Hackers and cybercrime prevention

European-led consortium investigates quantum cryptography

The arms race to a quantum internet is under way – the European Commission is looking at secure critical national infrastructure and member state comms Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Exagrid pays $2.6m to Conti ransomware attackers

Backup appliance specialist hit by Conti ransomware in May with cyber criminals downloading employee and customer data, confidential contracts and source code Continue Reading

By

• Valéry Rieß-Marchive, Rédacteur en chef
• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Ex-IT manager stole over £800,000 from NHS trust

A former senior IT manager at an Essex NHS trust has pleaded guilty to defrauding his employer out of more than £800,000 Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft brings APAC policymakers together in security council

Microsoft’s APAC public sector security council will meet once a quarter to share threat intelligence and best practices for combating cyber threats Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Essential Guide: How APAC firms can ride out the pandemic

In this Essential Guide, we examine the impact of Covid-19 on Asia-Pacific businesses, how they have responded and important lessons that can be learned as they ready themselves for the post-pandemic world. Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Millions of pounds lost to crypto fraud on social media

More than £63m has been lost nationally by victims of investment fraud via a social media platform, says Action Fraud Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Legacy vulnerabilities may be biggest enterprise cyber risk

While high-profile cyber attacks and zero-days grab headlines, statistics gathered by network security specialists Cato suggest CISOs should be addressing legacy threats Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Air India is latest victim of Sita hack

Data on millions of people who flew with Air India between 2011 and 2021 appears to have been compromised in the recent Sita supply chain attack Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Dutch researchers build security software to mimic human immune system

Software could help IT systems develop immunity to some cyber attacks in a similar way to how the body fights infection Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Why the security stack needs to move to the edge

Akamai’s chief technology officer Robert Blumofe makes the case for a decentralised security model to address cyber threats that are emanating from the network edge Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

CyberUK, bees and datacentres, Red Cross digital mapping – Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast

In this episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Caroline Donnelly and Brian McKenna are joined by Alex Scroxton, security editor, to discuss CyberUK, bees and datacentres, and the British Red Cross’ use of digital mapping to combat Covid-19 Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor
• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK
• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Malicious scans for at-risk systems start minutes after disclosure

Statistics collated by Palo Alto Networks reveal malicious actors begin scanning the internet for systems at risk of new CVEs within minutes Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Reports of stolen Irish health service data being leaked online

Leaking of deeply confidential and personal information on patient healthcare marks a new low for the criminal Conti gang Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Barclays first bank to publish online scam refund details

All banks must be transparent about the proportion of victims of authorised push payment fraud they refund, says consumer rights organisation Which? Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Flexxon bakes AI into SSDs to fight unknown threats

Singapore-based Flexxon has developed a solid-state drive that uses artificial intelligence to fend off malware and other unknown threats Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Australian budget lends support to digital economy

Australia’s A$1.2bn Digital Economy Strategy ticks most of the right boxes, but some industry experts say areas such as broadband infrastructure and artificial intelligence are still underfunded Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Withers

Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack has grave consequences

The ramifications of a major ransomware attack against a US fuel pipeline operator could spread far and wide Continue Reading

The real-life consequences of ransomware attacks

In this week’s Computer Weekly, after a ransomware attack shut a major US oil pipeline, we examine the real-life consequences for organisations facing similar threats. We ask the experts for their top tips in reducing datacentre running costs. And we hear how data science skills are helping government make better decisions. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Conti ransomware syndicate behind attack on Irish health service

More details continue to emerge of the significant ransomware attack on Ireland’s HSE Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC study to probe disability and neurodiversity in cyber

National Cyber Security Centre and KPMG have launched a new diversity study aiming to capture benchmarks on disability and neurodiversity in cyber Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government seeks input on supply chain security

Amid concerns that too few companies are addressing vulnerabilities in their supply chain, DCMS is opening a consultation on new measures to enhance security Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Colonial Pipeline paid $5m ransom, reports say

Colonial Pipeline may have paid a significant ransom within hours of being attacked, it has emerged, but it’s unlikely the story ends here Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Irish health service hit by major ransomware attack

IT systems in hospitals across Ireland have been switched off following a significant ransomware attack Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Dutch police used deep learning model to predict threats to life

Dutch police developed a deep learning model in their EncroChat investigation to predict which messages contain serious threats to life Continue Reading

By

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

The shape of fraud and cyber crime: 10 things we learned from 2020

While a pandemic-driven increase in cyber crime and an exacerbation of existing fraud trends were, to a large extent, to be expected, the LexisNexis Risk solutions UK cybercrime report 2020 still contained a few surprises Continue Reading

By

• Neira Jones

Publishing exploit code does more harm than good, says report

Disclosing exploit code before patches are available gives malicious actors a ‘massive’ head-start, says Kenna Security Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Biden beefs up public-private security cooperation

Joe Biden has signed a new Executive Order to harden US cyber security and government networks, with an emphasis on information sharing Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Refuge launches tech safety site for domestic abuse victims

Created with the help of survivors, Refuge’s resource site offers guidance on protecting yourself from tech-enabled domestic abuse Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Verizon DBIR underscores year of unprecedented cyber challenge

Verizon 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report draws predictable conclusions as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic continues to be felt Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Inside DarkSide: Researchers share intel on break-out cyber gang

Security researchers swap information on the newly famous DarkSide ransomware gang, the group that doesn’t appear to understand what ‘being a criminal’ actually means Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CyberUK 2021: NCSC encourages startups to invest in cyber

National Cyber Security Centre is launching bespoke cyber security guidance aimed at the UK’s valuable startup community Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK to fund national cyber teams in Global South

Government will commit millions of pounds to supporting vulnerable countries in establishing cyber capacity Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft fixes four critical bugs on lighter Patch Tuesday

Four critical RCE vulnerabilities put users of various Microsoft products at risk, and should be patched right away Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The Security Interviews: Why helpful bots could hurt vaccine roll-outs

Earlier this year, spikes in traffic to websites containing information about Covid-19 vaccines were attributed by Imperva to automated bots scraping data. Why is that a problem? Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK Plc invited to sign up for Early Warning of cyber incidents

The launch of the Early Warning incident notification service is among the enhancements being made by the NCSC to its service packages Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC cyber guidance targets cloud and home working

The NCSC’s refreshed cyber security guidance for larger organisations places particular emphasis on cloud, home working and ransomware Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Collaboration key to success of UK’s Cyber Security Council

The founders of the UK’s Cyber Security Council have been setting out their plans to professionalise the cyber sector at the NCSC’s CyberUK 2021 event Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government to reform Computer Misuse Act

Home secretary Priti Patel will explore reforming the Computer Misuse Act as calls mount for the 31-year-old law to be updated to reflect the changed online world Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

SolarWinds CEO calls for collective action against state attacks

SolarWinds CEO tells NCSC’s CyberUK conference he is exploring the possibility of collaborating with other companies on collective cyber action against attacks backed by nation states Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Swedish court finds ambiguities in hacked EncroChat cryptophone evidence

Defence lawyer claims evidence obtained by hacking the EncroChat encrypted phone network has ‘no legal’ value following Swedish appeal court ruling Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly
• Sara Nkwe Assarsson

Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack has grave consequences

The ramifications of a major ransomware attack against a US fuel pipeline operator could spread far and wide Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC Active Cyber Defence blocks surge of pandemic scams

The NCSC responded to a surge in online scams last year as it moved to protect both the general public and critical national services during the pandemic Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How do I get my users to pay attention to security training?

As cyber security risks grow daily, businesses must educate staff about these through cyber awareness training. But how can they ensure this is taken seriously by employees? Continue Reading

By

• Nicholas Fearn

NCSC, CISA publish new information on Russia’s Cozy Bear

New intelligence from UK and US cyber agencies suggests that APT29, or Cozy Bear, has been switching up its tactics Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC publishes smart city security guidelines

Guidance for local authorities, IT and cyber professionals aims to ensure the security of connected, smart city projects Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber accreditation to improve legal standing of security pros

Institute of Cyber Digital Investigations Professionals will help incident responders and cyber investigators get the professional recognition they deserve Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Securing the UK's emerging smart cities

UK councils have a huge opportunity to improve services through the use of smart city technologies - but they must avoid the cyber security risks, says the government's digital minister Continue Reading

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• Matt Warman, Digital minister

Reddit enlists HackerOne to run public bug bounty programme

Online community platform is opening up its HackerOne bug bounty programme to any ethical hacker who cares to have a look under the bonnet Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ransomware, supply chain attacks show no sign of abating

Security experts at Black Hat Asia 2021 discuss the state of ransomware and supply chain attacks, two of the most common attack vectors that offer high returns for threat actors Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Government urged to add scam protections to Online Safety Bill

Group of organisations calls for the government to use the Online Safety Bill to protect people from cyber scams Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Google to introduce mandatory MFA for users

In future, holders of Google accounts will have no option but to use multifactor authentication if they want to use the firm’s services Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

HSBC blocks £249m in UK fraud with voice biometrics

HSBC voice recognition technology has reduced telephone banking fraud as demand for the channel increases Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Sophos: How timely intervention stopped a ProxyLogon attack

A recent incident at an undisclosed customer sheds new light on how malicious actors exploit unpatched Microsoft Exchange servers Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

New standard to simplify IoT device onboarding

Fido Alliance’s device onboarding protocol will automate the process of connecting internet-of-things devices to device management platforms while improving security Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

EncroChat: Top lawyer warned CPS of risk that phone hacking warrants could be unlawful

Lord David Anderson QC warned prosecutors that there were formidable arguments against the lawfulness of a police operation to infiltrate the encrypted phone network, EncroChat Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Northern Ireland pilots security training plan for 16-25s

Pilot scheme in Northern Ireland aims to widen access to cyber security careers Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How to tackle intellectual property crime

Crimes against intellectual property are big business for organised crime groups, commercial competitors and foreign states alike. In the first of a series of legal columns, David Cowan offers a practical approach Continue Reading

By

• David Cowan, National University of Ireland, Maynooth

Covid-19 security challenges leave bank customers at risk

Challenges arising from the pandemic have left gaping holes in banking security, putting consumers at risk of fraud Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Recruiters can’t afford to hold out for cyber ‘unicorns’

The perfect security candidate is hard to find, so hiring policy needs to be more pragmatic Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Office 365 compromise likely led to Merseyrail ransomware attack

Compromise of Merseyrail employee data seems to have begun after a key email account was hacked Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Total cost of ransomware attack heading towards $2m

Sophos’ latest study finds that ransomware attacks are proving increasingly disruptive to their victims’ finances Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Why we need to reset the debate on end-to-end encryption to protect children

Private messaging is the front line of abuse, yet E2EE in its current form risks engineering away the ability of firms to detect and disrupt it where it is most prevalent Continue Reading

By

• Andy Burrows, NSPCC

Apple OS updates patch multiple security holes

The much-heralded release of the privacy-centric iOS 14.5 also brings patches for multiple CVEs, and users of Apple smartphones, tablets and notebooks are best advised to update as soon as possible Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

North London school wins NCSC girls’ cyber challenge

Highgate School in North London is the winner of this year’s CyberFirst Girls security competition Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UnitingCare Queensland hit by cyber attack

Healthcare service provider UnitingCare Queensland was reportedly hit by a ransomware attack that crippled several IT systems Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

How Toffs is seizing Asia’s CDN market

Toffs Technologies is eyeing second- and third-tier cities in Asia as it bolsters its infrastructure and experiments with the use of home networks as content delivery networks Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

GCHQ: Cyber investment a guarantor of UK’s global status

GCHQ director Jeremy Fleming sets out a vision for the UK’s cyber security future Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Researchers shed more light on APT29 activity during SolarWinds attack

RiskIQ’s Atlas threat intel team uncovers new patterns and threat infrastructure used in the SolarWind’s attacks Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

ToxicEye malware exploits Telegram messaging service

The Telegram instant messaging service is being used by malicious actors to manage a remote access trojan called ToxicEye Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC offers teachers free cyber security training

The NCSC’s latest security training offer builds on a package of measures designed to protect schools from cyber attack Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

SonicWall Email Security zero-days need urgent patch

Users of SonicWall Email Security are advised to patch immediately, but the supplier is being criticised for the pace of its response Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Time is running out to probe networks for Emotet

Security teams will lose an unprecedented opportunity to gain valuable intelligence to enhance their defences when Emotet is finally ‘executed’ in a few days’ time Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK’s proposed IoT cyber security law gathers momentum

New statistics appear to vindicate UK government proposals to force suppliers to be upfront about IoT security Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Chinese APT exploits critical CVE in Pulse Secure VPN

A newly disclosed vulnerability in Pulse Secure’s VPN is being exploited by a Chinese advanced persistent threat group – assume compromise and mitigate today Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Codecov supply chain attack has echoes of SolarWinds

Supply chain attack on code auditing service may have compromised the likes of HPE and IBM Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Singapore’s ViewQwest debuts security service

ViewQwest’s SecureNet service uses Palo Alto Networks’ next-generation firewall with deep packet inspection capabilities to guard against cyber threats Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Government puts Facebook under pressure to stop end-to-end encryption over child abuse risks

Facebook faces growing government pressure to abandon its plans to offer users end-to-end encryption to secure the privacy of their messages as the NSPCC raises concerns about child protection Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

The Secret IR Insider’s Diary – from Sunburst to DarkSide

From dealing with SolarWinds fallout to ransomware attacks, it’s been a busy few weeks for the Secret IR Insider, but they've picked up some new tricks along the way Continue Reading

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• The Secret IR Insider, Check Point

Finnish government strengthens country’s IT network security

Finland’s government has created a new national organisation to help public and private bodies improve network security Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Biden sanctions Russia over SolarWinds cyber attacks

US president imposes new sanctions on Russia following malicious cyber attacks against the US and allies Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

University of Hertfordshire is latest academic cyber attack victim

Multiple systems are offline at the University of Hertfordshire following a cyber attack Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft is most impersonated brand in phishing attempts

Technology companies continue to be frequently spoofed by cyber criminals in their phishing attempts Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

FBI accesses ProxyLogon target servers to disrupt cyber criminals

US Justice Department reveals successful court-authorised effort to clamp down on ProxyLogon exploitation Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NSA unearths more MS Exchange vulnerabilities

Microsoft patches more critical vulnerabilities in Exchange Server a month after the ProxyLogon incident, after being warned by the US National Security Agency Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

MP told to ditch official email over hacking fears

MP Tom Tugendhat claims the intelligence services advised him to switch to the Gmail service due to concerns his parliamentary email could be hacked Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Covid-19 left people feeling vulnerable to cyber crime

Around 15 million people in the UK experienced cybercrime in the past 12 months, with a cumulative 64 million hours wasted dealing with the fallout Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Millions of devices at risk from NAME:WRECK DNS bugs

Newly disclosed set of nine DNS vulnerabilities puts over 100 million consumer, enterprise and industrial IoT devices at risk Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

EncroChat lawyers raise questions over use of PII secrecy orders on UK decryption capabilities

Lawyers claim that public interest immunity certificates may have been used to withhold information on UK intelligence agencies’ ability to decrypt encrypted communications Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Vaccine passports and travel plans race up Covid threat charts

With lockdown restrictions easing in the UK, cyber criminals are tailoring their phishing lures to new areas of interest Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Why some jobseekers have turned to cyber crime during the pandemic

Research shows that many people have been seeking cyber crime-related work on the dark web, but why? Continue Reading

By

• Nicholas Fearn

Executive interview: Unleashing blockchain’s potential

Labrys founder and CEO Lachlan Feeney offers his observations about blockchain adoption in Australia, and what his firm is doing to help organisations unleash the full potential of the technology Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Egypt, Italy and US most affected in Facebook leak

Researchers at VPN firm Surfshark have been analysing data on 533 million people leaked from Facebook Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC: Using your pet’s name as a password is very stupid

If your email password is still Rex, Rover or Mr Fluffles, it’s probably best to change it, the NCSC has said Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cring ransomware hits ICS through two-year-old bug

A long-disclosed vulnerability in Fortinet’s Fortigate VPN servers is being exploited to distribute Cring ransomware Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Nation-state cyber attacks double in three years

Cyber attacks backed by nation states are becoming more frequent and varied, moving the world closer to a point of ‘advanced cyber-conflict’, according to a University of Surrey research project Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Facebook ducks calls to apologise over huge data leak

Facebook gives its side of the story as data on millions of its users leaks, but is yet to apologise for security lapses that put half a billion people at risk of compromise Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Unpatched SAP applications are target-rich ground for hackers

Report from SAP and cyber threat research company Onapsis warns that hackers are attacking mission-critical SAP business applications that contain unpatched vulnerabilities Continue Reading

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• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Facebook data leak could be outside scope of GDPR

Regulators may be unable to do much about leaked data on 533 million Facebook users, as it seems to have been stolen before GDPR came into force Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

EncroChat hearings delayed as lawyers seek disclosure on police hacking

Court hearings precipitated by police cracking the EncroChat secure mobile phone network have been delayed after defence lawyers request further disclosures on police decryption capabilities Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

How to build a honeypot to increase network security

Create a honeypot that will trap attackers and monitor their activities to enhance your organization's network security. This step-by-step guide takes you through the process. Continue Reading

By

• Ben Lutkevich, Site Editor