News

Security policy and user awareness

• January 07, 2025 07 Jan'25

  Regional skills plan to boost UK cyber defences

  Over 30 projects in England and Northern Ireland will receive a share of a £1.9m fund designed to enhance cyber security skills and protect small businesses

• December 19, 2024 19 Dec'24

  LockBit ransomware gang teases February 2025 return

  An individual associated with the LockBit ransomware gang has broken cover to tease details of a new phase of the cyber criminal operation's activity, which they claim is set to begin in February 2025

• December 19, 2024 19 Dec'24

  Latest attempt to override UK’s outdated hacking law stalls

  Amendments to the Data Bill that would have given the UK cyber industry a boost by updating restrictive elements of the Computer Misuse Act have failed to progress beyond a Lords committee

• December 19, 2024 19 Dec'24

  French court refuses to expedite trial of Sky ECC cryptophone distributor Thomas Herdman

  Canadian businessman Thomas Herdman, who was arrested by French police despite agreeing a deal to cooperate with US investigators, has been denied bail after 42 months in pre-trial detention

• 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 16, 2024 16 Dec'24

  The Security Interviews: Stephen McDermid, Okta

  Okta regional chief security officer for EMEA sits down with Dan Raywood to talk about how Okta is pivoting to a secure-by-design champion

• 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 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 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 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 02, 2024 02 Dec'24

  APAC businesses face cyber onslaught

  The Asia-Pacific region is a cyber security hotspot, enduring significantly more cyber attacks than the global average, with AI-powered threats and skills shortages exacerbating the problem

• 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

• November 28, 2024 28 Nov'24

  Energy sector’s digital shift opens door to cyber threats

  The transition to renewable energy and the increasing integration of IT and OT systems in the energy sector are creating new cyber security challenges

• November 26, 2024 26 Nov'24

  Blue Yonder ransomware attack breaks systems at UK retailers

  UK supermarkets continue to deal with the impact of a ransomware attack on the systems of supply chain software supplier Blue Yonder, which is disrupting multiple aspects of their businesses including deliveries and staff management

• November 26, 2024 26 Nov'24

  Russian threat actors poised to cripple power grid, UK warns

  UK government escalates cyber rhetoric in a speech at a Nato event, saying Russian advanced persistent threats stand ready to conduct cyber attacks that could ‘turn off the lights for millions’

• November 25, 2024 25 Nov'24

  Microsoft calls on Trump to ‘push harder’ on cyber threats

  Microsoft’s Brad Smith urges president-elect Donald Trump to keep the faith when it comes to fighting back against hostile cyber actors from China, Iran and Russia

• 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

  BianLian cyber gang drops encryption-based ransomware

  The Australian and American cyber authorities have published updated intelligence on the BianLian ransomware gang, which has undergone a rapid evolution in tactics

• 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 18, 2024 18 Nov'24

  AWS widening scope of MFA programme after early success

  AWS reports strong take-up of multi-factor authentication among customers since making it compulsory for root users earlier this year, and plans to expand the scope of its IAM programme in spring 2025

• 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

  Ping CEO on ForgeRock integration and future of identity

  Ping Identity CEO Andre Durand discusses the company’s unified roadmap, commitment to customer stability and growth plans in the evolving identity landscape following the merger with ForgeRock

• November 12, 2024 12 Nov'24

  Microsoft fixes 89 CVEs on penultimate Patch Tuesday of 2024

  High-profile vulns in NTLM, Windows Task Scheduler, Active Directory Certificate Services and Microsoft Exchange Server should be prioritised from November’s Patch Tuesday update

• November 12, 2024 12 Nov'24

  Zero-day exploits increasingly sought out by attackers

  Threat actors increasingly favour zero-day exploits to attack their victims before patches become available, according to the NCSC and CISA, which have just published a list of the most widely used vulnerabilities of 2023

• November 07, 2024 07 Nov'24

  Google Cloud MFA enforcement meets with approval

  Latest Google Cloud policy to enforce multifactor authentication across its user base is welcomed by security professionals

• November 07, 2024 07 Nov'24

  AI a force multiplier for the bad guys, say cyber pros

  CIISec’s annual report on the security profession finds evidence of growing concern that artificial intelligence will ultimately prove more useful to threat actors than defenders

• November 01, 2024 01 Nov'24

  CISA looks to global collaboration as fraught US election begins

  The US' CISA cyber agency has unveiled a two-year International Strategic Plan to advance collaboration and improve resilience against shared risks and threats

• October 29, 2024 29 Oct'24

  EMEA businesses siphoning budgets to hit NIS2 goals

  With NIS2 now in effect, European business leaders are having to divert budget from elsewhere to achieve compliance

• October 28, 2024 28 Oct'24

  Russian Linux kernel maintainers blocked

  To ensure compliance, the Linux kernel will no longer allow Russian software developers to work on maintaining the codebase

• 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 25, 2024 25 Oct'24

  Dutch critical infrastructure at risk despite high leadership confidence

  Stark paradox in Dutch cyber security landscape has business leaders expressing high confidence in their IT infrastructure as cyber attacks rise

• October 22, 2024 22 Oct'24

  Danish government reboots cyber security council amid AI expansion

  Denmark’s government relaunches digital security initiative to protect business sectors and society at large

• October 21, 2024 21 Oct'24

  Can AI be secure? Experts discuss emerging threats and AI safety

  International cyber security experts call for global cooperation and proactive strategies to address the security challenges posed by artificial intelligence

• October 17, 2024 17 Oct'24

  EU cyber security bill NIS2 hits compliance deadline

  The EU’s NIS2 bill will harmonise how companies and member states approach cyber security, but its success will depend on how well it is implemented and enforced

• October 15, 2024 15 Oct'24

  NCSC expands school cyber service to academies and private schools

  The National Cyber Security Centre is expanding its PDNS for Schools service to encompass a wider variety of institutions up and down the UK

• October 10, 2024 10 Oct'24

  NCSC issues fresh alert over wave of Cozy Bear activity

  The NCSC, FBI and NSA publish updated warning about Cozy Bear’s activities, highlighting a range of vulnerabilities the threat actor is using to set up its cyber attacks

• October 10, 2024 10 Oct'24

  Government launches cyber standard for local authorities

  Local government bodies are being invited to take advantage of a new NCSC-derived Cyber Assessment Framework to help enhance their resilience and ward off cyber attacks

• October 09, 2024 09 Oct'24

  MoneyGram customer data breached in attack

  MoneyGram confirms that customer data has been stolen in an incident that appears to have started with a social engineering attack on its IT helpdesk staff

• October 09, 2024 09 Oct'24

  Five zero-days to be fixed on October Patch Tuesday

  Stand-out vulnerabilities in Microsoft’s latest Patch Tuesday drop include problems in Microsoft Management Console and the Windows MSHTML Platform

• October 09, 2024 09 Oct'24

  UK Cyber Team seeks future security professionals

  Young people from across the UK have a chance to represent the country in international competitions and advance their future careers in cyber security

• October 08, 2024 08 Oct'24

  Secureworks: Ransomware takedowns didn’t put off cyber criminals

  The number of active cyber criminal ransomware gangs has surged by almost a third in the space of 12 months, according to the latest intelligence from Secureworks

• October 04, 2024 04 Oct'24

  NCSC celebrates eight years as Horne blows in

  Outgoing NCSC interim leader Felicity Oswald shares her thoughts on the body’s work over the past eight years as she hands over the reins to incoming CEO Richard Horne

• October 03, 2024 03 Oct'24

  Microsoft files lawsuit to seize domains used by Russian spooks

  Microsoft has been given permission to seize multiple domains used by the Russian state threat actor Star Blizzard as part of a coordinated disruption effort undertaken ahead of the US elections

• October 02, 2024 02 Oct'24

  UK and Singapore to collaborate on supporting ransomware victims

  At the fourth Counter Ransomware Initiative Summit in the US, both the UK and Singapore have committed to working on new guidance designed to better support victims and undermine cyber criminal business models