May'21
UK government publishes framework on automated decision-making

The framework focuses on making the use of algorithms and automated decision-making systems within the public sector more ethical, transparent and accountable
May 18, 2021 18 May'21
Irish High Court dismisses legal bid by Facebook over EU-US data transfers

Latest twist in long-running legal battle sees Facebook lose legal bid to prevent the Irish Data Protection Commissioner suspending its transfer of data about European citizens to the US
May 17, 2021 17 May'21
NCSC study to probe disability and neurodiversity in cyber

National Cyber Security Centre and KPMG have launched a new diversity study aiming to capture benchmarks on disability and neurodiversity in cyber
May 17, 2021 17 May'21
Government seeks input on supply chain security

Amid concerns that too few companies are addressing vulnerabilities in their supply chain, DCMS is opening a consultation on new measures to enhance security
May 14, 2021 14 May'21
Dutch police used deep learning model to predict threats to life

Dutch police developed a deep learning model in their EncroChat investigation to predict which messages contain serious threats to life
May 14, 2021 14 May'21
Okta and Auth0 to expand APAC coverage

Okta’s acquisition of rival Auth0 will enable both companies to expand their footprint in the Asia-Pacific region as demand for identity management services soars amid the pandemic
May 13, 2021 13 May'21
Biden beefs up public-private security cooperation

Joe Biden has signed a new Executive Order to harden US cyber security and government networks, with an emphasis on information sharing
May 13, 2021 13 May'21
CISOs weathered the pandemic well, but at personal cost

Over 80% of CISOs think their existing security capabilities stayed strong during the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic, but now face stress and burnout on an unheard-of scale
May 12, 2021 12 May'21
CyberUK 2021: NCSC encourages startups to invest in cyber

National Cyber Security Centre is launching bespoke cyber security guidance aimed at the UK’s valuable startup community
May 12, 2021 12 May'21
UK to fund national cyber teams in Global South

Government will commit millions of pounds to supporting vulnerable countries in establishing cyber capacity
May 12, 2021 12 May'21
Microsoft fixes four critical bugs on lighter Patch Tuesday

Four critical RCE vulnerabilities put users of various Microsoft products at risk, and should be patched right away
May 11, 2021 11 May'21
UK Plc invited to sign up for Early Warning of cyber incidents

The launch of the Early Warning incident notification service is among the enhancements being made by the NCSC to its service packages
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
SolarWinds CEO calls for collective action against state attacks

SolarWinds CEO tells NCSC’s CyberUK conference he is exploring the possibility of collaborating with other companies on collective cyber action against attacks backed by nation states
May 10, 2021 10 May'21
NCSC Active Cyber Defence blocks surge of pandemic scams

The NCSC responded to a surge in online scams last year as it moved to protect both the general public and critical national services during the pandemic
May 07, 2021 07 May'21
NCSC, CISA publish new information on Russia’s Cozy Bear

New intelligence from UK and US cyber agencies suggests that APT29, or Cozy Bear, has been switching up its tactics
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
Google to introduce mandatory MFA for users

In future, holders of Google accounts will have no option but to use multifactor authentication if they want to use the firm’s services
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
April 29, 2021 29 Apr'21
Northern Ireland pilots security training plan for 16-25s

Pilot scheme in Northern Ireland aims to widen access to cyber security careers
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
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
Total cost of ransomware attack heading towards $2m

Sophos’ latest study finds that ransomware attacks are proving increasingly disruptive to their victims’ finances
April 27, 2021 27 Apr'21
Apple OS updates patch multiple security holes

The much-heralded release of the privacy-centric iOS 14.5 also brings patches for multiple CVEs, and users of Apple smartphones, tablets and notebooks are best advised to update as soon as possible
April 27, 2021 27 Apr'21
North London school wins NCSC girls’ cyber challenge

Highgate School in North London is the winner of this year’s CyberFirst Girls security competition
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 26, 2021 26 Apr'21
French legal challenge over EncroChat cryptophone hack could hit UK prosecutions

Lawyers are challenging the legality of a French police operation to harvest tens of thousands of messages from the EncroChat encrypted phone network in a move that could overturn criminal prosecutions in the UK
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 22, 2021 22 Apr'21
Automation, zero-trust, API-based security priorities for EMEA CISOs

Report by FireMon sheds light on buyer behaviour across the EMEA region
April 22, 2021 22 Apr'21
ToxicEye malware exploits Telegram messaging service

The Telegram instant messaging service is being used by malicious actors to manage a remote access trojan called ToxicEye
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
SonicWall Email Security zero-days need urgent patch

Users of SonicWall Email Security are advised to patch immediately, but the supplier is being criticised for the pace of its response
April 21, 2021 21 Apr'21
Time is running out to probe networks for Emotet

Security teams will lose an unprecedented opportunity to gain valuable intelligence to enhance their defences when Emotet is finally ‘executed’ in a few days’ time
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 20, 2021 20 Apr'21
Chinese APT exploits critical CVE in Pulse Secure VPN

A newly disclosed vulnerability in Pulse Secure’s VPN is being exploited by a Chinese advanced persistent threat group – assume compromise and mitigate today
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
Dutch accuse UK of ‘damaging confidence’ by disclosing details of EncroChat police collaboration

The Dutch Public Prosecution Service claims Britain has damaged confidence by disclosing details of an international investigation into the EncroChat encrypted phone network to the courts
April 15, 2021 15 Apr'21
University of Hertfordshire is latest academic cyber attack victim

Multiple systems are offline at the University of Hertfordshire following a cyber attack
April 15, 2021 15 Apr'21
Microsoft is most impersonated brand in phishing attempts

Technology companies continue to be frequently spoofed by cyber criminals in their phishing attempts
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 14, 2021 14 Apr'21
NSA unearths more MS Exchange vulnerabilities

Microsoft patches more critical vulnerabilities in Exchange Server a month after the ProxyLogon incident, after being warned by the US National Security Agency
April 13, 2021 13 Apr'21
MP told to ditch official email over hacking fears

MP Tom Tugendhat claims the intelligence services advised him to switch to the Gmail service due to concerns his parliamentary email could be hacked
April 13, 2021 13 Apr'21
Covid-19 left people feeling vulnerable to cyber crime

Around 15 million people in the UK experienced cybercrime in the past 12 months, with a cumulative 64 million hours wasted dealing with the fallout
April 13, 2021 13 Apr'21
Millions of devices at risk from NAME:WRECK DNS bugs

Newly disclosed set of nine DNS vulnerabilities puts over 100 million consumer, enterprise and industrial IoT devices at risk
April 12, 2021 12 Apr'21
Vaccine passports and travel plans race up Covid threat charts

With lockdown restrictions easing in the UK, cyber criminals are tailoring their phishing lures to new areas of interest
April 09, 2021 09 Apr'21
Egypt, Italy and US most affected in Facebook leak

Researchers at VPN firm Surfshark have been analysing data on 533 million people leaked from Facebook
April 09, 2021 09 Apr'21
NCSC: Using your pet’s name as a password is very stupid

If your email password is still Rex, Rover or Mr Fluffles, it’s probably best to change it, the NCSC has said
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
Facebook ducks calls to apologise over huge data leak

Facebook gives its side of the story as data on millions of its users leaks, but is yet to apologise for security lapses that put half a billion people at risk of compromise
April 06, 2021 06 Apr'21
Facebook data leak could be outside scope of GDPR

Regulators may be unable to do much about leaked data on 533 million Facebook users, as it seems to have been stolen before GDPR came into force
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 30, 2021 30 Mar'21
Ransomware attack on London schools highlights warnings

Ransomware attack on Harris Federation comes just days after a fresh NCSC alert for the education sector
March 30, 2021 30 Mar'21
The Security Interviews: How to secure an F1 team in a pandemic

A multi-year digital transformation programme paid off for F1 team Williams Racing when the 2020 season was abruptly postponed thanks to Covid-19. Learn how the team’s CIO has been supporting remote working and protecting data
March 29, 2021 29 Mar'21
Cyber attack takes Channel Nine off-air

The Australian broadcaster was hit by an alleged ransomware attack that disrupted broadcasting operations in its Sydney studio
March 26, 2021 26 Mar'21
Retailer FatFace pays $2m ransom to Conti cyber criminals

Retailer FatFace paid out a $2m ransom to restore its data following a January 2021 cyber attack by the Conti ransomware syndicate
March 26, 2021 26 Mar'21
Remote working burn-out a factor in security risk

After a year of working from the kitchen table, stress and burn-out are increasing, giving rise to more security risks – and Millennials seem to be particularly affected
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 24, 2021 24 Mar'21
Cyber criminals forging Covid-19 vaccine certificates

Vaccine passports and certificates are gaining mainstream traction, which means cyber criminals are also on the bandwagon
March 23, 2021 23 Mar'21
NCSC beefs up support for education sector after spate of attacks

Refreshed guidance from the NCSC recommends a defence-in-depth strategy as schools and universities face a renewed wave of cyber attacks
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
Vaccine passports cannot put basic rights at risk, warns BCS

BCS warns of challenges to come as the government presses on with its plans for Covid-19 vaccine passports
March 17, 2021 17 Mar'21
Average ransomware cost triples, says report

The average amount paid out by ransomware victims has grown almost threefold to more than $300,000 per incident, according to a report
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
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
Unusual DearCry ransomware uses ‘rare’ approach to encryption

Hybrid approach to encryption used by DearCry bears similarities to WannaCry