Hackers and cybercrime prevention

UK SMEs lack capacity to fend off cyber attacks

Three-quarters of UK SME leaders would not have sufficient capacity or expertise to deal with a cyber attack, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Parliamentary devices left in taxis, buses, trains and pubs

Nearly 100 devices belonging to parliamentary staffers, including MPs and peers, were lost or stolen over the course of 2019 and 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Lorca Ignite programme targets breakout cyber talent

Six of the most successful companies to have come through Lorca’s existing accelerators are being inducted into an intensive programme Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Carnival Cruises hit by fourth cyber incident in a year

Latest data breach at Covid-hit cruise line comes hot on the heels of two recent ransomware attacks and a spring 2020 breach Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber crooks target Amazon Prime users ahead of retail bonanza

A surge in malicious domain registrations ahead of Amazon Prime Day indicates cyber criminals have set their sights on exploiting vulnerable shoppers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UnitingCare Queensland restores IT systems after cyber attack

Australian healthcare service provider has restored key corporate systems and integrations between applications following a cyber attack earlier this year Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Biden tackles Putin on ransomware at Geneva summit

Discussions between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin on cyber crime appear to have been somewhat positive, but the path ahead remains unclear Continue Reading

Cl0p ransomware gang clapped in irons, assets seized

Ukrainian police report they have taken down the Cl0p, aka Clop, ransomware operation following a lengthy investigation Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Organisations cannot rely on cyber insurance to cover losses

Ransomware attacks have become a big driver of cyber insurance claims, but insurance must not be relied upon as a failsafe, says a report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NHS Test and Trace picks Risk Ledger to secure supply chain

Risk Ledger’s technology promises ‘unparalleled’ visibility into NHS Test and Trace’s supply chain Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ransomware most insidious cyber threat facing UK

NCSC CEO urges organisations to do more to prepare for ransomware attacks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The Security Interviews: How to build a government model to ‘hack for good’

Kyle Hanslovan started Huntress to give back after a career in the intelligence sector. After US authorities took action to help people hit by the Microsoft Exchange attacks, we discussed how governments can ‘hack for good’ Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

G7 commits to action on ransomware, digital privacy

The G7 urges Russia to do more to hold criminal ransomware gangs operating from within its borders to account as it commits to more action on the issue Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK promises tougher line on cyber crime

Speaking ahead of the G7 Summit, foreign secretary Dominic Raab says the UK is ready to take on cyber criminals and other malicious actors wherever they may be Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Risk data shows UK energy sector most vulnerable to cyber attack

New report compiled by insurance firm Hiscox reveals the state of cyber preparedness in the UK and beyond Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Australian organisations face heightened cyber attacks

Nearly three in four Australian organisations experienced cyber attacks that largely resulted from a growing remote workforce in 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Unit 42 warns of emergent Prometheus ransomware

Palo Alto’s Unit 42 shares intel on the emergent Prometheus ransomware gang, with apparent links to the Thanos crew Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

RSA spins out fraud and risk unit as Outseer

RSA Security is transitioning its fraud and risk intelligence work into a new business to be called Outseer Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Colonial Pipeline ransom seizure is a win, but don’t relax yet

The security community is enthusiastic about the US authorities’ recovery of a significant part of the Colonial Pipeline ransomware payment, but this positivity should perhaps be somewhat tempered Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

We Open Tech community supports non-binary and trans security pros

New tech community established to advocate for the interests of non-binary people, trans and cis women, trans men, and other marginalised genders in security Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The rise and rise of supply chain attacks

Supply chain attacks in Asia-Pacific and elsewhere have intensified as cyber threat actors look to exploit the weakest links in business and digital supply chains Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

The jobseekers turning to cyber crime in the pandemic

In this week’s Computer Weekly, security researchers say people left unemployed by the pandemic are turning to cyber crime – we find out why. We examine the confluence of distributed cloud and edge computing technologies. And controversial uses of facial recognition technology come under further scrutiny. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

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

Police raids around world after investigators crack An0m cryptophone app in major hacking operation

Police in 16 countries carried out raids on after Australian Police and the FBI cracked an encrypted An0M communications network used by crime groups Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Siloscape malware a risk to Windows containers, Kubernetes

Palo Alto’s Unit 42 reports on what appears to be the first-recorded malware targeting Kubernetes clusters through Windows containers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC updates schools ransomware guidance amid surge

The National Cyber Security Centre says it is dealing with a renewed surge of ransomware attacks targeting schools, colleges and universities Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

DNS attacks on the rise in APAC

Attacks on the domain name system in Asia-Pacific grew by 15% last year, with Malaysian organisations seeing the sharpest rise in damages among countries in the region Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

HSBC offers all businesses scam awareness app

HSBC is sharing information on the latest scams and how to defend against them thorough its latest app, available to all businesses Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Government action on ransomware epidemic gathers pace

The US government steps up action against ransomware operators, while the UK’s NCSC publishes guidance on preparing to deal with a ransomware attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Reports raise alarm over Huawei access to Dutch networks

Espionage accusations raise security questions for Netherlands organisations using Chinese supplier’s equipment and services Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Norway’s auditor general lifts lid on energy industry’s cyber security risks

Auditor General’s Office questions the security posture of Norway’s energy industry Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

FireEye sold to private equity, Mandiant regains independence

FireEye has agreed to sell its products business and name to a private equity consortium, while Mandiant will spin out as an independent threat intel business Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Scottish businesses missing out on Cyber Essentials benefits

More than a third of Scottish businesses do not believe they are adequately prepared to deal with a cyber security incident Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Long-term thinking is vital to secure UK’s critical infrastructure

To face down the threat of cyber warfare against UK CNI, the government needs long-term thinking that looks beyond the next general election cycle, says Advent-IM’s Mike Gillespie Continue Reading

By

• Mike Gillespie

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

By

• 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

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa 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

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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, Informa 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa 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

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget