IT for media and entertainment industry

SSRF attacks hit 100,000 businesses globally since November

There has been a dramatic increase in attacks exploiting the ProxyNotShell/OWASSRF exploit chains to target Microsoft Exchange servers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Fake online contest makes Yahoo! most phished brand of Q4 2022

Yahoo! was the most frequently phished brand during the last three months of 2022, according to a report Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The rise of fraud in pop culture is impacting consumers’ digital trust

Shows such as The Tinder Swindler and Inventing Anna were big money-earners for Netflix in 2022, but Onfido’s Mike Tuchen says their popularity risks damaging consumer trust Continue Reading

By

• Mike Tuchen

Cloudflare urged to clamp down on pirates, counterfeiters

A whitepaper produced by brand protection specialist Corsearch calls on Cloudflare to do more to stop online content piracy and sales of counterfeit goods Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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

The Security Interviews: Protecting your digital self

Our digital self – the virtual presence of who we are online – has a pervasive influence in the real world. People make judgements based on these digital depictions, so what can be done to ensure positive representation? Continue Reading

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• Peter Ray Allison

UK government completes trials of age estimation technology

Government-led trials of age estimation and verification technologies for the sale of alcohol in nightlife venues and supermarkets have been completed, with both government and retail lobbyists pushing for legislation that would allow retailers to adopt the tools for alcohol sales Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics 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

By

• 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

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

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

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Test of digital ID tech at Surrey nightclub proclaimed success

The majority of visitors to a Camberley venue who piloted a digital identification app developed by 1account said they found it easy to use and preferred it to standard physical ID Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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

Top 10 Nordic IT stories of 2022

Here are Computer Weekly's top 10 Nordic IT articles of 2022 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

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

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 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

Four-day working week set to stay at Atom bank

Challenger bank Atom has formalised a four-day working week policy after a successful trial Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

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

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• Andrew Morris, Turnkey Consulting

Top 10 storage and backup customer stories of 2022

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 storage and backup customer stories of 2022 Continue Reading

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• Antony Adshead, Storage 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

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft fixes two zero-days in final Patch Tuesday of 2022

December’s Patch Tuesday is typically a light month for Microsoft, and this year proved no exception, but there are still several critical issues worth addressing, and two zero-days for defenders to pore over Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

EU issues draft data adequacy decision in favour of US

The European Commission has concluded that the United States does ensure an adequate level of protection for personal data transferred from the European Union and will now launch the process towards the adoption of an adequacy decision Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The nature of the CISO role will be in flux in 2023

As cyber risk outpaces organisational defences, and cyber attacks and breaches cause more and more damage, the nature of the CISO role is entering a state of flux, according to a report Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Embrace prioritisation, people, imperfections

Security and IT professionals should try to make peace with their imperfections in 2023, says Nominet CISO Paul Lewis Continue Reading

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• Paul Lewis, Nominet

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

Consumers to get new protections against dodgy apps

Government’s new code of practice will impose new privacy and security measures on app store operators and developers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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

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

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: As cyber pros, we need to articulate our needs better

There is always a lot to learn about security, but one of the most important lessons may not relate to technology at all, says Petra Wenham Continue Reading

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• Petra Wenham

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

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

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

By

• Andrew Morris, Turnkey Consulting

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

Protecting children as they spend years in virtual worlds

To protect children online, we must now focus on pre-emptive and robust regulation around immersive technologies Continue Reading

By

• Patrick Cronin

Data management, backup becoming the CISO's responsibility

More and more CISOs are taking on responsibility for wider data management strategies, and this trend looks set to grow next year Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security 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

South Korea data adequacy pact brings £15m Brexit bonus

UK government finalises a data adequacy agreement with South Korea, saying it will unlock a post-Brexit business bonus of just under £15m Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

C-suite mystified by cyber security jargon

Malware, supply chain attack, zero-day, IoC, TTP and Mitre ATT&CK are just some of the everyday terms that security pros use that risk making the world of cyber incomprehensible to outsiders Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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

Brexit deregulation will make UK next Silicon Valley, vows Hunt

Chancellor vows to revolutionise how the IT industry is regulated to spur competition, investment and innovation in a technological ‘Big Bang’ Continue Reading

By

• 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

Security Think Tank: Let’s be transparent about ransomware

Greater transparency regarding ransomware attacks, including details about attack methods used and what kinds of assets were compromised, would likely help the community prevent future attacks Continue Reading

By

• John Tolbert, KuppingerCole

Online scam victims lose an average of £1,000 each

New data from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau shows victims of online fraud lose an average of £1,000 per person Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber insurance: The good, the bad and the ugly

Most cyber insurance contracts are innately flawed because they exclude losses arising from state-backed cyber attacks, and this will make proper attribution even more important in the future, says Cisco Talos’ Martin Lee Continue Reading

By

• Martin Lee

Volume of self-reported breaches to ICO jumps 30%

The number of self-reported breaches to the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office soared by nearly 30% in the 12 months to 30 June 2022 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

An encouraging new conversation around sustainable IT, says Nordic CIO

What started as a whisper a decade ago has become distinctly audible chatter among IT leaders sharing best practices on how to protect the environment Continue Reading

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• Pat Brans, Pat Brans Associates/Grenoble Ecole de Management

Security Think Tank: To stop ransomware, preparation is the best medicine

You can’t ‘stop’ ransomware, but you can do a lot to keep yourself from becoming ensnared when it strikes Continue Reading

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• Paul Watts, Information Security Forum

Cyber criminals have World Cup Qatar 2022 in their sights

Volumes of malicious cyber activity around the upcoming FIFA World Cup are already starting to tick upwards and are likely to continue to do so Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft serves smorgasbord of six zero-days

November’s Patch Tuesday fixes significantly fewer vulnerabilities of late, but includes six actively-exploited zero-days, three of them of critical severity Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Anti-ransomware strategies should be as easy as ABC

When developing and implementing ransomware protection strategies, the importance of paying thorough attention to security measures you might consider elementary cannot be understated Continue Reading

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• Petra Wenham

Keeping personally identifiable data personal

As it celebrates its 100th birthday, the BBC has begun a pilot looking into its role in enabling the general public to store their personal data Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

To fight ransomware, we must treat digital infrastructure as critical

Ransomware defence is failing because we don’t view our digital infrastructure in the same way as our physical infrastructure, argues Elastic’s Mandy Andress Continue Reading

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• Mandy Andress, Elastic

Microsoft: Nation-state cyber attacks became increasingly destructive in 2022

The willingness of nation-state actors to conduct destructive cyber attacks is a source of grave concern, as Microsoft’s latest annual Digital Defence Report lays bare Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Ransomware and CISOs’ balancing act

Ransomware has the potential to cause irreversible business damage, so CISOs should consider not only protection but also response and recovery Continue Reading

By

• Arina Palchik and Charles Moorey

Microsoft pledges $100m in new IT support for Ukraine

Microsoft will continue to offer free-of-charge technology support to Ukraine for the foreseeable future Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Know your networks, know your suppliers

To combat the ransomware scourge, we must work harder to monitor and learn from the increasingly complex threat environment, keep a closer eye on supply chains, and share our insights Continue Reading

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• Rob Dartnall, SecAlliance

A third of UK cyber leaders want to quit, report says

Nearly a third of UK security leaders are considering leaving their current role, and more than half are struggling to keep on top of their workload Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Prepare today for potentially high-impact OpenSSL bug

OpenSSL trailed a critical vulnerability patch last week, which will be only the second such flaw ever found in the open source encryption project. Unfortunately, the first was Heartbleed Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Container security: why so different?

Done well, container security can be a model for securing the enterprise, and businesses that focus their teams on solving it can help accelerate positive change in other areas Continue Reading

By

• Bernard Brantley

How has container security changed since 2020, and have we taken it too far?

While containers are now one of the most popular ways to deploy applications, it is fair to say that the adoption and implementation of security best practice to govern their use has not kept up Continue Reading

By

• Rob Tyler, Turnkey Consulting

Government ups cyber support for elderly, vulnerable web users

DCMS announces a funding boost to help the elderly, disabled and other vulnerable groups stay safe online and avoid being misled by disinformation Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

LinkedIn adds new features to safeguard user privacy, security

Social media platform is adding a number of features and systems designed to protect legitimate users from inauthentic profiles and activity Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Apple patches new iPhone zero-day

Apple’s latest patch fixes yet another zero-day, as security issues keep surfacing in its mobile products Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Digital-first businesses more willing to accept some fraud

Companies founded in the past 20 years appear more willing to accept higher levels of fraudulent activity during the customer onboarding process, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Half of staff might quit after a cyber attack, report says

Findings from a survey of CISOs, IT leaders and staffers reveal how experiencing a cyber incident may take a larger-than-thought toll on employee retention Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Berlingske Media to go all-digital in 2023

Danish publisher moves national daily newspaper fully online as it cuts costs and reacts to changing customer habits Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Ukrainian and UK IT sectors to deepen collaboration, partnerships

BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, and the IT Ukraine Association have signed an MoU to deepen collaboration between the UK and Ukrainian IT sectors, and champion new partnerships and growth opportunities Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber professional shortfall hits 3.4 million

Shortage of cyber security professionals continues to grow and shows no signs of abating, says report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Treat cyber crime as a ‘strategic threat’, UK businesses told

The government’s new National Cyber Advisory Board aims to help elevate cyber discussion and spur action in the business community Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Office 365 email encryption flaw could pose risk to user privacy

A vulnerability in Microsoft Office 365 Message Encryption could leave the contents of emails dangerously exposed, but with no fix coming it’s up to users to decide how at risk they are Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC urges organisations to secure supply chains

NCSC’s latest guidance package centres supply chain security, helping medium to large organisations assess and mitigate cyber risks from suppliers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Morrisons joins the fast-growing retail media movement

More retailers are becoming publishers as they realise the potential of their online assets, helping to fuel a new fast-growth segment of digital marketing – and Morrisons is no exception Continue Reading

By

• Ben Sillitoe

Broadcasters treat data science as niche and sporadic in use

Data science specialists at UK broadcasters conveyed a similar picture of niche use cases at Big Data London 2022 Continue Reading

By

• SA Mathieson

Reports Uber and Rockstar incidents work of same attacker

Rockstar Games was hit over the weekend by an attacker who claimed to have accessed its Slack channel to steal data on an upcoming release, and may be the same person who compromised Uber Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Organisations failing to account for digital trust

The vast majority of businesses are well aware of the importance of digital trust, yet very few have a dedicated staff role responsible for it, report finds Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ex-CISA head Krebs: Disrupt ransomware support networks to win the war

Speaking at an event hosted by data protection specialist Rubrik, former CISA director Chris Krebs calls for the security community to work collectively to kick out the supports from under ransomware gangs Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CISOs should spend on critical apps, cloud, zero-trust, in 2023

Faced with a global recession next year, security buyers should try to direct investment towards technology that protects customer-facing and revenue-generating workloads, say analysts Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK payments upgrade to add more than £3bn to GDP, but much more on offer

UK GDP will increase when its ageing payments infrastructure is replaced with the latest technology to enable real-time payments Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Security Think Tank: Effective DevSecOps requires collaboration

Application security and effective DevSecOps can only be achieved through collaboration with the business – the ultimate goal is to make it safer to do business, which requires considering integrated risk management and identity and access management alongside cyber security and application security Continue Reading

By

• Andrew Morris, Turnkey Consulting

IAM house Okta confirms 0ktapus/Scatter Swine attack

Following last week’s disclosureby Group-IB researchers of a major phishing campaign, Okta has warned its customers to be on their guard Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Adaptive RedAlert, Monster ransomwares go cross-platform

Kaspersky researchers have shared new intelligence on two emergent cyber criminal groups that have adapted their ransomwares to target different operating systems at the same time Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Millions of Plex users may be at risk in password breach

Up to half of Plex’s 30 million users may have had their personal data stolen by an unknown threat actor Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security pros fret about stress and promotion over cyber attacks

CIISec’s annual report on the state of the security profession reveals some home truths for security leaders Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

LockBit 3.0 cements dominance of ransomware ecosystem

Ransomware attacks were up 47% in July compared with the previous month, according to the latest threat data from NCC Group, with the LockBit family largely to blame Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Most CISOs think they’ve been attacked by a nation state

Most organisations have made changes to their cyber strategies and policies following Russia’s invasion, and almost two-thirds suspect they have been directly targeted or impacted by a nation-state cyber attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Kaspersky threat data added to Microsoft Sentinel service

Microsoft and Kaspersky have agreed a collaboration to integrate Kaspersky’s threat data feeds into Microsoft’s cloud-native SIEM/SOAR service Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Lloyd’s to end insurance coverage for state cyber attacks

Lloyd’s of London has instructed its members to exclude nation state cyber attacks from insurance policies beginning in 2023, saying they pose unacceptable levels of risk Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cozy Bear targets MS 365 environments with new tactics

Cozy Bear, or APT29, is trying out new tricks as it seeks access to its targets’ Microsoft 365 environments Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Growing MFA use spurs ‘pass-the-cookie’ attacks

The exploitation of stolen session cookies by cyber criminals is once again back on the agenda, thanks to the growing popularity of multifactor authentication tools Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

It takes a breach to force boards to take notice of cyber, says UK government

Too often, it takes a major incident for business leadership to pay attention to cyber issues, according to a government-commissioned study of victims Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Why organisations need to harmonise their CIO and CISO roles

Unless properly managed, conflicting responsibilities between the chief information officer and the chief information security officer can cause project delays and budget overruns, says Netskope’s Mike Anderson Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

Microsoft fixes two-year-old MSDT vulnerability in August update

August’s Patch Tuesday drop fixes more than 120 CVEs, including another MSDT RCE zero-day that is being actively exploited. Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

‘Coopetition’ a growing trend among ransomware gangs

Sophos shares data from its new X-Ops unit at Black Hat in Las Vegas, revealing a growing number of ransomware victims being attacked by multiple gangs at the same time Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor