News

Web application security

• April 20, 2020 20 Apr'20

  Zoom and WebEx users targeted by credential stealing attempts

  Videoconferencing apps such as Zoom and Cisco’s WebEx are being targeted by cyber criminals trying to steal users’ personal data

• April 20, 2020 20 Apr'20

  Dutch organisations address business email compromise fraud

  Public-private partnership in the Netherlands works to break the chains used by fraudsters to carry out BEC attacks

• April 17, 2020 17 Apr'20

  EU warns no compromise on privacy as NHS clashes with tech firms on contact tracing

  EU and UK regulators express data privacy concerns days after Silicon Valley giants announce collaboration on contact-tracing apps to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus

• April 15, 2020 15 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Standard Chartered bans employees from Zoom

  Standard Chartered is the first bank to have instructed its staff to refrain from using Zoom

• April 15, 2020 15 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Researcher finds security vulnerability in Slack

  Some common assumptions about the security of cloud-based messaging platform Slack may not be entirely accurate, says an Alien Labs researcher

• April 15, 2020 15 Apr'20

  Microsoft patches 19 critical bugs in another heavy Patch Tuesday

  The volume of vulnerabilities being uncovered by Microsoft remains high, with more than 100 fixes pushed out in April’s Patch Tuesday

• April 14, 2020 14 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Zoom user credentials for sale on dark web

  IntSight researchers say they have found a database containing thousands of Zoom usernames and passwords being sold on the dark web

• April 10, 2020 10 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Warning over surge in Zoom security incidents

  Check Point researchers have observed a surge in suspicious Zoom domains as cyber criminals target popular remote working and collaboration tools

• April 09, 2020 09 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Zoom restricted or banned at multiple organisations

  Use of videoconferencing tool has been banned at Google and in parts of the German and US governments

• April 08, 2020 08 Apr'20

  Despite coronavirus, overall cyber crime volumes hold steady

  The UK’s NCSC and the US’s CISA see little change in overall volumes of cyber crime in spite of the coronavirus crisis – for the time being

• April 07, 2020 07 Apr'20

  Happy developers write secure code, report claims

  DevOps specialist Sonatype claims to have found a direct correlation between satisfied developers and application security hygiene

• April 07, 2020 07 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Criminals using Zoom installer to spread cryptominer

  Videoconferencing application targeted to deliver cryptomining malware to unsuspecting victims

• April 05, 2020 05 Apr'20

  Google data shows high interest in security and remote working

  An analysis of the most Googled technology terms during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the scale of the cyber security challenge presented by the crisis

• April 02, 2020 02 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Magecart attacks on online retailers jump 20%

  RiskIQ researchers have observed a sharp uptick in Magecart credit card attacks, driven by increased traffic to online retailers during the coronavirus pandemic

• April 02, 2020 02 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Is Zoom safe and should security teams ban it?

  Zoom’s rapid rise to prominence has highlighted a score of security problems with the service. Should CISOs try to steer their organisations away from it, or ban it outright?

• March 31, 2020 31 Mar'20

  Too late to protect online privacy, say Brits

  Most UK consumers are concerned about data privacy, but think it’s too late to do much about it, according to a report

• March 31, 2020 31 Mar'20

  Houseparty denies hack as credential stuffing attacks spread

  Social media service denies its service has been hacked, and is offering a million-dollar bounty to anybody who can prove otherwise

• March 27, 2020 27 Mar'20

  Lorca calls on security scaleups to tackle coronavirus challenge

  Lorca innovation programme has launched an open call for its next cohort of cyber security scaleups, with a timely focus on coronavirus challenges

• March 26, 2020 26 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: What are the latest free cyber security offers?

  We round up the latest free offers on cyber security products and services being made available during the Covid-19 coronavirus crisis

• March 26, 2020 26 Mar'20

  Tupperware fixes hacked site, but questions remain over response

  Kitchenware brand removes active digital credit card skimmer from its website and insists it takes security seriously despite ignoring repeated attempts to contact it

• March 26, 2020 26 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: Be alert to rogue mobile apps exploiting outbreak

  Well-meaning developers are beginning to offer medical apps to monitor coronavirus symptoms and provide information on the pandemic. Opportunists and cyber criminals are not far behind them

• March 24, 2020 24 Mar'20

  Tekya auto-clicker malware exploits kids’ Android apps

  Google has removed multiple apps for children that were found to contain Tekya auto-clicker malware

• March 23, 2020 23 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: Kaspersky, Bitdefender make products free to NHS

  Kaspersky and Bitdefender have both made various products and services available free to healthcare customers as the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic intensifies

• March 23, 2020 23 Mar'20

  Thousands of Netflix, Disney+ streaming accounts being stolen

  Proofpoint has urged users of streaming services to be alert to cyber criminals hijacking their accounts

• March 20, 2020 20 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: Sans Institute issues cyber security advice for parents

  With schools now shut across the UK, parents will bear more responsibility for keeping children safe online and educating them about online harms

• March 19, 2020 19 Mar'20

  Volume of computer misuse incidents falling, says ONS

  Downward trend comes despite an overall increase in fraud, according to new statistics

• March 17, 2020 17 Mar'20

  Covid-19: NCSC issues secure remote working guidance

  With hundreds of thousands likely to be working remotely for some time, the UK’s NCSC has issued best practice guidance to enable security teams to support them

• March 13, 2020 13 Mar'20

  Coronavirus-linked hacks likely as Czech hospital comes under attack

  The world of cyber security is on high alert to heightened vulnerabilities as the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus changes daily life across Europe

• March 12, 2020 12 Mar'20

  Cookie-stealing trojans found lurking on Android phones

  Kaspersky discovers two new Android malware modifications that could give hackers control of their victims’ social media accounts

• March 11, 2020 11 Mar'20

  Microsoft locks down new vulnerability with EternalBlue echoes

  Microsoft has moved to get ahead of a serious remote code execution vulnerability in Microsoft Server Message Block 3.1.1, which was accidentally disclosed then missed in its March Patch Tuesday update

• March 11, 2020 11 Mar'20

  Microsoft fixes 26 critical vulnerabilities in another heavy Patch Tuesday

  March’s Patch Tuesday is another big one for Microsoft, addressing 115 vulnerabilities, 26 of them critical

• March 10, 2020 10 Mar'20

  Schoolgirl security experts prepare to do battle

  The finals of the CyberFirst Girls contest will take place on 16 March as the culmination of the NCSC’s annual competition to unearth future security talent

• March 10, 2020 10 Mar'20

  VAT software supplier exposed data of millions

  Eight million sales records belonging to UK and EU consumers left exposed due to misconfigured server

• March 03, 2020 03 Mar'20

  Singapore among world’s top sources of online threats

  Singapore remained a hotspot for originating cyber attacks in 2019, with 11 million attacks launched from servers in the city-state

• March 02, 2020 02 Mar'20

  The Security Interviews: Inside the world of bug bounties

  You may not make a million as a bug bounty hunter, but you might help remove some of the stigma that persists around cyber security, says HackerOne’s Shlomie Liberow

• February 26, 2020 26 Feb'20

  Fake CDNs obscuring credit card fraudsters

  Fake content delivery networks and ngrok servers are being pressed into service to obscure credit card skimming activities

• February 26, 2020 26 Feb'20

  Cloud Snooper firewall bypass may be work of nation state

  Cloud Snooper deploys a combination of specialised techniques to sneak past enterprise firewalls, warns Sophos

• February 25, 2020 25 Feb'20

  The Security Interviews: Gil Shwed’s 10-year vision for security

  Check Point founder Gil Shwed discusses his new Infinity Next concept and how he plans to remodel the world of cyber security in the next 10 years

• February 24, 2020 24 Feb'20

  McAfee buys Light Point to enhance web browser protection

  Acquisition of Light Point Security will extend the capabilities of multiple McAfee products

• February 24, 2020 24 Feb'20

  Open security group unveils common OpenDXL language

  Open Cybersecurity Alliance announces the availability of OpenDXL Ontology, the first open source language for connecting disparate security tools through a common messaging framework

• February 21, 2020 21 Feb'20

  Labour condemns Google data plans

  Shadow digital minister Chi Onwurah challenges the government to stop Google’s plans to move UK user data out of the EU

• February 21, 2020 21 Feb'20

  Malicious apps still getting past Google controls

  Check Point researchers have found multiple malware-infected apps in the Google Play store, including a clicker called Haken, which has been downloaded more than 50,000 times

• February 21, 2020 21 Feb'20

  F-Secure’s AI reads mean tweets to fight abuse and trolls

  Researchers working on F-Secure’s Project Blackfin have developed a model for clustering tweets to help pinpoint abuse and harassment

• February 19, 2020 19 Feb'20

  Cost of cloud misconfigurations set at $5tn

  Cloud security outfit DivvyCloud says more than 33 billion records have been exposed in cloud misconfiguration incidents in the past 24 months

• February 18, 2020 18 Feb'20

  Girlguiding hosts interactive cyber security workshop

  100 Guides from South West England took part in an NCSC event to learn more about security fundamentals

• February 17, 2020 17 Feb'20

  Ex-soldiers to become ethical hackers

  A new programme will give armed forces veterans in Scotland a grounding in cyber security skills, including penetration testing and ethical hacking

• February 12, 2020 12 Feb'20

  Internet Explorer zero day among 99 Patch Tuesday problems

  After an eventful January Patch Tuesday that marked the end of support for Windows 7, the February 2020 update is another whopper, fixing close to 100 vulnerabilities

• February 11, 2020 11 Feb'20

  Mac-based security threats outpacing Windows

  Security threats targeting Apple endpoints are growing more quickly than those targeting Windows machines, according to Malwarebytes

• February 07, 2020 07 Feb'20

  Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker is ‘most dangerous’ movie

  Ahead of the 2020 Oscars, Kaspersky researchers say they found more than 300 files masquerading as the Joker movie

• February 05, 2020 05 Feb'20

  Darktrace signs to McLaren for 2020 F1 season

  McLaren Racing has enlisted Darktrace to become its official artificial intelligence cyber security partner

• February 05, 2020 05 Feb'20

  Scammers using fake PayPal emails stole over £1m in the UK in last quarter

  Fraudsters tricked Brits into sending over £1m worth of goods to them that they hadn't paid for

• February 05, 2020 05 Feb'20

  Web app ubiquity gives cyber criminals new opportunities

  The popularity and ubiquity of web-based apps such as Office 365 and Salesforce is a temptation too good to miss for cyber criminals

• February 05, 2020 05 Feb'20

  Check Point pledges end to security updates

  Check Point’s Gil Shwed expands on a vision for the next 10 years of cyber security, which he calls Infinity Next

• January 31, 2020 31 Jan'20

  Davos: The clock is ticking on climate change but cyber crime and emerging technologies add to risks

  Climate change, natural disasters, extreme weather and loss of biodiversity are the greatest risks we face. With cyber conflicts, state-sponsored hacking and internet fragmentation, doing nothing is not an option, says the World Economic Forum

• January 30, 2020 30 Jan'20

  NCSC launches study on cyber security diversity

  The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre wants to improve the diversity of the cyber security sector

• January 29, 2020 29 Jan'20

  UK cyber security sector worth more than £8bn

  The UK’s cyber security industry employs 43,000 full-time workers, and contributed nearly £4bn to the UK economy in 2019, according to DCMS

• January 27, 2020 27 Jan'20

  SANS Institute calls on Manchester security pros

  Manchester will play host to a week-long cyber security training event during February

• January 24, 2020 24 Jan'20

  Milan hosts Cisco’s first European security innovation unit

  Cisco has cut the ribbon on its first Cyber Security Co-Innovation Centre in Europe, at Milan’s Leonardo da Vinci Science and Technology Museum

• January 22, 2020 22 Jan'20

  Citrix releases IoC scanner for ADC and Gateway vulnerabilities

  As patches for its compromised NetScaler ADC and Gateway products begin to roll out, Citrix enlists FireEye Mandiant to develop an indicator of compromise scanner for end-users

• January 22, 2020 22 Jan'20

  Internal error left Microsoft customer service data exposed

  Customer service and support records of nearly 250 million Microsoft customers left exposed after database misconfiguration

• January 22, 2020 22 Jan'20

  ICO code sets out digital privacy standards for children

  The Information Commissioner’s Office has published its Age Appropriate Design Code, a set of 15 standards that online platforms must meet to protect the privacy of younger users

• January 21, 2020 21 Jan'20

  5G builders test vulnerabilities in Finnish hackathon

  University hackathon puts 5G security to the test as new wireless technology’s roll-out nears

• January 20, 2020 20 Jan'20

  Exposed AWS buckets again implicated in multiple data leaks

  A series of data leaks in the past week have once again implicated poorly secured Amazon S3 buckets, which are supposed to be private by default

• January 16, 2020 16 Jan'20

  A quarter of users will fall for basic phishing attacks

  Phishing emails that appear to be security alerts are the most effective method of compromise, says KnowBe4

• January 15, 2020 15 Jan'20

  Lorca announces new cohort of 20 security scaleups

  20 scaleups will focus their attention on automation, zero trust and supply chain security

• January 15, 2020 15 Jan'20

  LGBTQ+ social app Grindr accused of breaching GDPR

  Norwegian Consumer Council files complaints about LGBTQ+ social networking app, alleging it is in breach of the General Data Protection Regulation

• January 15, 2020 15 Jan'20

  NSA Windows 10 security disclosure raises questions

  In an unprecedented move, the NSA has got out in front of a critical cryptographic flaw in Windows 10, but in doing so has raised multiple questions

• January 15, 2020 15 Jan'20

  Threat landscape grew in complexity in 2019, no respite in sight

  Check Point’s annual state of security report shares some 2019 trends and looks ahead to 2020

• January 14, 2020 14 Jan'20

  Two-thirds of UK healthcare organisations breached last year

  The majority of healthcare organisations in the UK experienced a cyber security incident during 2019, with almost half the result of viruses and malware introduced on third party devices

• January 14, 2020 14 Jan'20

  Turn the end of Windows 7 support into a security advantage

  CISOs can take advantage of the end of support for Microsoft Windows 7 by making the case for more investment in cyber security

• January 10, 2020 10 Jan'20

  National Lottery hacker jailed for nine months

  Small-time cyber criminal jailed for his role in a cyber attack on lottery operator Camelot that netted him just £5

• January 08, 2020 08 Jan'20

  TikTok video-sharing app left user data exposed

  Check Point uncovered serious vulnerabilities in the TikTok video-sharing app that left users exposed

• December 24, 2019 24 Dec'19

  Top 10 cyber crime stories of 2019

  Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 cyber crime stories of 2019

• December 23, 2019 23 Dec'19

  Top 10 cyber security stories of 2019

  Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 cyber security stories of 2019

• December 20, 2019 20 Dec'19

  Finnish government supports local authorities in cyber security initiative

  The Finnish government has committed resources to a cyber security project aimed at local authorities

• December 13, 2019 13 Dec'19

  Alarm bells ring, the IoT is listening

  With Christmas bearing down on us, a series of vulnerability disclosures has drawn attention to the parlous state of IoT security, and serves as a timely warning to people planning to buy smart devices as gifts

• December 09, 2019 09 Dec'19

  Jailed hacker ordered to pay back £270k

  An Essex man jailed in April over malware offences dating back years has been ordered to pay back the profits of his crime spree, and sell valuable assets

• December 06, 2019 06 Dec'19

  Great Cannon DDoS operation fires on Hong Kong protesters

  AT&T’s security unit has evidence that China is pressing its Great Cannon DDoS tool into service once again, specifically to target pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong

• December 05, 2019 05 Dec'19

  Two Russians indicted over Dridex and Zeus malware

  The US Department of Justice has indicted two Russian citizens over their alleged role in the distribution of the virulent Bugat, or Dridex, and Zeus banking trojans

• December 05, 2019 05 Dec'19

  Black Hat Europe: Mental health websites are leaking user data

  At Black Hat Europe in London, researchers reveal the extent to which confidential data is being leaked to third parties by online mental health websites

• December 05, 2019 05 Dec'19

  Aviatrix VPN vulnerability left user endpoints wide open

  Immersive Labs has disclosed a serious vulnerability in VPN supplier Aviatrix’s enterprise client that could have granted hackers elevated user privileges across enterprise targets

• December 02, 2019 02 Dec'19

  Top Android apps at risk from StrandHogg vulnerability

  Researchers at Promon say all of the 500 most-downloaded Android apps are at risk from a newly discovered vulnerability

• November 29, 2019 29 Nov'19

  Hack Friday: This Christmas, fight back against cyber criminals

  It’s nearly Christmas, and cyber attacks and fraud attempts in the retail sector are ramping up. Is it time to panic? And is there anything we can do beyond hammering home the message around basic cyber security hygiene?

• November 25, 2019 25 Nov'19

  Uber app exploit posed safety risk to passengers

  A flaw in Uber’s system meant thousands of trips in London were taken with unauthorised drivers at the wheel

• November 25, 2019 25 Nov'19

  Tim Berners-Lee launches nine principles for the web

  Inventor of the worldwide web sets out Contract for the Web to protect its freedom, data privacy and access for all

• November 19, 2019 19 Nov'19

  Macy’s Magecart breach presages Christmas fraud spike

  US retailer Macy’s admits some customer data was accessed by unknown actors during a week-long Magecart attack

• November 15, 2019 15 Nov'19

  Notorious hackers claim responsibility for Labour DDoS

  Hackers claiming to represent Lizard Squad say they were behind a distributed denial of service attack on the UK’s Labour Party

• November 14, 2019 14 Nov'19

  Home Office Brexit app contains multiple security flaws

  The Home Office’s Brexit app may be putting EU citizens’ personal data at risk

• November 14, 2019 14 Nov'19

  Cyber criminals tool up for Christmas fraud season

  Organised criminals are trying to cash in on the festive retail boom with both brand new and tried-and-tested techniques

• November 13, 2019 13 Nov'19

  Attack on Labour shows need for DDoS defence but should alarm few

  After being hit by two DDoS attacks in the space of 24 hours, many commentators are convinced the UK’s Labour Party is the victim of foreign interference in the General Election campaign. It probably isn’t

• November 12, 2019 12 Nov'19

  Nordic SMEs lack the money needed for cyber security

  Businesses and governments in Denmark and Norway are working together to address a cyber security shortfall for SMEs in each country

• November 12, 2019 12 Nov'19

  ‘Robust’ security foils cyber attack on Labour Party

  Labour claims to have been the victim of a cyber attack, but says it is confident no data leaked

• November 12, 2019 12 Nov'19

  Shared responsibility model key to solving 5G security problem

  Both buyers and sellers need to cooperate to solve the thorny issues around 5G security

• November 07, 2019 07 Nov'19

  Saudis recruited Twitter employees to spy on critics

  Court documents reveal how the Saudi Arabian government targeted Twitter employees as part of a coordinated effort to gather information on known dissidents

• November 06, 2019 06 Nov'19

  Global security workforce must more than double to meet demand

  There are about 2.8 million cyber security professionals working today, and the world needs four million more

• November 05, 2019 05 Nov'19

  Ransomware authors seeking new ways to avoid being spotted

  Sector analysis from Sophos has revealed some insight into how malware authors are adapting to thwart cyber security controls

• November 04, 2019 04 Nov'19

  EU patches 20-year-old open source vulnerability

  Ethical hackers taking part in a bug bounty programme on behalf of the European Union have uncovered a 20-year-old vulnerability

• November 01, 2019 01 Nov'19

  Banks let customers down with mixed approaches to security

  Treasury Committee report recommends new measures to tackle financial fraud

• October 23, 2019 23 Oct'19

  Take responsibility for cyber security basics, urges NCSC CEO

  At the launch of its third annual review, NCSC head Ciaran Martin appealed for individuals and businesses to address the fundamentals of cyber security hygiene to help lighten the load

• October 22, 2019 22 Oct'19

  NordVPN blames datacentre provider for server breach

  VPN provider insists no user data was compromised in a March 2018 server breach, and says its datacentre provider failed to inform it of the issue