IT security

Welsh workers’ AI experiences shaped by uneven power dynamics

Workers in Wales are being negatively affected by the unregulated introduction of artificial intelligence into workplaces due to asymmetric power dynamics Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Defra legacy IT: 180 applications refreshed, over 1,500 remain

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has a 10-year plan to update technology. So far, 180 have been replaced or updated Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

consumer data

Consumer data is the information that organizations collect from individuals who use internet-connected platforms, including websites, social media networks, mobile apps, text messaging apps or email systems. Continue Reading

By

• Robert Sheldon

AI everywhere all at once

Artificial intelligence became mainstream in 2023. Advances in technology and accessibility led to increased awareness and use of AI Continue Reading

By

• Resham Kotecha

SASE Evaluation - The Thoughts Of A Founding Father

Now here’s something a little different. On this ‘ere blog, you are used to hearing my views on the world of networking, comms, security and occasionally wine. You may also have read my recent ... Continue Reading

By

• Steve Broadhead, Broadband Testing

Low Code Hits New High - Results Of A New Survey

Had a really interesting conversation the other day with Adrian Bignall, he who is in charge of International Sales at Evoke Technologies. Evoke is a rather large tech consultancy that only ... Continue Reading

By

• Steve Broadhead, Broadband Testing

Microsoft hack: Five questions enterprises should ask their IT leaders

Following the news about a Russia-backed hacking group infiltrating Microsoft's systems, enterprises may want to seek assurances from their IT and security leaders about the implications of the attack for them Continue Reading

By

• Owen Sayers, Secon Solutions

We need backup! Pennsylvania police data loss shows why

Police evidence systems data was lost during ‘routine maintenance’, with human error blamed – the case clearly illustrates why data protection can’t be left to chance Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Chat control: Tech companies warn ministers over EU encryption plans

Tech companies have written to EU ministers to urge them to back the European Parliament, rather than the European Commission, over proposed regulations to police child abuse. Continue Reading

Tech companies warn EU over encryption plans

In this week’s Computer Weekly, tech companies are calling on the European Commission to rethink plans to weaken internet encryption – we explore the issues. We talk to credit rating agency Moody’s about why it thinks now is the time to start investing in quantum computing. And we examine how a different approach to recruitment could ease the datacentre sector skills gap. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

indicators of compromise (IOC)

Indicators of compromise are unusual activities on a system or network that imply the presence of a malicious actor. Continue Reading

By

• Robert Sheldon
• Madelyn Bacon, TechTarget

Top 10 types of information security threats for IT teams

Know thine enemy -- and the common security threats that can bring an unprepared organization to its knees. Learn what these threats are and how to prevent them. Continue Reading

By

• TechTarget Contributor

Lords question legality of police facial recognition

Lords committee ‘deeply concerned’ about the rapid expansion of live facial recognition by UK police, which it says is progressing without any real oversight or accountability Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

What developers need to know about LLMs in the enterprise

We look at the main areas enterprise developers need to consider when building, testing and deploying enterprise applications powered by large language models Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor
• Adrian Bridgwater

GenAI tools ‘could not exist’ if firms are made to pay copyright

AI firm Anthropic hits out at copyright lawsuit filed by music publishers, claiming the content ingested into its models falls under ‘fair use’ and that any licensing regime would be too complex and costly Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Security Think Tank: Expect more from GenAI in 2024

But 2024 also feels slightly different; the past 12 months have seen generative AI burst on to the scene, and this year its impact will continue to be felt, says Turnkey Consulting's Harshini Carey. Continue Reading

By

• Harshini Carey, Turnkey Consulting

Quantum, AI and geopolitical conflict: '24 will be a big year for cyber

With big trends like quantum, generative AI and geopolitical conflict, 2024 looks set to be a big year in security, but defenders have an unparalleled opportunity to harness these trends for good, says Quorum's Federico Charosky Continue Reading

By

• Federico Charosky

Akira ransomware gang claims Lush cyber attack

The Akira ransomware gang claims to have stolen over 100GB of data from cosmetics manufacturer and retailer Lush Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK government consults on age verification tech in alcohol sales

The government has said it wants to allow the use of digital identities and various age-verification technologies in alcohol sales Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Security Think Tank: What to expect in cyber this year

Risk arising from insecure generative AI, an explosion in mainstream acceptance of zero-trust, and increasingly tight cyber insurance policies will all be high on the agenda in 2024, writes Forrester senior analyst Alla Valente Continue Reading

By

• Alla Valente

Bulk sender authentication: More vital than ever

With new guidelines from Google and Yahoo governing bulk emails coming into force in February 2024, here's what you need to know to keep your sales and marketing lists compliant Continue Reading

By

• Gerasim Hovhannisyan

The race to regulate AI: 2024 unpacked

EU’s AI Act is set to become ‘gold standard’ of AI regulation. Will other countries adopt the same high standards or like the UK opt for a light touch in favour of growth and investment? Continue Reading

By

• Jamie Rowlands and Angus Milne, Haseltine Lake Kempner

Bugcrowd sees surge in vulnerability submissions, led by public sector

Crowdsourced vulnerability disclosure and bug bounty platform Bugcrowd says it saw a 151% uptick in submissions related to government and public sector organisations in 2023 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Mitigating the risks of modern application development

Organisations need to have visibility over their software supply chain, secure and monitor interfaces to legacy systems and adopt zero trust to mitigate the risks of modern application development Continue Reading

