IT for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)

BBC cracks down on TikTok after review

The BBC is asking staff not to install TikTok on corporate-owned devices without a justified business purpose, although its use will still be allowed to share media content with its audiences Continue Reading

UK TikTok ban gives us all cause to consider social media security

The UK government’s ban on TikTok should give all organisations cause to look into what information social media platforms are collecting on us, and what they are using it for Continue Reading

BEC attacks doubled in 2022, outstripping ransomware

Massive growth in the volume of Business Email Compromise or BEC attacks was linked to a surge in successful phishing campaigns, according to data from Secureworks Continue Reading

Budget 2023: startups extra funding via R&D relief and pensions

UK government aims to promote increased investment in research and development-intensive startups through tax relief measures, relaxed pension rules, and new investment zones Continue Reading

Mandiant: Dangerous MS Outlook zero-day widely used against Ukraine

A zero-day vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook that was fixed in the March Patch Tuesday update has likely been actively exploited by Russian actors for a year or more, and its use will now spread rapidly Continue Reading

Chinese Silkloader cyber attack tool falls into Russian hands

A loader tool used by Chinese cyber criminals seems to have been enthusiastically taken up in recent weeks by Russian ransomware operators Continue Reading

Microsoft patches Outlook zero-day for March Patch Tuesday

A highly dangerous privilege escalation bug in Outlook is among 80 different vulnerabilities patched in Microsoft’s March Patch Tuesday update Continue Reading

As Covid fades away, what’s the future of remote work in Europe?

Many IT leaders are still supporting some form of work from home, and a trend is beginning to take shape in Europe Continue Reading

Technology minister Michelle Donelan defends data reforms

Secretary of state Michelle Donelan has defended the government’s new data reforms as providing certainty for businesses while simultaneously retaining high standards of data protection, but industry figures are having mixed reactions Continue Reading

UK government introduces revised data reform bill to Parliament

Designed in close collaboration with technology businesses, the UK government is re-introducing an updated version of its Data Protection and Digital Information Bill to Parliament, which civil society groups say upends key safeguards Continue Reading

White House unveils National Cybersecurity Strategy

The strategy will focus on ensuring closer collaboration on cyber security between government and industry, while giving software and other tech companies a bigger role in combatting threats due to their resources and expertise Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: Training can no longer be a compliance exercise

Historically, security training has tended to take a compliance-based focus, a ‘tick-box’ exercise using generic, off-the-shelf courses. This needs to change, says Hayley Watson of Turnkey Consulting. Continue Reading

Cyber training in 2023 needs to drive measurable change

2023 will see more focus on security training programmes that not only provide employees with an understanding of the risks they face but more importantly drive measurable behavioural change, says PA Consulting’s Richard Allen Continue Reading

WithSecure proposes ‘undo’ button for ransomware

WithSecure’s Activity Monitor technology supposedly overcomes the shortcomings of sandbox test environments, and may be able to stop ransomware attacks from ever happening Continue Reading

Santander SME platform harnesses Salesforce

Bank platform that helps UK small and medium-sized enterprises expand export opportunities is built on cloud technology from Salesforce Continue Reading

UK HSE to launch regulatory sandbox for industrial safety tech

The sandbox will see the regulator work with industry and tech startups to accelerate the development and adoption of a range of safety-related technologies, with a particular emphasis on data and analytics Continue Reading

Researchers find new bug ‘class’ in Apple devices

A group of vulnerabilities in Apple products that stem from the ForcedEntry exploit used by spyware firm NSO constitutes a whole new class of bug, say researchers at Trellix Continue Reading

Dutch cyber security professionals experience stress akin to soldiers in war zone, claims expert

Cyber attacks are taking a heavy toll on Dutch IT professionals, with over a third reporting that their mental health suffers as a result Continue Reading

Half of cyber leaders to switch jobs by 2025, citing stress

A substantial number of cyber security leaders are plotting their great escape, saying the industry is leaving them too stressed to go on, according to a study Continue Reading

Cyber security training: Insights for future professionals

Future cyber security professionals need soft skills as well as technical ones, says security educator Sudeep Subramanian Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: New trends and drivers in cyber security training

Self-paced, interactive, bite-sized learning is becoming the optimum path for cyber security training in the workplace, says John Tolbert of KuppingerCole Continue Reading

Multi-purpose malwares can use more than 20 MITRE ATT&CK TTPs

Report warns of the development of increasingly sophisticated, multi-purpose malwares, and calls on defenders to play close attention to the MITRE ATT&CK framework to ward them off Continue Reading

Microsoft fixes three zero-days in February update

February’s Patch Tuesday update contains fixes for three previously unpublicised zero-days in Microsoft Office, Windows Graphics Component and Windows Common Log File System Driver Continue Reading

Vidar, nJRAT re-emerge as prominent malware threats in January

Trojans and infostealers once again dominate the list of most commonly observed threats, according to Check Point’s latest telemetry Continue Reading

How to protect your business from fraud during a recession

This winter, the chilly winds of a global recession have fraudsters turning up the heat. PJ Rohall of SEON Fraud Fighters shares some guidance on how to bundle up against fraud Continue Reading

KPMG launches metaverse and digital twin hub in Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Arabian government’s commitment to investing in metaverse technology has attracted a KPMG centre of excellence to its shores Continue Reading

Porsche revs up Formula E team with NetApp hybrid cloud

Porsche’s electric car racing team has to set up on city street courses in short order, and does it with a portable server setup and hybrid cloud storage managed by NetApp GFC Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: Poor training is worse than no training at all

Bad security training is a betrayal of users, a security risk, and ultimately a waste of money, but there are some reasons to be optimistic about the future, say Mike Gillespie and Ellie Hurst of Advent IM Continue Reading

The Security Interviews: How to overcome data protection compliance challenges

Complying with the vast swathe of data protection legislation around the world is complex, especially for smaller organisations without the necessary expertise. Could the compliance process be simplified, and if so, how? Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: In 2023, we need a new way to cultivate better habits

Regular, small adjustments to behaviour offer a better way to keep employees on track and cultivate a corporate culture of cyber awareness, writes Elastic’s Mandy Andress Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: Getting the training and development mix right

Rob Dartnall, CEO at SecAlliance and chair of Crest’s UK Council, describes the need for formal, varied and continuous development in the cyber security sector Continue Reading

UK Cyber Council and ISACA launch audit, assurance programme

The UK Cyber Security Council has teamed up with ISACA to partner on a new audit and assurance programme for security pros Continue Reading

Royal Mail recovers more International Tracked services

Royal Mail is making further progress in recovering IT systems hit by a ransomware attack, and has re-enabled another tranche of international export services Continue Reading

Former Fujitsu staff under police investigation to face Post Office IT scandal inquiry

Two former Fujitsu IT professionals being investigated for potential perjury will face Post Office Horizon public inquiry in May Continue Reading

Hive ransomware gang taken down after FBI hacks back

The FBI hacked into Hive’s servers, stole its decryption keys and then took down its servers in a major action that has successfully disrupted a prolific and dangerous ransomware operation Continue Reading

Royal Mail resumes some international parcel services from UK

Royal Mail has successfully stood up its International Tracked and Signed, and International Signed, services as it continues to recover from a ransomware attack Continue Reading

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

Royal Society calls on public sector to pilot privacy tech

The Royal Society says public sector bodies should lead the way in piloting privacy-enhancing technologies to unlock the value of data without compromising privacy and data rights, but lack of standards and incentives mean adoption is slow Continue Reading

Fraudsters and cyber criminals stole more than £4bn in the UK through 2022

The amount of money stolen by fraudsters and cybercriminals in the UK saw a huge increase in 2022 Continue Reading

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

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

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

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

Top 10 Nordic IT stories of 2022

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

Top 10 technology startup stories of 2022

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 technology startup stories of 2022 Continue Reading

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

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

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

Digital Economy Council: UK tech sector number one in Europe

Despite the tumultuous economic landscape, the UK has maintained its spot as having the number one tech sector in Europe, with its impressive investment figures Continue Reading

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

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

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

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

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

Customer frustrations mount as Rackspace investigation proceeds

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

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

Labour unveils plans to make UK global startup hub

The Labour Party has published a review into the UK startup landscape, which calls for a number of changes to help make the country a more attractive place for startups Continue Reading

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

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

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

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

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

Industrial IoT focus of next NCSC startup challenge

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

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

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

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

Think technology, process, human risk to manage ransomware

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

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

Plexal inducts six into cyber leadership scheme

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

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

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

UK tech sector given four-point plan to cut carbon emissions by more than 80 million tonnes

According to a report by Tech Nation, leasing renewably powered office space, switching to plant-based food when catering events and curbing business travel would significantly bring down the UK tech sector’s carbon emissions Continue Reading

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Automated threats biggest source of cyber risk for retailers

Threat actors targeting retailers during the coming holiday season are increasingly turning to automated forms of cyber attack, according to a report Continue Reading

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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