Hackers and cybercrime prevention

Crest throws support behind CyberUp CMA reform campaign

Cyber accreditation association Crest International has lent its support to the CyberUp campaign for reform to the Computer Misuse Act of 1990 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Royal Mail promises ‘workarounds’ to restore services after ransomware attack

Royal Mail CEO Simon Thompson apologises to customers whose businesses are being disrupted by a ransomware attack and promises a ‘workaround’ will be in place in the near future Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

LockBit cartel suspected of Royal Mail cyber attack

The still-developing cyber incident at Royal Mail may be the work of the infamous LockBit ransomware operation Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Companies warned to step up cyber security to become ‘insurable’

Investing in better IT security to protect against cyber crime will make businesses more resilient against other risks  Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Chrome vulnerability could have led to widespread data theft

A dangerous vulnerability in Google Chrome and Chromium-based browsers could have put billions of users’ files at risk of being stolen Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Guardian confirms Christmas 2022 cyber attack was ransomware

Guardian Media Group bosses confirm the 20 December cyber attack that left staff locked out of its London office and disrupted several key systems was an untargeted ransomware attack Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Royal Mail services hit by major cyber attack

UK postal service Royal Mail is asking customers not to send any overseas letters or parcels while it deals with the impact of an ongoing cyber attack Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Should we be worried about malicious use of AI language models?

WithSecure research into GPT-3 language models, used by the likes of ChatGPT, surfaces concerning findings about how easy it is to use large language models for malicious purposes. Should security teams be concerned? Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft fixes EoP zero-day on January Patch Tuesday

On the first Patch Tuesday of 2023, Microsoft fixed an elevation of privilege vulnerability in Windows Advanced Local Procedure Call, which has been actively exploited in the wild and may be co-opted into ransomware campaigns Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Davos 2023: Pervasive cyber crime and cyber security gaps pose severe risk to organisations

Governments and organisations face tough trade-offs as they balance immediate problems caused by economic recession, energy shortages and rising interest rates with longer-term risks, including the impact of global warming Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

New APT group targets ASEAN governments and militaries

The Dark Pink advanced persistent threat group used custom malware to exfiltrate data from high-profile targets through spear-phishing emails last year, according to Group-IB Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Insurer Beazley introduces catastrophe bond to ease cyber risk

Insurance company Beazley says that its $45m cyber catastrophe bond will help to protect its balance sheet and enable it to offer more cyber insurance cover Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

JPMorgan ordered to face lawsuit over cyber attack on Ray-Ban maker

US banking giant JPMorgan forced to respond to accusations that it failed to inform a business customer about suspicious transactions Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Vulnerable organisations to get free Cyber Essentials support

Charities and legal aid firms are among those to be offered free security checks and certifications from the National Cyber Security Centre Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Proposed digital fraud refund rules risk excluding many victims

Proposals to establish a fraud refund mechanism in the UK risk excluding many victims of digitally enabled fraud, a major bank has warned Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Russia’s Turla falls back on old malware C2 domains to avoid detection

Mandiant says it has observed the Russian APT UNC2410, also known as Turla, re-registering expired or sinkholed domains previously used by financially motivated cyber criminals Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Vice Society cyber gang targeted multiple UK schools

The Vice Society ransomware gang has made a habit of attacking educational institutions, and now appears to have struck multiple schools, colleges and universities in the UK Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Meta to appeal £345m fine for Facebook and Instagram privacy breaches

Social media company Meta is to appeal after the Irish Data Protection Commission fined the company for breaching GDPR Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Cyber gang abused free trials to exploit public cloud CPU resources

A South Africa-based cyber crime gang exploited free trials and introductory offers to run cryptominers via public cloud services, then did a runner without paying Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Warning over ransomware attacks spreading via Fortinet kit

Following the disclosure of a critical vulnerability in October 2022, Fortinet VPN devices were exploited in two known ransomware attacks, with access likely sold on the dark web Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Fallout from Guardian cyber attack to last at least a month

