Hackers and cybercrime prevention
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News
19 Sep 2023
New revelations from the Snowden archive surface
A decade after Snowden exposed NSA’s mass surveillance in cooperation with the British GCHQ, only about 1% of the documents have been published – but three major facts can finally be revealed thanks to a doctoral thesis in applied cryptography by Jacob Appelbaum Continue Reading
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News
19 Sep 2023
Okta confirms link to cyber attacks on Las Vegas casinos
Okta CISO David Bradbury confirms widespread speculation about the high-profile cyber attacks on two Las Vegas casino operators, revealing that the threat actors responsible had indeed abused its services as they earlier claimed Continue Reading
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News
25 Nov 2020
Securing UK’s critical national infrastructure is a 2021 priority
Government outlines the UK’s strategic cyber security policies for the coming 12 months, with critical national infrastructure a clear priority Continue Reading
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News
25 Nov 2020
Use of abusive stalkerware against women skyrocketed in 2020
Rise in the use of malicious stalkerware correlates closely to increased domestic violence during lockdown Continue Reading
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News
24 Nov 2020
Belgian security researcher hacks Tesla with Raspberry Pi
Belgian security researcher Lennert Wouters once again succeeds in hacking a Tesla vehicle, this time by exploiting the Bluetooth Low Energy standard Continue Reading
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News
24 Nov 2020
Nominet introduces new resources for cyber scam victims
Domain name registrar is working with law enforcement to provide new information, guidance and resources for potential victims of online scams Continue Reading
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News
23 Nov 2020
Telcos could face huge fines under new security laws
Government boasts of unprecedented powers to boost the security standards of the UK’s critical national infrastructure Continue Reading
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News
23 Nov 2020
NCSC issues retail security alert ahead of Black Friday sales
National Cyber Security Centre issues refreshed guidance as cyber criminals turn their eyes to the holiday shopping season Continue Reading
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News
23 Nov 2020
Manchester United praised for swift response to cyber attack
Manchester United’s systems were attacked last week, and the club has been praised for a swift and decisive response Continue Reading
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News
23 Nov 2020
MPs subjected to over 22 million malicious email attacks in 2020
Members of Parliament are targeted by millions of spam and phishing emails every month, according to a Freedom of Information disclosure Continue Reading
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News
20 Nov 2020
Security pros fear prosecution under outdated UK laws
CyberUp, a group of campaigners who want to reform the Computer Misuse Act, finds 80% of security professionals are concerned that they may be prosecuted just for doing their jobs Continue Reading
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E-Zine
19 Nov 2020
CW APAC: Expert advice on zero-trust security
Zero trust is a security model that eliminates the traditional perimeter and assumes that no user or device can be trusted until proven otherwise. In this handbook, Computer Weekly looks at how enterprises can take a zero-trust approach to securing their network, devices and workforce. Continue Reading
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News
19 Nov 2020
Security sector broadly backs Boris Johnson’s Cyber Force
Security community says the presence of a robust cyber defence force alongside a robust physical one will be vital to the UK’s national security Continue Reading
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News
18 Nov 2020
2021 the year of commodity ransomware, says Sophos
Sophos researchers anticipate a trickle-down effect in the cyber criminal underground Continue Reading
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News
18 Nov 2020
US cyber security chief fired for contradicting Trump
CISA chief Chris Krebs ousted for doing his job fighting disinformation in an apparent purge of officials deemed disloyal to president Donald Trump Continue Reading
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Podcast
18 Nov 2020
The case of Julian Assange as he faces US extradition bid – Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast
In this episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Bill Goodwin, investigations editor, joins Caroline Donnelly, Clare McDonald and Brian McKenna to discuss the case of Julian Assange, whose recent extradition hearing at the Old Bailey Bill reported on Continue Reading
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News
18 Nov 2020
How Aarogya Setu is addressing scale and security challenges
India’s contact-tracing platform leverages microservices, encryption techniques and cloud-based visibility tools to address scale and security requirements Continue Reading
