IT for utilities and energy
Utility firms and energy companies rely on IT to support their often highly complex operations. The industry is being forced by politial and customer pressure to be greener and technology is central to achieving greater energy efficiency, through major initiatives such as smart meters. Our stories about energy and utility firms examine how IT is helping to enable change and improvement in these companies.
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News
18 Sep 2023
Government seeks industry views on cyber threat to UK CNI
The Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee is seeking evidence from the cyber sector as it launches an inquiry into the resilience of the UK's critical national infrastructure Continue Reading
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News
13 Sep 2023
Patch Tuesday: Microsoft fixes zero-days in Word and Streaming Service
September 2023 brings a light Patch Tuesday, with two zero-days and five critical vulnerabilities listed in the latest release Continue Reading
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News
12 Sep 2023
European enterprises to spend more on generative IT to close gap on US
European organisations are upping their spending on generative AI innovation, but face challenges recruiting the right people to support this Continue Reading
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News
07 Sep 2023
Honeywell goes quantum to protect utilities from future threats
Honeywell and quantum computing specialist Quantinuum will integrate quantum-hardened encryption keys into future smart meters Continue Reading
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Feature
07 Sep 2023
Interview: Ashish Gupta, head of EMEA, HCLTech
It’s not just enterprises that changed their operating models during and after Covid, but also the suppliers that took them on the journey, HCLTech Europe’s head explains Continue Reading
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News
05 Sep 2023
Plymouth Uni spearheads research into wind farm cyber resilience
Project hosted at the University of Plymouth in Devon aims to develop cyber security measures to protect the UK’s increasingly important offshore wind farm assets Continue Reading
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News
29 Aug 2023
Top-performing CISOs reserve time for professional development
Survey of chief information security officers conducted by Gartner sheds light on habits shared by the top-performing members of the profession Continue Reading
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News
23 Aug 2023
Cyber attacks in 2023 develop quicker as average dwell times plummet
The median attacker dwell time shrunk from 10 to eight days in the first seven months of 2023, and in the case of ransomware attacks it is down to just five days Continue Reading
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News
21 Aug 2023
Cyber attack on Aussie energy services firm may hit UK CNI
Energy One, an Australia-based supplier of tech services to the energy sector, is investigating the possibility that some UK customers may have been caught up in an ongoing cyber attack on its systems Continue Reading
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News
28 Jul 2023
Lancaster Uni lends cyber support to nuclear decommissioning body
Lancaster University’s cyber team has joined with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to help support and protect its 300-year mission, while enhancing its own capabilities in the process Continue Reading
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News
25 Jul 2023
Tetra radio users’ comms may have been exposed for years
A number of flaws in the encryption algorithms used in the secure Tetra radio communications standard have potentially left users exposed to snooping Continue Reading
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News
30 Jun 2023
SGN pens IT service desk outsourcing deal
Utility company SGN renews its internal IT services managed services contract with new supplier Continue Reading
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News
28 Jun 2023
GDPR tax reclaim scheme preys on fears of SMEs
IT suppliers are a target of companies offering a tax reclaim scheme that preys on small businesses’ fears around General Data Protection Regulation compliance Continue Reading
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News
27 Jun 2023
Johnson Controls opts for container-based app delivery with Portworx
Buildings management giant built a suite of customer-facing products using containers and opted for Pure Storage Portworx for hybrid cloud container management and data protection Continue Reading
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News
20 Jun 2023
EDF deploys Dynatrace to fuel site reliability engineering drive
The energy company has adopted the observability platform to support in-house software development Continue Reading
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News
19 Jun 2023
Dutch government puts up €123m to address shortage of ICT workers
Financial injection aimed at improving cooperation between vocational education and business in the Netherlands, and making the tech professions more attractive Continue Reading
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News
07 Jun 2023
UKtech50 2023 winner: Michelle Donelan/Chloe Smith, secretary of state, DSIT
Computer Weekly looks at the achievements and successes of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, as its secretary of state is recognised as the most influential person in UK technology for 2023 Continue Reading
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News
07 Jun 2023
UKtech50 2023: The most influential people in UK technology
Computer Weekly has announced the 13th annual UKtech50 – our definitive list of the movers and shakers in the UK tech sector Continue Reading
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News
25 May 2023
Alert over Chinese cyber campaign targeting critical networks
A Chinese threat actor known as Volt Typhoon has been observed infiltrating CNI networks in a cyber espionage campaign, according to intelligence Continue Reading
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News
10 May 2023
UKtech50 2023: Vote for the most influential person in UK technology
Our judges have selected the top 50 leaders from a shortlist of more than 300 people – now it’s your chance to tell us who you think is the most influential person in UK technology Continue Reading
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News
09 May 2023
UKtech50 2023: The longlist of the UK’s influential tech leaders
Each year, Computer Weekly launches a search for the most influential people in UK IT, asking the tech community who it thinks should be in the top 50 – here is the longlist of everyone nominated for 2023 Continue Reading
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E-Zine
02 May 2023
The ethics of military AI
In this week’s Computer Weekly, as the defence sector looks into using artificial intelligence to create autonomous weapons, we examine the risks and ethics of military AI. Amazon Web Services is under fire for not providing vital emissions data to customers – we investigate the issues. And we find out what IT security teams can learn from a year of cyber warfare in Ukraine. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
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News
19 Apr 2023
IT Priorities 2023: Budget optimism among EMEA IT leaders
IT leaders across the EMEA region are optimistic that their budgets will increase over the coming year Continue Reading
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News
19 Apr 2023
Global finance firms take part in NATO cyber attack simulation
Global financial services organisations take part in NATO annual event which simulates cyber attacks on critical infrastructure Continue Reading
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News
19 Apr 2023
CyberUK 23: Alert over mercenary Russian threat to CNI
Russian hacktivists supportive of their government’s war on Ukraine are turning their attention to disruptive or destructive attacks on critical infrastructure in the UK, the NCSC has warned Continue Reading
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News
18 Apr 2023
Reduced spending on cloud services weighs European IT services market down
Reduced spending on cloud services in the EMEA region meant a year-on-year drop in total IT and BPO services spend Continue Reading
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Feature
18 Apr 2023
Why IAM systems are crucial for securing multicloud architecture
As business tools evolve into cloud-based services, organisations are finding themselves becoming ever more reliant on the cloud, but how can data be secured across so many different platforms? Continue Reading
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News
17 Apr 2023
Government launches Smart Data Council to lower utility bills
The council aims to find ways to use and encourage uptake of smart data to make it easier to switch utility providers and save money Continue Reading
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News
13 Apr 2023
Thousands at risk from critical RCE bug in legacy MS service
Thousands of organisations worldwide are at risk from three vulnerabilities – one critical – in a legacy Microsoft service that they may not be aware they are running Continue Reading
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News
12 Apr 2023
April Patch Tuesday fixes zero-day used to deliver ransomware
A zero-day in the Microsoft Common Log File System that has been abused by the operator of the Nokoyawa ransomware is among 97 vulnerabilities fixed in April’s Patch Tuesday update Continue Reading
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News
12 Apr 2023
Gartner: Rebalance cyber investment towards human-centric elements
Security decision-makers need to reprioritise their investment outlooks towards people, rather than technology, according to the latest market forecast from Gartner Continue Reading
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News
11 Apr 2023
UKtech50 2023: Help us find the most influential people in UK IT
Computer Weekly’s annual search for the 50 most influential people in UK IT is back – let us know who you would like to nominate for this year’s list Continue Reading
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Opinion
11 Apr 2023
Security Think Tank: Adopt a coherent framework for ID first security
With IAM central to enabling appropriate access to cloud-based services, identity first security is becoming a key trend for IAM in the cloud. Continue Reading
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News
05 Apr 2023
Quick-acting Rorschach ransomware appears out of nowhere
Emergent Rorschach ransomware strain is highly advanced and quite unusual in its capabilities, warn researchers, who say they have been unable to link it to any other known strains Continue Reading
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News
04 Apr 2023
Threat researchers dissect anatomy of a Royal ransomware attack
Trellix researchers share the inside track on a Royal ransomware attack that hit one of its customers in late 2022 Continue Reading
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News
04 Apr 2023
Over 90% of organisations find threat hunting a challenge
Understaffed security teams and high levels of background noise are making basic security operations tasks a chore for defenders, according to a report Continue Reading
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News
31 Mar 2023
Generative AI central to Accenture’s tech vision
Generative AI will play a central role over the next 10 years as the digital and physical world become more and more integrated Continue Reading
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News
30 Mar 2023
OSC&R supply chain security framework goes live on Github
The OSC&R framework for understanding and evaluating threats to supply chain security has made its debut on Github to allow anybody to contribute to the framework Continue Reading
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News
30 Mar 2023
NCSC issues revised security Board Toolkit for business leaders
National Cyber Security Centre calls on CEOs and senior business leaders to take a more hands-on approach to cyber resilience with the launch of revised board-level tools Continue Reading
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News
28 Mar 2023
Apple security updates fix 33 iPhone vulnerabilities
A larger-than-usual update to Apple’s mobile operating system fixes more than 30 distinct vulnerabilities, including two serious issues that may potentially affect device kernels Continue Reading
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News
28 Mar 2023
Ransomware attacks up 45% in February, LockBit responsible
NCC Group says it observed a surge in ransomware attacks in February, with LockBit, BlackCat and BianLian all highly active Continue Reading
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News
24 Mar 2023
National Crime Agency sting operation infiltrates cyber crime market
The UK National Crime Agency has tricked thousands of potential cyber criminals into registering with a fake website pretending to offer tools for creating DDoS attacks Continue Reading
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News
21 Mar 2023
Hitachi Energy emerges as victim of Clop gang’s Fortra attack
The power and energy division of Japanese conglomerate Hitachi has disclosed that it has fallen victim to a Clop cyber attack, but insists customer data is safe Continue Reading
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News
21 Mar 2023
Ransomware gangs harass victims to ‘bypass’ backups
Analysis reveals how cyber criminal gangs are turning to extensive, targeted harassment campaigns to force victims to pay up, even if their backups are in good order Continue Reading
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News
20 Mar 2023
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
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News
17 Mar 2023
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
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News
16 Mar 2023
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
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News
16 Mar 2023
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
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News
15 Mar 2023
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
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News
15 Mar 2023
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
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Feature
14 Mar 2023
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
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News
13 Mar 2023
MI5 to oversee new National Protective Security Authority
The new National Protective Security Authority will address various national security threats including state-sponsored cyber espionage against UK targets Continue Reading
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News
08 Mar 2023
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
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Feature
07 Mar 2023
What can security teams learn from a year of cyber warfare?
With the passing of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we reflect on the ongoing cyber war, and ask what security leaders can learn from the past 12 months Continue Reading
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Opinion
28 Feb 2023
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
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Opinion
27 Feb 2023
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
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News
23 Feb 2023
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
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News
23 Feb 2023
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
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News
22 Feb 2023
UK forces lead live-fire cyber war exercise
The seven-day Defence Cyber Marvel 2 exercise put cyber responders from 11 countries through their paces Continue Reading
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News
22 Feb 2023
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
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News
22 Feb 2023
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
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News
22 Feb 2023
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
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Opinion
21 Feb 2023
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
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Opinion
16 Feb 2023
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
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News
15 Feb 2023
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
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News
15 Feb 2023
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
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News
14 Feb 2023
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
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Opinion
14 Feb 2023
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
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News
13 Feb 2023
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
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News
13 Feb 2023
Security buyers lack insight into threats, attackers, report finds
The majority of cyber security purchasing decisions are made without proper insight into the attackers organisations are facing, according to a Mandiant report Continue Reading
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Opinion
08 Feb 2023
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
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News
08 Feb 2023
Rakuten targets big edge deployments with Symworld Cloud
Japanese giant Rakuten bought Kubernetes management platform Robin.io and put it in 50,000-plus telco antennas. Now it aims Symworld Cloud at enterprise edge deployments Continue Reading
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News
06 Feb 2023
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
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Opinion
03 Feb 2023
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
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Opinion
02 Feb 2023
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
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News
02 Feb 2023
North Korea’s Lazarus gang exposes itself in opsec failure
WithSecure researchers linked a campaign of cyber attacks targeting medical research and energy firms to North Korea’s infamous Lazarus APT after a group member accidentally screwed up Continue Reading
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News
01 Feb 2023
Cloud security top risk to enterprises in 2023, says study
A PwC study finds senior executives expect cyber attacks on cloud services to increase significantly this year Continue Reading
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News
01 Feb 2023
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
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News
27 Jan 2023
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
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News
25 Jan 2023
Boards struggle to resolve cyber risk in digital supply chains
Accelerated digitisation of supply chains is introducing more cyber risk for which many organisations seem unprepared, according to the BSI’s annual report on supply chain risk Continue Reading
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News
24 Jan 2023
UK insurers need to up their game on cyber gaps, says PRA
Gaps and limitations in how insurers respond to cyber risk need to be addressed, according to the Bank of England regulator, the Prudential Regulation Authority Continue Reading
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News
24 Jan 2023
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
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News
24 Jan 2023
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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News
17 Jan 2023
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
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News
17 Jan 2023
Royal Mail promises ‘workarounds’ to restore services after ransomware attack
Royal Mail CEO Simon Thompson apologises to customers whose businesses are being disrupted by a ransomware attack and promises a ‘workaround’ will be in place in the near future Continue Reading
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News
13 Jan 2023
LockBit cartel suspected of Royal Mail cyber attack
The still-developing cyber incident at Royal Mail may be the work of the infamous LockBit ransomware operation Continue Reading
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News
11 Jan 2023
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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News
10 Jan 2023
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
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Feature
29 Dec 2022
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
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News
29 Dec 2022
Top 10 Nordic IT stories of 2022
Here are Computer Weekly's top 10 Nordic IT articles of 2022 Continue Reading
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Opinion
29 Dec 2022
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
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News
22 Dec 2022
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
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News
22 Dec 2022
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
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News
20 Dec 2022
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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Opinion
19 Dec 2022
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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Feature
19 Dec 2022
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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News
14 Dec 2022
Advanced Azov data wiper likely to become active threat
Check Point deep dives into an emergent data wiper strain known as Azov, which is making waves with hundreds of new samples being submitted to VirusTotal daily Continue Reading
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News
14 Dec 2022
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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News
14 Dec 2022
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
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News
13 Dec 2022
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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News
13 Dec 2022
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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Opinion
12 Dec 2022
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