The Guardian newspaper’s offices remained shut into the New Year following a supposed ransomware attack, with disruption likely to last some time Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cashless Denmark has no bank robberies in a year for first time

Denmark saw no bank robberies in a single year for the first time ever, but online fraud continues to increase Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Securing low Earth orbit represents the new space race

The barriers to launching satellites into low Earth orbit are falling fast, and that brings new cyber security challenges Continue Reading

By

• Matthew Staff

China and India governments among top targets for cyber attackers

Chinese and Indian governments targeted by hacktivists and ransomware groups out to make statement or expose flaws in their respective security postures Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Cyber security professionals share their biggest lessons of 2022

In the run-up to 2023, cyber security professionals are taking the time to reflect on the past few months and share their biggest lessons of 2022 Continue Reading

By

• Nicholas Fearn

How does red teaming test the ultimate limits of cyber security?

An expert ethical hacker reveals how he goes about carrying out a red team exercise Continue Reading

By

• Rob Shapland

Why the current fraud model is broken, and how to fix it

Scammers and fraudsters are catching up with the good guys; a new technological approach is needed to fight skyrocketing volumes of digital fraud, says Darwinium founder Alisdair Faulkner Continue Reading

By

• Alisdair Faulkner

Complaints that NCA failed in duty of candour over EncroChat warrants ‘incredible’, court hears

NCA lawyers argue that a decision by an NCA intelligence officer to disclose notes of a key meeting after two-and-a-half years boosts her credibility as a witness Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Top 10 ASEAN IT stories of 2022

Despite the challenges over the past year, ASEAN businesses have taken things in stride as they press on with digital transformation, whether it is empowering citizen developers or building cloud-native applications Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Top 10 India IT stories of 2022

We recap the top 10 stories in India, including the digitisation work undertaken by global firms in the country and the progress made by local enterprises in harnessing technology Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

NCA ‘wrong-footed’ defence lawyers after agreeing to take expert evidence on EncroChat ‘as read’

The National Crime Agency argued at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal that expert evidence it agreed to ‘take as read’ is limited, flawed and often based on an incorrect interpretation of the law Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Mitiga researchers disclose AWS Elastic IP hijacking vulnerability

Cloud incident response supplier Mitiga has said a new AWS feature has led to a vulnerability that could allow hackers to access and steal Elastic IP addresses and gain control over AWS accounts Continue Reading

By

• Ollie Withers and Brian McKenna

Top 10 cyber security stories of 2022

The war in Ukraine loomed large over the cyber security news agenda, but 2022 also saw growing awareness of open source security, discussion around cyber insurance, and more besides Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Top 10 crime, national security and law stories of 2022

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 crime, national security and law stories of 2022 Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Top 10 cyber crime stories of 2022

Cyber crime continued to hit the headlines in 2022, with impactful cyber attacks abounding, digitally enabled fraud ever more widespread and plenty of ransomware incidents Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Top 10 ANZ IT stories of 2022

We recap the top 10 stories in Australia and New Zealand, including the opportunities and challenges that organisations in the region have faced over the past year Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

A sticky story: How, and why, hackers love stickers on laptops

We’ve all seen laptops adorned with security stickers and in-jokes, but how did this cyber community trend get started, what does it signify, and what does it say about the humans behind the screens? Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: 2022 brought plenty of learning opportunities in cyber

At the end of another busy 12 months, Turnkey Consulting’s Andrew Morris sums up some of the most important takeaways for cyber pros Continue Reading

By

• Andrew Morris, Turnkey Consulting

Defence lawyers claim NCA witness gave unreliable evidence on EncroChat hacking operation

National Crime Agency argues that the lawfulness of surveillance warrants issued to hack the EncroChat phone network should only be considered in the light of facts and assessments known at the time Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