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News
17 Nov 2020
Kaspersky shuts down data-processing activities in Russia
Cyber security provider’s data storage and processing activities for customers in Europe, the US and Canada, have now been fully relocated to Switzerland Continue Reading
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News
17 Nov 2020
HMRC warns over uptick in Self Assessment tax scams
HMRC issues updated warnings as 2021 Self Assessment deadlines loom Continue Reading
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News
17 Nov 2020
Ransomware stats overload risks confusing buyers
UK-based organisations are either more, or less, likely to pay ransoms, depending on which cyber security supplier you want to believe Continue Reading
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Feature
17 Nov 2020
How to build an effective vulnerability management programme
As cyber criminals increasingly look to exploit vulnerabilities in software and hardware, businesses must build and implement an effective vulnerability management programme to counter this growing threat Continue Reading
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News
16 Nov 2020
How Standard Chartered approaches cyber security
Bank uses security-by-design principles and conducts red-teaming exercises among other measures to fend off cyber breaches Continue Reading
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News
16 Nov 2020
Resident Evil studio Capcom confirms scale of Ragnar Locker breach
Videogame studio says the data of up to 350,000 people was likely to have been compromised in a Ragnar Locker ransomware attack Continue Reading
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News
16 Nov 2020
Hackney systems could be unavailable for months, says council
A month after a highly disruptive cyber attack on its systems, Hackney Council is still struggling to get back up and running Continue Reading
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News
13 Nov 2020
Ticketmaster fined £1.25m by ICO for failing to protect customer data
Ticket website’s customer data was exposed through an attack on a third-party chatbot Continue Reading
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News
12 Nov 2020
Online kids’ game Animal Jam confirms large breach
Cyber criminals have stolen data on 46 million Animal Jam player accounts via a third-party attack Continue Reading
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News
12 Nov 2020
Company accused of spying on Assange acted for Ecuadorian Intelligence, says ex UC Global manager
Former operations chief of UC Global told Spanish Court the company accused of spying on Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London was acting on the orders of Ecuadorian Intelligence Continue Reading
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News
11 Nov 2020
Security pros coped admirably with remote working transition
Despite facing tight timescales at the onset of the pandemic, security professionals have come through the transition to remote working remarkably well, according to a report Continue Reading
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News
11 Nov 2020
Microsoft drops fix for serious zero-day among 112 Patch Tuesday updates
November’s Patch Tuesday contains fixes for 112 bugs, including a potentially serious zero-day exploit that malicious actors are already taking advantage of Continue Reading
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News
11 Nov 2020
EU aid funds used to train ‘unaccountable intelligence agencies’ in high-tech surveillance
Hundreds of documents obtained by campaign group Privacy International show how the EU is supporting surveillance programmes in the Balkans, the Middle East and Africa Continue Reading
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News
10 Nov 2020
Intel and AMD processors affected by another side-channel exploit
Two years after Spectre and Meltdown, the x86 processor faces another side-channel exploit – only this time, it is based on sensing temperature Continue Reading
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News
10 Nov 2020
Leaky AWS S3 bucket once again at centre of data breach
Prestige Software exposed millions of records after failing to pay attention to the security of its cloud instances Continue Reading
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News
10 Nov 2020
IT Priorities 2020: After Covid-19, security goes back to basics
This year’s transition to remote working highlighted big gaps in the fundamentals of security, as updated TechTarget/Computer Weekly data reveals Continue Reading
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E-Zine
10 Nov 2020
Using digital twins to cut costs and improve safety at Shell
In this week’s Computer Weekly, we look at Shell’s digital twin strategy, which combines AI, internet of things and big data to improve safety and cut costs. Our latest buyer’s guide examines the best practices and technologies in business process automation. And we find out why securing DNS is critical to fighting cyber crime. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
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News
09 Nov 2020
EU moves closer to encryption ban after Austria, France attacks
Draft resolution document setting up an EU-wide ban on end-to-end encryption is set to be waved through this week Continue Reading
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Feature
06 Nov 2020
Credential stuffing: When DDoS isn’t DDoS
Ten years ago, credential stuffing attacks posed a comparatively minor threat, but with an escalating number of data breaches, the threat posed has now increased. What are the solutions to this very human problem? Continue Reading
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News
06 Nov 2020
NHS warned over Ryuk spreading through Trickbot replacements
NHS Digital tells healthcare organisations to be mindful of a marked rise in usage of the Bazar and Buer loaders Continue Reading
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News
05 Nov 2020
Consumer rights organisation warns of computer takeover scams
Consumers warned to be on guard against criminals pretending to be IT support staff to gain access to personal banking information Continue Reading
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News
05 Nov 2020
Singapore government rolls out digital signature service
Individuals and businesses will soon be able to sign documents digitally using a new service on the Singapore government’s SingPass digital identity platform Continue Reading
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News
04 Nov 2020
EU to introduce data-sharing measures with US in weeks
The European Commission is to issue updated standard contractual clauses (SCCs) that will allow organisations in the EU to exchange data with the US, but they may arrive too late to incorporate into UK law Continue Reading
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News
04 Nov 2020
India and Japan report stronger concern over cyber threats
Security operations teams in the two Asian giants see the increased volume of cyber threats as their biggest challenge amid the Covid-19 pandemic Continue Reading
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E-Zine
03 Nov 2020
The UK government’s ‘flawed and misleading’ Covid-19 data
In this week’s Computer Weekly, the coronavirus data relied upon by the UK government is ‘flawed and misleading’ say experts – we examine the implications. Ikea talks about how it turned to the cloud to deal with the impact of the pandemic. And we look at the digital transformation underway at credit card giant Capital One. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
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News
02 Nov 2020
NHS weathers cyber crime storm during pandemic, says NCSC
The NCSC dealt with over 700 incidents in the 12 months to August 2020, with over 200 specifically related to Covid-19, and the NHS a critical area of focus Continue Reading
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News
02 Nov 2020
Maze ransomware shuts down with bizarre announcement
The operators of Maze announce they are shutting down, and claim their crime spree was merely intended to demonstrate lax security at their targets Continue Reading
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News
30 Oct 2020
Accidental heroes: How one scaleup pivoted to cyber
Simeon Quarrie designed his business using virtual reality and interactivity as a tool to tell stories that effect cultural change in enterprise environments – then a cyber criminal emptied his bank account Continue Reading
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News
30 Oct 2020
ICO slashes Marriott breach fine to £18.4m
Reduced fine reflects both improvements made to hotel group’s cyber security and impact of coronavirus on the travel and hospitality sector Continue Reading
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News
29 Oct 2020
Surge in Ryuk ransomware attacks has hospitals on alert
Russian cyber criminals are conducting a targeted campaign against hospitals with Ryuk ransomware Continue Reading
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News
28 Oct 2020
Trump supporters targeted by cryptocurrency scammers
The successful breach of Donald Trump’s official website shows up lax security on his campaign team and is yet another timely warning that nobody is immune to cyber crime Continue Reading
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News
28 Oct 2020
Finnish therapy centre accused of covering up cyber attack
Private therapy practice Vastaamo faces questions over its security and business practices in the months leading up to one of the biggest data breaches in Finland’s history Continue Reading
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News
28 Oct 2020
Privacy and online safety are focus of new UKRI research funding
Online safety research centre of excellence will look into technology to boost privacy and tackle disinformation, fake news, conspiracies and other online harms Continue Reading
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News
27 Oct 2020
Calls for clarity over Amazon insider breach
Security experts call for more clarity from Amazon over an apparent leak of customer data Continue Reading
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News
27 Oct 2020
Sopra Steria hit by new version of Ryuk ransomware
IT services company Sopra Steria says it has contained the ransomware virus, but systems will take a few weeks to be fully operational Continue Reading
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News
27 Oct 2020
APAC CISOs warm up to zero trust
Security leaders in Asia-Pacific are adopting zero-trust security, but challenges stand in their way of reaping the full potential of the security model Continue Reading
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News
26 Oct 2020
Highly unusual hacking attack directly threatens therapy patients
A hacker has directly contacted therapy patients to say their highly personal therapy notes will be put on the internet unless they pay the ransom Continue Reading
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News
26 Oct 2020
Cooperation between Norway’s security agencies planned following cyber attack on parliament
Government seeks to develop enhanced national IT infrastructure with an embedded early warning system and defence shield to protect the IT systems of public and private organisations Continue Reading
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News
23 Oct 2020
Cyber attack on Hackney Council is ‘morally repugnant’, says mayor
Mayor of Hackney is ‘incredibly angry’ at the cyber criminals behind the attack, which will continue to disrupt key council services for some time Continue Reading
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Blog Post
23 Oct 2020
Securing Australia’s distributed workforce
This is a guest post by Tom Kellermann, head of cyber security strategy at VMware Carbon Black 2020 has been a year like no other. The global pandemic has quickly changed work and business as we ... Continue Reading
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News
21 Oct 2020
NSA’s top CVE list a timely reminder to patch
Many of the CVEs detailed on the NSA’s top 25 chart are golden oldies Continue Reading
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News
21 Oct 2020
Charities warned over ‘Robin Hood’ cyber criminals
Accepting donations from cyber criminal groups could be deemed as profiting from crime, money laundering or handling stolen goods – so don’t do it Continue Reading
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News
21 Oct 2020
Trump and Biden campaign apps easy targets for cyber criminals
You don’t need a stellar IQ to exploit the dangerous StrandHogg Android vulnerability, and users of both Donald Trump’s and Joe Biden’s mobile apps are at risk of falling victim to it Continue Reading
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News
21 Oct 2020
Customer loyalty accounts in danger from cyber criminals
Billions of credential stuffing attacks are harvesting valuable customer data for the dark web economy Continue Reading
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Feature
21 Oct 2020
Why securing the DNS layer is crucial to fight cyber crime
Domain name system security is often overlooked by organisations, but focusing on this layer could actually improve the effectiveness of cyber security strategies. We explore the latest DNS trends and best practice Continue Reading
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News
21 Oct 2020
Retailers get access to new security toolkit
The British Retail Consortium has worked with the NCSC to develop a new cyber security toolkit pitched at retailers Continue Reading
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Opinion
21 Oct 2020
Security Think Tank: Essential tools to mitigate double extortion attacks
The threat of identity theft via a data breach is heightened with the rise of attacks where ransomware threat actors both encrypt and ransom, and exfiltrate and leak their victims’ data. How does this evolution in cyber crime heighten risk for the enterprise, and what steps can we take to safeguard the personal data we hold? Continue Reading
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News
20 Oct 2020
Hackney Council services to be disrupted ‘for some time’
Inability to make housing benefit payments is likely to sting some tenants as Hackney cyber attack drags on Continue Reading
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News
20 Oct 2020
Resilient Trickbot down but not yet knocked out
Global, Microsoft-led effort to disrupt the Trickbot botnet has seen some success, but new command and control servers continue to pop up Continue Reading
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Podcast
20 Oct 2020
Podcast: Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Covid-19 and storage
We look at how organisations can use Cybersecurity Awareness Month as an opportunity to revisit their handling of data and compliance, especially with changes brought by Covid-19 and home working Continue Reading
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News
20 Oct 2020
Six Russians charged over NotPetya and other attacks
Six members of the APT group known as Sandworm have been charged in the US over a series of attacks including the destructive NotPetya incident Continue Reading
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E-Zine
20 Oct 2020
Why is IBM splitting in two and what does it mean for CIOs?
In this week’s Computer Weekly, IBM is splitting in two, hiving off its services business to focus on hybrid cloud – we examine what it means for CIOs. Our new buyer’s guide looks at how intelligent workload management can cut cloud complexity. And we analyse how getting backup right can help tackle ransomware threats. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
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Opinion
16 Oct 2020
Security Think Tank: Safeguarding PII in the current threat landscape
The threat of identity theft via a data breach is heightened with the rise of attacks where ransomware threat actors both encrypt and ransom, and exfiltrate and leak their victims’ data. How does this evolution in cybercrime heighten risk for the enterprise, and what steps can we take to safeguard the personal data we hold? Continue Reading
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News
16 Oct 2020
BA argues ICO data breach fine down to £20m
Information Commissioner’s Office levies fine of £20m on British Airways for failing to protect the personal data of hundreds of thousands of passengers – a vast reduction on the initial £183m penalty Continue Reading
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News
16 Oct 2020
Spanish court to question witnesses over ‘illegal surveillance’ of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
The Spanish National Court in Madrid is to hear evidence from information security expert Andy Müller-Maguhn and two lawyers who were subject to ‘illegal surveillance’ of their meetings with Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London Continue Reading
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News
15 Oct 2020
Arrests and indictments made in cyber money laundering ring
The NCA has revealed six men were arrested in the UK as part of an international investigation into a money laundering network which handled transactions for some of the world’s most prolific cyber criminal groups Continue Reading
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News
15 Oct 2020
Cloud data protection keeps the Crick’s medical research Covid-secure
Cloud data management services from Rubrik gave the Francis Crick Institute a data protection edge and have helped keep its vital work going through the pandemic Continue Reading
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Opinion
15 Oct 2020
Security Think Tank: Essential tools to mitigate data loss and identity theft
The threat of identity theft via a data breach is heightened with the rise of attacks where ransomware threat actors both encrypt and ransom, and exfiltrate and leak their victims’ data. How does this evolution in cybercrime heighten risk for the enterprise, and what steps can we take to safeguard the personal data we hold? Continue Reading
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News
15 Oct 2020
Hackney services still offline in ongoing cyber attack
Services remain disrupted two days after council was hit by a serious incident, as residents are warned to be on their guard Continue Reading
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News
14 Oct 2020
US Elections: Malicious internet domains spike as campaigns heat up
Internet domains related to the US presidential election are 56% more likely to be malicious than regular ones Continue Reading
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Opinion
14 Oct 2020
Security Think Tank: Adapting defences to evolving ransomware and cyber crime
The threat of identity theft via a data breach is heightened with the rise of attacks where ransomware threat actors both encrypt and ransom, and exfiltrate and leak their victims’ data. How does this evolution in cyber crime heighten risk for the enterprise, and what steps can we take to safeguard the personal data we hold? Continue Reading
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13 Oct 2020
Double extortion ransomware attacks and how to stop them
As ransomware attacks increase, hackers are diversifying their tactics to get victims to hand over larger sums of money. We investigate the rise of double extortion attacks Continue Reading
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E-Zine
13 Oct 2020
The future of storage
In this week’s Computer Weekly, we examine emerging technologies in storage such as helium disks and DNA. Ransomware is becoming more sophisticated and the attackers more tactical. And as the EU’s top court challenges the UK over surveillance, we ask what this means for data privacy after Brexit. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
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News
13 Oct 2020
Hackney Council services offline after ‘serious’ cyber attack
Services to residents of the London borough of Hackney are being disrupted by a cyber attack Continue Reading
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Opinion
13 Oct 2020
Security Think Tank: What you need to know about addressing the doxing threat
The threat of identity theft via a data breach is heightened with the rise of attacks where ransomware threat actors both encrypt and ransom, and exfiltrate and leak their victims’ data. How does this evolution in cybercrime heighten risk for the enterprise, and what steps can we take to safeguard the personal data we hold? Continue Reading
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News
12 Oct 2020
Trickbot forced offline in major cyber security victory
Coalition led by Microsoft obtained a court order enabling them to take down the infamous Trickbot botnet’s back-end server infrastructure Continue Reading
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News
12 Oct 2020
Cyber security skills ad branded ‘crass’ by minister
Security skills campaign advert depicting a ballet dancer comes in for criticism as the arts sector struggles in the pandemic Continue Reading
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News
12 Oct 2020
Software AG caught in double extortion ransomware hit
Data stolen from prominent German software company by Clop ransomware gang appears on the dark web Continue Reading
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News
12 Oct 2020
Making sense of zero-trust security
Implementing zero-trust security is not an easy feat, but enterprises can still get it right if they approach it from a process perspective and get a handle on their infrastructure footprint Continue Reading
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Opinion
12 Oct 2020
Security Think Tank: Tighten data and access controls to stop identity theft
The threat of identity theft via a data breach is heightened with the rise of attacks where ransomware threat actors both encrypt and ransom, and exfiltrate and leak their victims’ data. How does this evolution in cyber crime heighten risk for the enterprise, and what steps can we take to safeguard the personal data we hold? Continue Reading
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News
09 Oct 2020
Magecart strikes website of school payments service Wisepay
Magecart credit card skimmer harvested financial data of users of Wisepay’s platform over a two-day period Continue Reading
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News
08 Oct 2020
NCSC relaunches SME security guide with home working focus
The NCSC is issuing an updated version of its guide to security for SMEs, reflecting the long-lasting changes to the world of work seen in 2020 Continue Reading
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News
08 Oct 2020
Emotet rated September’s ‘most popular’ malware
The current resurgence of Emotet is attracting attention as governments issue new warnings and cyber criminals rush to exploit the chaotic US election Continue Reading
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News
08 Oct 2020
Coronavirus face mask spammer fined by ICO
The director of software company Studios MG spammed members of the public at the height of the pandemic as one of its directors tried to shift a job lot of face masks Continue Reading
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News
08 Oct 2020
Crown Prosecution Service suffers 1,600 data breaches in 12 months
CPS sees a spike in data security incidents, many of them serious enough to be reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office Continue Reading
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Blog Post
07 Oct 2020
QiuiAnon
A smart chastity cage that can only be controlled via its app was vulnerable to hackers putting almost 40,000 penises on lockdown, research has revealed. Sex toy manufacturer Qiui muses on its ... Continue Reading
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News
07 Oct 2020
UK accounts for 45% of Europe’s card fraud as criminals target online transactions
Payment card fraudsters steal €1.5bn, with card-not-present attacks accounting for three-quarters of this sum Continue Reading
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News
07 Oct 2020
Southeast Asia remains hotspot for cyber attacks
Geopolitics and Covid-19 have been fodder for cyber criminals to advance their motives in Southeast Asia in 2020 Continue Reading
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News
06 Oct 2020
Ransomware attacks go through the roof
The volume of ransomware attacks has jumped 50% in the past three months, according to data produced at Check Point Continue Reading
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News
06 Oct 2020
John McAfee arrested over cryptocurrency fraud
Erratic tech baron allegedly promoted initial coin offerings without disclosing he was being paid to do so Continue Reading
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News
05 Oct 2020
MosaicRegressor APT campaign using rare malware variant
Kaspersky researchers have shared details of a APT campaign utilising a rarely seen and hard-to-stop variety of malware Continue Reading
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News
05 Oct 2020
HMRC warns locked-down freshers of ‘wave’ of tax scams
New university intake may be being targeted by cyber criminals amid Covid-19 confusion Continue Reading
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News
05 Oct 2020
FBI seized ‘legally privileged’ material from Ecuador Embassy, claims Julian Assange’s lawyer
The US struck a secret deal with Ecuador to seize WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s property from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London days before his arrest. The haul included legally privileged documents, says his solicitor Continue Reading
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News
02 Oct 2020
WikiLeaks led the way for newsrooms to use encryption to protect sources, says Italian journalist
Stefania Maurizi says in written evidence that Julian Assange pioneered the use of encryption by journalists to protect sources. Her work shows that the US put pressure on Italy to stop the extradition and prosecution of CIA officers responsible for the extrajudicial kidnapping and torture of an Egyptian cleric Continue Reading
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News
02 Oct 2020
Honesty is the best policy: Forging a security culture in the NHS
Clinician and technologist Sam Shah helped set up NHSX in 2019. Now he’s helping advance digital transformation in healthcare from the outside, and a big part of that is addressing security in the sector Continue Reading