Hackers and cybercrime prevention

Crisp supply shortage looms after KP Snacks hit by ransomware

Supplies of Hula Hoops and many other snack brands are under threat after a ransomware attack on the systems of KP Snacks Continue Reading

French Supreme Court raises constitutional questions over EncroChat hacking secrecy

Conseil Constitutionnel to decide whether ‘defence secrecy’ over state EncroChat cryptophone hacking breaches French constitution Continue Reading

Reforms needed to tackle economic crime, says Treasury Committee

The Treasury Committee is disappointed at progress towards tackling economic crime and fraud in both the online and offline worlds, and is calling for more action Continue Reading

British Council data exposed by third-party cyber failure

The British Council entrusted confidential data on its students to a third-party and was let down Continue Reading

What neurodivergent people really think of working in cyber security

Many firms are filling cyber security skills gaps by hiring neurodivergent talent – but more support is needed for neurodivergent cyber security professionals, writes autistic tech journalist Nicholas Fearn Continue Reading

German fuel supplier taken offline in cyber attack

Cyber attack against Germany’s Oiltanking, a major fuel logistics company, affects 13 distribution terminals across Germany, in an incident with echoes of last year’s hit on Colonial Pipeline Continue Reading

ICO criticises government-backed campaign to delay end-to-end encryption

Data protection watchdog warns that delaying end-to-end encryption will put children at risk Continue Reading

Over one-fifth of ransomware attacks target financial sector

Newly published data reveals a significant uptick in cyber attacks against the financial services sector during the third quarter of 2021 Continue Reading

How Ocado pushes technological boundaries

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to Ocado’s CTO about how the e-commerce company pushes technological boundaries. Our latest buyer’s guide looks at the importance and technical challenges of data integration. There’s a growing dispute over the use of end-to-end encryption – we look at the differing perspectives. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Korean researchers invent silk-based security device

Experts from the Gwangju Institute of Science have built a digital security device based on natural silk fibres that they claim is practically unbreachable Continue Reading

CISOs must get out in front of Ukraine cyber crisis, says NCSC

The National Cyber Security Centre is urging UK organisations to take steps to bolster their cyber security resilience in response to the ongoing Ukraine crisis Continue Reading

DCMS taps Arqit for 5G project to provide Open RAN security by default

Quantum platform-as-a-service provider joins government’s programme to drive diversity in comms technology supply with the aim of integrating a novel quantum encryption service to enable security by default Continue Reading

Novel phishing campaign highlights need for MFA, says Microsoft

Microsoft details a new multi-stage phishing campaign that only affects victims without multifactor authentication in place Continue Reading

Nightmare Log4Shell scenario averted by prompt, professional action

Prompt and professional community response to the Log4Shell disclosure means the dangerous and widespread vulnerability has not been exploited to the extent many had feared Continue Reading

More intel emerges on WhisperGate malware that hit Ukraine

Security experts have been poring over the WhisperGate malware with which alleged Russia-backed entities targeted Ukrainian government websites Continue Reading

PwnKit bug endangers Linux distributions worldwide

Qualys researchers share intel on a memory corruption vulnerability in a program installed by default on every major Linux distribution Continue Reading

TigerGraph roars into APAC

The graph database technology supplier is approaching the region with a solution-based strategy and partnering with universities to grow local capabilities Continue Reading

Prepare, but don’t panic, over supposed Russian cyber threat

A fresh alert from the US Department of Homeland Security may have IT security teams jumpy over the possibility that their organisations could be targeted by Russian state actors Continue Reading

Cyber Essentials programme gets biggest update since launch

NCSC implements a thorough revision of its Cyber Essentials scheme to reflect the changing security landscape Continue Reading

UK government launches internal cyber strategy

Multi-pronged government security strategy is designed to protect both core systems and public services Continue Reading

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can ask Supreme Court to hear extradition appeal

Senior judges said today that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can petition the Supreme Court to decide whether to hear an appeal against his extradition to the US Continue Reading

India’s cyber security industry doubles in size amid pandemic

Revenues from cyber security products and services reached $9.85bn in 2021 thanks to rapid digitalisation and regulatory attention on data and privacy Continue Reading

Mandiant analysts: Russia-backed APTs likely to ramp up attacks

More cyber attacks like those perpetrated against targets in Ukraine are to be expected, and they may become more destructive Continue Reading

ICO criticises government-backed campaign to delay end-to-end encryption

Data protection watchdog warns that delaying end-to-end encryption will put children at risk Continue Reading

Cyber pros: Don’t revel in REvil’s downfall just yet

The arrests of REvil’s alleged kingpins is a welcome step, but as with any disruption to cyber criminal activity, it is never wise to assume law enforcement action means the threat has passed entirely Continue Reading

Scam losses in Australia hit record high

Australians lost a record A$323.7m to scams last year, with investment and romance scams accounting for the bulk of their losses Continue Reading

Ransomware attacks dropped 37% in December, claims NCC

Latest monthly data reveals a significant decline in ransomware attacks at the end of 2021, but a new, emergent gang is making waves Continue Reading

Updated cyber security regulations proposed for managed services sector

The Network and Information Systems regulations are to be updated to include MSPs and outsourcers, following a spate of supply chain attacks Continue Reading

Data of 515,000 vulnerable people stolen in Red Cross attack

The International Committee of the Red Cross is probing a cyber attack that has already seen the personal data of hundreds of thousands of the world’s most vulnerable people compromised Continue Reading

MoonBounce firmware bootkit shows advances in malicious implants

MoonBounce firmware bootkit shows evident technical improvements over others, making it a more dangerous threat to organisations. It is being used by Chinese state-backed actors Continue Reading

Delayed pay: Umbrella company cyber attacks disrupt salary payments to thousands of contractors

Thousands of contractors across the UK are anxiously waiting to see if their payroll cycles will be disrupted for a second week, after two of the umbrella industry's biggest players were targeted by cyber criminals Continue Reading

NCSC for Startups programme seeks ransomware-busters

Innovative ideas for ransomware-busting technology are being sought by the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre and startup incubator Plexal Continue Reading

Singapore to tighten digital banking security

Banks in Singapore will have to put in place more stringent measures to combat the rise in online phishing scams targeted at bank customers in the city-state Continue Reading

Investigators find Beijing 2022 app riddled with security flaws

Security flaws in Olympic app may put personal health data at risk of compromise in a man-in-the-middle attack Continue Reading

Trellix looks to democratise access to XDR in APAC

The company formed from the merger of FireEye Enterprise and McAfee will team up with managed service providers, among other efforts, to democratise access to extended detection and response capabilities in the region Continue Reading

Police take down VPN linked to multiple ransomware hits

German police led a multinational effort to seize and take down the LabVPN service, which was allegedly used by cyber criminals to facilitate ransomware attacks Continue Reading

Cobalt Strike still C2 infrastructure of choice

Its utility and ease of use, coupled with explosive growth in ransomware actions, makes Cobalt Strike Team Servers the C2 infrastructure of choice for malicious actors Continue Reading

‘Russian-backed’ hackers defaced Ukrainian websites as cover for dangerous malware attack

Kiev claims that a hacking group in Belarus – a close ally of Russia – was responsible for hacking Ukrainian government websites amid threats of military action Continue Reading

Top three questions about the Log4j vulnerability

Singapore’s Ensign Infosecurity answers the top three questions about the impact of the Log4j vulnerability Continue Reading

Nato offers tech support after 'massive cyber attack' hits Ukraine

Speculation mounts that Russia is behind a cyber attack which defaced Ukrainian government websites amid growing international tension Continue Reading

Podcast: 2022 compliance preview – GDPR goes global

We talk to Mathieu Gorge, CEO of VigiTrust, about what’s looming in compliance, with regulations based on the principles of the General Data Protection Regulation plus the concept of cyber accountability Continue Reading

Parasol systems outage leaves umbrella contractors facing late payments

Multi-day outage leaves umbrella company contractors working for payroll processing firm Parasol facing late salary payments, with the firm remaining tight-lipped over the cause of its technical difficulties Continue Reading

Nordic companies targeted in wave of cyber attacks

After a slew of cyber attacks hit major companies in the Nordics at the end of last year, we look at how they were affected and how they have recovered Continue Reading

NCSC sounds alarm over Russia-backed hacks

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre joins US calls to be wary of Russian state interference in critical national infrastructure IT systems Continue Reading

MEPs demand EU probe into Pegasus spyware abuse

A group of European Parliament Members has called for an EU-wide investigation into NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware after it emerged EU member states may have used it Continue Reading

Microsoft fixes six zero-days in January Patch Tuesday update

A larger than of late Patch Tuesday update from Microsoft comes as defenders continue to grapple with Log4Shell Continue Reading

Dutch cyber volunteers receive major funding boost

The Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure has received a $100,000 donation to expand the scope of its work Continue Reading

Almost half of Log4j downloads still dangerously exposed

Whether by error or design is unclear, but a great many IT teams are still exposing themselves by downloading outdated, insecure versions of Apache Log4j Continue Reading

Banks accused of neglecting customer security measures

Which? singles out Metro Bank, Virgin Money and TSB over insecure online banking processes Continue Reading

Cyber security failure one of biggest risks facing countries and businesses, warns WEF

Cyber risks are among the top five risks facing organisations and governments over the next two to five years. Digital inequality and the over-crowding of space with communication satellites present further risks  Continue Reading

Ministry of Justice caught up in multiple cyber incidents

Besides multiple disclosed data breaches, department was also affected by two ransomware attacks Continue Reading

Singapore retailer hit by data breach

The personal data of OG’s basic and gold members stored in a database managed by a third-party service provider was reportedly compromised Continue Reading

Judges to decide whether Assange can appeal against extradition as he reaches 1,000 days in jail

Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador urges US to treat WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with humanity and to consider Mexico’s offer to grant Assange asylum Continue Reading

How APAC firms can stay ahead of cyber threats

Organisations will need to develop behavioural detection, machine learning and threat hunting capabilities to keep pace with the onslaught of cyber attacks Continue Reading

Top 10 crime, national security and law stories of 2021

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 crime, national security and law stories of 2021 Continue Reading

Vulnerabilities to fraud are increasing across the board

As the pandemic continues to affect how we work, socialise, shop and conduct business, so it has increased opportunities for digital fraud and cyber crime. Jason Lane-Sellers explores the latest LexisNexis Risk Solutions ‘Cybercrime report’ Continue Reading

Top 10 cyber security stories of 2021

Cyber security dominated the headlines in 2021, making it hard to gain a clear picture of what to pay attention to. What is an IT buyer to do? Continue Reading

Top 10 cyber crime stories of 2021

Cyber crime hit new heights and drew more attention than ever in 2021. We look back at the biggest stories of the year Continue Reading

What is Log4Shell - and why the panic?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we assess the risks from Log4Shell, a new web software vulnerability described as “catastrophic”. We look at SASE – secure access service edge – which is set to be one of the networking priorities for 2022. And some victims of the Post Office IT scandal are still waiting for proper compensation. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: When will they ever learn?

Security learning is a career-long process, so as 2021 draws to a close, participants in the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank sum up the most important cyber lessons they’ve taken away from the past 12 months Continue Reading

UK government to take ‘whole-of-society’ approach to cyber

Second iteration of the UK’s National Cyber Strategy broadens its focus to build a ‘whole-of-society’ security posture Continue Reading

Almost half of networks probed for Log4Shell weaknesses

Close to half of corporate networks have already been actively targeted by individuals seeking to exploit the critical Log4Shell Apache bug Continue Reading

Recovering from ransomware: One organisation’s inside story

In February 2021, French office equipment supplier Manutan fell victim to a DoppelPaymer ransomware hit. IT ops director Jérôme Marchandiau tells the inside story of the incident Continue Reading

The rules for a safer internet

In this week’s Computer Weekly, as the government publishes the Online Safety Bill, we look at what the laws mean for internet services. A ransomware victim shares the insider story of the trauma of losing their corporate IT systems. And we ask, what happens when quantum computers get too powerful to verify their output? Read the issue now. Continue Reading

What is Log4Shell, and why are we panicking about it?

It’s been described as a ‘design failure of catastrophic proportions’ that threatens the very fabric of the digital world. Find out what the Log4j2 Log4Shell panic is all about, and what you should do about it Continue Reading

Julian Assange can be extradited to the US to face espionage and hacking charges, court rules

High Court overturns decision not to extradite WikiLeaks founder after US government gives assurances over his treatment Continue Reading

C-suite’s biggest ransomware fear: Post-attack regulatory sanctions

Exposure to regulatory sanctions such as fines are the biggest worry for C-suite executives in the wake of a ransomware attack Continue Reading

2021 another record-breaker for vulnerability disclosure

More than 50 CVEs were logged every day in 2021, more than at any time since records began, while ethical hackers continue to prove their value Continue Reading

Russia may be collaborating with US to bring cyber criminals to heel

Trustwave’s SpiderLabs says its analysis of chatter on underground dark web forums suggests cyber criminals are starting to panic that formerly ‘friendly’ governments are on their case Continue Reading

Most consumers expect banks to cover losses to scams

Consumers expect banks to cover losses to cyber crime, as the number of attacks grows Continue Reading

Number of .uk domain suspensions at record low

Statistics from Nominet show how effective law enforcement action against cyber crime in the UK is paying off Continue Reading

Investigation mounted into Spar supermarket cyber attack

Possible supply chain cyber attack left more than 300 Spar supermarkets unable to process credit card payments Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: Attackers leveraging the supply chain

Security learning is a career-long process, so as 2021 draws to a close, participants in the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank sum up the most important cyber lessons they have taken away from the past 12 months Continue Reading

IT Priorities 2022: Pandemic’s long tail for cyber buyers

Pandemic response has been top of mind for cyber leaders these past 18 months, and as Covid-19 turns two, the TechTarget/Computer Weekly IT Priorities 2022 study shows buyers are still focused on how Covid has upended the workplace Continue Reading

Surge in Nobelium-linked supply chain attacks

Mandiant’s researchers share new intel on two distinct clusters of Russian APT activity, linked to the Nobelium SolarWinds attackers Continue Reading

Millions of credit card details for sale on dark web for as little as 75p

The credit card details of millions of people from across the world can be bought by criminals using the dark web for as little as $1 Continue Reading

A ‘whole of society’ approach to cyber may be on the horizon

Nominet Cyber managing director David Carroll reflects on the NCSC’s latest annual review amid 2021’s fast-evolving threat landscape Continue Reading

HP patches bugs in over 150 printer models

More than 150 HP multifunction printers are at risk of compromise through a series of newly disclosed vulnerabilities, one of them wormable Continue Reading

Recovering from ransomware: One organisation’s inside story

In February 2021, French office equipment supplier Manutan fell victim to a DoppelPaymer ransomware hit. IT ops director Jérôme Marchandiau tells the inside story of the incident Continue Reading

British Army picks Immersive Labs for cyber training

The British Army will make Immersive Labs’ security training platform available to all serving personnel Continue Reading

UK’s surveillance culture may be normalising use of tech for abuse

Intense surveillance of public spaces by UK authorities may be playing a part in the normalisation of cyber stalking in intimate relationships Continue Reading

Government must prove its plans to police encryption work, says ex-cyber security chief

Ciaran Martin, the former UK cyber security chief, says the government must explain how it can access encrypted communications without damaging cyber security and weakening privacy Continue Reading

UK consumers warned of increase in credit card application fraud

There has been a sharp rise in fraudsters using stolen personal details to open credit card accounts Continue Reading

Consumer cyber bill to protect mobiles, smart devices

Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill will reinforce protections for consumer devices and mandate improvements to default security settings Continue Reading

Apple sues under-fire malware firm NSO

Lawsuit alleges spyware firm NSO Group targeted Apple’s users, adding to the pressure on the under-fire company Continue Reading

Upcoming holidays prompt ransomware warning from authorities

Ransomware gangs know how calendars work, and may target their attacks around major holidays to take advantage of more people being off work, according to a new alert Continue Reading

Black Friday cyber warning for 4,000 card-skimming victims

NCSC warns thousands of small retailers that their websites are being exploited to steal customer data Continue Reading

CIO interview: Karl Hoods, CDIO, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Moving to the cloud, developing staff skills and responding quickly to the pandemic – from a public sector IT leader’s perspective Continue Reading

Why is Emotet back, and should we be worried about it?

The sudden reappearance of Emotet this week has security teams on high alert, but do we need to be worried about its return, and what should we be doing about it? Continue Reading

GCHQ, NSA chiefs recommit to counter cyber threats

UK and US intelligence services reaffirm a joint commitment to disrupt and deter new and emerging cyber threats Continue Reading

Memento ransomware gang quick to retool for ‘optimum’ outcome

The operators of a new ransomware called Memento are quick to retool for ‘success’ if they run up against a competent defender, says Sophos Continue Reading

Alert over spate of Iran-linked BitLocker attacks

A joint advisory from western cyber agencies warns of a campaign of ‘ongoing malicious activity’ by an Iran-linked APT group exploiting BitLocker to extort its targets Continue Reading

Sky ECC provided free cryptophones to a Canadian police force

Internal emails disclosed in a US court show how Sky Global supplied sample encrypted phones to a Canadian police force before its phone users became subject to an international police investigation Continue Reading

Cryptophone supplier Sky Global takes legal action over US government website seizures

Canadian tech company Sky Global has filed a legal motion claiming that the US government unlawfully seized the company’s internet sites following police investigations into the use of its cryptophones by organised crime Continue Reading

Security startups line up on Cyber Runway

Some 108 cyber security startups representing the UK’s most cutting-edge innovators are to join Plexal’s Cyber Runway accelerator Continue Reading

Zero-days: The next element of the service-based cyber economy?

Digital Shadows researchers have reported on the emergence of zero-days as a service, which could be the next big thing in the cyber criminal underworld Continue Reading

Out of the shadows: The rise of ethical hackers in 2021

Ethical hackers working on the Bugcrowd platform have saved organisations almost $30bn in risk during the Covid-19 pandemic, as the community sheds old stereotypes Continue Reading

One-fifth of NCSC-supported cyber incidents linked to Covid-19

National Cyber Security Centre has helped to thwart multiple cyber incidents that could have seriously disrupted the UK’s response to the pandemic Continue Reading

UK government proposes new rules for digital supply chain security

Proposals could see IT service providers legally required to adhere to the NCSC’s Cyber Assessment Framework, among other things Continue Reading

BT applies Covid-19 R number modelling to threat response

A prototype cyber security tool developed at BT uses epidemiological principles to detect and respond to cyber threats Continue Reading