UK unis implement new IP traffic policies to combat ransomware

Jisc will introduce new measures to protect UK universities and research institutions from ransomware attacks that exploit the Remote Desktop Protocol remote-access feature Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Lego fixes dangerous API vulnerability in BrickLink service

The Lego Group has remediated two potentially serious API vulnerabilities in its BrickLink digital resale platform, just in time for Christmas Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cops dismantle 48 DDoS-for-hire websites

An operation combining law enforcement from the UK, US, Netherlands and Europol has disrupted 48 of the world’s most popular DDoS booter websites Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCA officer questioned in Investigatory Powers Tribunal over failure to disclose EncroChat notes

EncroChat hacking warrant was unlawful and in breach of human rights law, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal hears Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly
• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Advanced Azov data wiper likely to become active threat

Check Point deep dives into an emergent data wiper strain known as Azov, which is making waves with hundreds of new samples being submitted to VirusTotal daily Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ethical hackers flex their muscles in 2022

Ethical hackers working through HackerOne programmes found 21% more vulnerabilities in 2022 than in 2021 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Crime Stoppers Tasmania debuts new reporting portal

Reporting tool will enable the public to share crime-related information with law enforcement agencies to support policing in Tasmania Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Finnish government launches information security voucher scheme

Finland’s government is offering businesses financial support to help them improve their cyber security Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

More Uber data exposed in possible supply chain attack

A second incident affecting ride-sharing app Uber appears to have originated through a third party in a supply chain attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Customer frustrations mount as Rackspace investigation proceeds

Rackspace says it is making progress on restoring services following a ransomware attack on its Hosted Exchange business, but customers are becoming frustrated with a lack of communication Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Top IT predictions in APAC in 2023

Robotics, cross-cloud data mobility and cyber insurance are some of the key trends that will shape Asia-Pacific’s technology landscape in 2023 Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

How Zscaler is cracking APAC’s cloud security market

Zscaler’s head in Asia-Pacific and Japan talks up the company’s growth momentum in the region and what it is doing to address areas where it can do better Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

CIISec, DCMS to fund vocational cyber courses for A-level students

The Chartered Institute of Information Security and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport plan to fund vocational cyber qualifications for 300 teenagers Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Iranian APT seen exploiting GitHub repository as C2 mechanism

A subgroup of the Iran-linked Cobalt Mirage APT group has been caught taking advantage of the GitHub open source project as a means to operate its latest custom malware Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: 2022 changed how we thought about resilience

Increasing cyber resilience is at the heart of the people-processes-technology triangle, and 2022 saw shifts in all three of these aspects, says PA Consulting’s Sharon Shochat Continue Reading

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• Sharon Shochat

Too many secrets: What can today’s cyber teams learn from a 30-year-old film?

Despite being 30 years old, Sneakers remains a classic hacker film. The technology may have dated, but the underlying themes remain relevant and remind us about the threats lurking online Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

Apple to tap third party for physical security keys

Apple is launching a number of new security protections, including the addition of third-party-provided hardware security keys Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CW Europe: Finland prepares for drone technology take-off

Finland is preparing for a future where it could rely on flying drone technology. Read about its plans in this issue. Also find out how a PhD student in the Netherlands is helping to detect hidden messages on the internet by using steganography. Continue Reading

Cyber threats to Europe’s grid: Utilities rethink strategy

 Continue Reading

Australia to develop new cyber security strategy

New strategy to be developed by top cyber security experts aims to turn Australia into a global cyber leader, among other goals Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Withers

Rackspace email outage confirmed as ransomware attack

An ongoing outage affecting Rackspace email customers is the result of a ransomware attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Google, MS, Oracle vulnerabilities make November ’22 a big month for patching

Vulnerabilities affecting the likes of Google, Microsoft and Oracle proved particularly troublesome in November Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Industrial IoT focus of next NCSC startup challenge

The NCSC for Startups programme is looking for innovative ideas to encrypt and secure the industrial internet of things Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Don’t become an unwitting tool in Russia’s cyber war

Researchers have turned up evidence that enterprise networks are being co-opted by Russian threat actors to launch attacks against targets in Ukraine. How can you avoid becoming an unwitting tool in a state-backed attack? Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

AWS mutes trash talk at Re:Invent – Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast

The team chats through the AWS Re:Invent conference, as well as an initiative for getting young women into cyber security, and how SAP Build travelled from Vegas to SAP users in Birmingham Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK
• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor
• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Is Twitter still safe, and should you stop using the platform?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, with a litany of security and compliance issues caused by Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, we ask if it’s still safe for enterprises. Our latest buyer’s guide examines the technologies and best practices behind data visualisation. And we look at the emerging devices for accessing the metaverse. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Fake investment ads persist on Meta’s social networks

Online adverts for investment scams relating to property and crypto assets are still getting past measures designed to stop them Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cohesity doubles down on cyber-defence failings via backup

Datahawk service and Data Security Alliance bring clean data restores, ransomware artefact detection, data vaulting and data audit for a clearer understanding of attack impact Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

French cyber consultancy Hackuity sets up UK operation

Risk-based vulnerability management company is to establish a UK base of operations in the hope of expanding its enterprise client base Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Twitter ‘replacement’ Hive Social shuts off service in privacy alert

Hive Social, a recently established social media network, has temporarily closed its servers to address deep structural privacy issues identified by ethical hackers Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

MI6 chief’s hacked emails attacked MI5 and betrayed British spy operations in China

Former UK spy boss Richard Dearlove leaked names of MI6 secret agent recruiters in China to back an aggressive right-wing US campaign against tech company Huawei. His emails were hacked and then leaked – probably by Russian intelligence Continue Reading

By

• Duncan Campbell , 2QQ Ltd, Sussex University
• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly
• Meike Eijsberg

LastPass probes new cyber incident related to August attack

The August 2022 cyber attack on LastPass seems to have begat another incident, according to company CEO Karim Toubba Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ransomware: Is there hope beyond the overhyped?

Up-and-coming cyber concepts attack surface management and security mesh architectures seem to hold some promise in tackling ransomware, but they are a little way off maturity Continue Reading

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• Paul Lewis, Nominet

South Staffs Water customer data leaked after ransomware attack

Personal data of water utility’s direct debit customers exposed on the dark web following a Clop ransomware attack Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Latest LockBit ransomware versions have wormable capabilities

Sophos researchers have reverse-engineered the Lockbit 3.0 ransomware, shedding new light on its evolving capabilities and firming up links with BlackMatter Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Think technology, process, human risk to manage ransomware

Effective ransomware handling boils down to three core areas – technology, process and human risk Continue Reading

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• Andrew Morris, Turnkey Consulting

Cyber criminals exploiting naked TikTok ‘challenge’

Malware operators lured targets by promising them they would be able to view nude videos of TikTok users Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How gamifying cyber training can improve your defences

Security training is the cornerstone of any cyber defence strategy. With ever-escalating online threats, it is now more important than ever that this training is an engaging experience Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

How to stop data retention from killing the planet

In this week’s Computer Weekly, there’s a hidden environmental cost to the vast volumes of data being generated – we examine what can be done to address it. We talk to the CISO of consumer reviews site Trustpilot, about building trust in IT security. And we look at what IT leaders can do if they inherit a toxic team environment. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Ransomware: Practical tips to improve resiliency

With ransomware attacks on organisations increasing, the question is not if an attack will happen, but when. We look at ways to minimise the impact of such an attack Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Plexal inducts six into cyber leadership scheme

Tech innovation hub Plexal is expanding its Cyber Runway programme with a new Ignite strand dedicated to supporting high-potential security leaders Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Not-for-profit aims to encourage 1,300 girls into cyber careers

CyNam, a not-for-profit cyber security initiative, is collaborating with industry, education providers and government to encourage young women into cyber Continue Reading

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• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Your staff are the frontline in your ransomware fight

As part of a solid cyber defence plan, the CISO must make sure that the frontline within the organisation is prepared for an attack, says Theodore Wiggins of Airbus Protect Continue Reading

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• Theodore Wiggins, Airbus Protect

UK police arrest 120 in largest-ever cyber fraud crackdown

The administrator and more than 100 users of the iSpoof.cc cyber fraud website have been arrested in a major counter-fraud operation led by the Metropolitan Police Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Red team tool developer slams ‘irresponsible’ disclosure

UK security firm MDSec defends its Nighthawk command and control penetration testing framework after suggestions were made that it could be appropriated by threat actors Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Dutch national cyber security strategy aims to protect digital society

Cabinet sets up national cyber security strategy to make the Netherlands digitally secure Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Ducktail spins new tales to hijack Facebook Business accounts

The increasingly active Ducktail cyber crime operation is refining its operations, seeking new methods to compromise its victims’ Facebook Business accounts Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Killnet DDoS hacktivists target Royal Family and others

Russia-aligned hacktivists targeted multiple UK websites, including those of the Royal Family, in a new campaign of DDoS attacks Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber criminals have World Cup Qatar in their sights as tournament kicks off

Malicious cyber activity around the FIFA World Cup was ticking upwards even before the opening game, with threats likely to present themselves in great numbers and many forms throughout the event. Continue Reading

Cyber criminals target World Cup Qatar 2022

In this week’s Computer Weekly, as the FIFA World Cup opens in Qatar, we examine the cyber security threats from criminals targeting the event. We report from the Gartner Symposium on the latest predictions for enterprise software development. And we talk to the CIO of Kyiv City Council about managing IT in the shadow of war. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Bug Bounty Calculator helps organisations fine-tune their payouts

Newly launched comparison tool will supposedly help operators of vulnerability disclosure or bug bounty programmes to ensure their payments match market rates and expectations, and attract the right sort of attention Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ransomware, storage and backup: Impacts, limits and capabilities

We look at the impact of ransomware on storage and backup, how storage and data protection can best be used to combat ransomware, and how they fit in the fight against it Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Pritchard

Is Elon Musk’s Twitter safe, and should you stop using it?

With a litany of security and compliance issues exposed and in many cases caused by Elon Musk’s takeover of social media platform Twitter, some may be asking if it’s still safe or appropriate to use Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

New gold standard to protect good faith hackers

HackerOne’s new Gold Standard Safe Harbour statement will supposedly act as a guarantee for good faith hacking Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CyberPeace Institute helps NGOs improve their security resilience

Adrien Ogée of the CyberPeace Institute talks about his work supporting NGOs and humanitarian organisations, and how the security community at large can help protect the world’s most vulnerable people Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Another Log4Shell warning after Iranian attack on US government

The breach of a US federal body by an Iranian threat actor exploiting the Adobe Log4j Log4Shell vulnerability has prompted a fresh flurry of patching Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Global network fragmentation a source of increasing risk

Risk consultancy’s report says the weaponisation of cyber space and geopolitical clashes herald a breakdown of global networks into distinct regional or national architectures Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Ransomware defences: An extended to-do list

Strategies to extend ransomware protection beyond backups and intrusion detection must centre dark web monitoring, among other things Continue Reading

By

• Alex Holden

APP fraud volumes expected to double by 2026, says report

Losses to authorised push payment fraud in the UK are expected to climb to over $1.5bn in the next four years. Meanwhile, the NAO accuses the Home Office of lagging on progress to tackle the issue Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How to prepare for ransomware

We look at ways to protect against ransomware attacks and how to manage such attacks when they happen. Continue Reading

How to protect against ransomware attacks

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we look at how to prepare for and protect against ransomware, and what to do if you’re hit by an attack. We gauge industry reaction to Ofcom’s plan to investigate the big three cloud providers. And we find out how travel giant TUI is implementing self-service analytics. Read the issue now. Continue Reading