By

• Peter Lees

Security Think Tank: 2024 is the year we bridge the cyber divide

ISACA's Steven Sim Kok Leong shares his thoughts on the coming year in cyber security, considering the impact of regulatory change, the evolving role of the CISO, and advances in innovative cyber tech Continue Reading

By

• Steven Sim Kok Leong

encryption key management

Encryption key management is the practice of generating, organizing, protecting, storing, backing up and distributing encryption keys. Continue Reading

By

• Rahul Awati
• Ed Hannan

WebKit vulnerability sparks Apple’s first major security update of 2024

A zero-day in the open source WebKit browser engine that powers Safari has sparked Apple’s first major patch roll-out of the new year Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Southern Water confirms cyber attack after Black Basta claims

Southern Water, which supplies millions of customers in southeast England, has confirmed it has fallen victim to a cyber attack, although its services appear to be running normally Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Inside Cisco’s security platform strategy

Raj Chopra, senior vice-president of Cisco’s security business, outlines the company’s security platform strategy and how it brought different products together into a single platform Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Critical vulnerability exposes Fortra GoAnywhere users

Fortra GoAnywhere MFT users must take steps to address a newly disclosed zero-day vulnerability without delay Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

AI will heighten global ransomware threat, says NCSC

The benefits of artificial intelligence to cyber criminals being well-known, the NCSC now assesses it’s likely AI will soon be widely used to enhance ransomware attacks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Salesforce’s bug bounty programme paid out $3m in 2023

Ethical hackers disclosed more than 4,000 vulnerabilities to Salesforce last year through its bug bounty programme, and received over $3m in rewards Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cato claims world’s first SASE-based XDR

Generative AI, detection and response, endpoint protection and new incident response tools headline expansion of core secure access service edge platform beyond networking, threat prevention and data protection Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

How to avoid malware on Linux systems

Malware attacks are devastating to companies, and there is no exception for Linux systems. Consider updating systems and assigning correct permissions. Continue Reading

By

• Jack Wallen

Podcast: Storage and compliance outlook for 2024

Interesting times ahead in 2024 as we talk to Mathieu Gorge, CEO of Vigitrust, about updates to EU regs, PCI, NIST, post-Brexit divergence and 60 national elections across the globe Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Expert guide to e-discovery

An expert guide to why your organisation needs an electronic discovery policy and how to go about creating one Continue Reading

By

• Martin Nikel, Thomas Murray

Building an incident response framework for your enterprise

Understanding incident response framework standards and how to build the best framework for your organization is essential to prevent threats and mitigate cyber incidents. Continue Reading

By

• David Geer, Geer Communications
• Peter Sullivan

Top incident response service providers, vendors and software

Get help deciding between using in-house incident response software or outsourcing to an incident response service provider, and review a list of leading vendor options. Continue Reading

By

• Paul Kirvan

Treat cyber risk like financial or legal issue, says UK government

UK government and NCSC launch proposed code of practice on cyber security governance to help directors and business leaders toughen their defences Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Leak of 26 billion records may prove to be ‘mother of all breaches’

The discovery of a dataset comprising 26 billion stolen records may prove to be record-breaking in both its size and the danger it poses to ordinary people Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

SEC bitcoin hack was result of SIM-swapping

A cyber attack on the US financial regulator earlier in January 2024 occurred after hackers took over one of its mobile phone accounts in a so-called SIM-swapping attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Davos 2024: AI disinformation tops global risks

In this week’s Computer Weekly, AI-generated disinformation and misinformation will be the top risks for businesses, governments and the public over the next two years, according to the World Economic Forum. Intel’s CTO discusses the chip maker’s plans for the European market. And we examine the dearth of digital skills among elected officials. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

SolarWinds hackers attack Microsoft in apparent recon mission

Russian-backed threat actor behind infamous 2020 SolarWinds Sunburst intrusion hacked into Microsoft’s systems, apparently in an attempt to get hold of intel on themselves Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

PAC calls on MoD to fix inventory management IT

The Public Accounts Committee is concerned that the ageing and fragmented IT systems used in the MoD’s inventory management puts front-line forces at significant risk Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Chat control: Tech companies warn ministers over EU encryption plans

Tech companies have written to EU ministers to urge them to back the European Parliament, rather than the European Commission, over proposed regulations to police child abuse Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Tech trends: what will be hot in 2024?

Five major technology trends for 2024 Continue Reading

By

• Bev White, Nash Squared

ICO prompts confusion over police cloud legality

The UK data regulator has suggested that, despite major data protection concerns, it is likely to greenlight police cloud deployments because of an information-sharing agreement with the US government Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

security incident

A security incident is an event that could indicate that an organization's systems or data have been compromised or that security measures put in place to protect them have failed. Continue Reading

By

• Kinza Yasar, Technical Writer
• Mary E. Shacklett, Transworld Data
• Ivy Wigmore

Neighbouring Kent councils hit by simultaneous cyber attacks

Canterbury, Dover and Thanet Councils in Kent have all been struck by simultaneous cyber attacks knocking systems offline, with indications of a link between all three Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Powering up cyber security defences with AI

AI holds great promise when it comes to securing valuable, and vulnerable, data, but security teams face some challenges if they are to get the best out of it, writes IBM’s Christopher Meenan Continue Reading

By

• Christopher Meenan

The Last Word In Analysing SASE Offerings: Evaluation Advice

DEFINING A Network Scorecard For Evaluating SASE Cloud Solutions While it could be argued that there are a near-infinite number of variables – and very few constants – that go into defining a SASE ... Continue Reading

By

• Steve Broadhead, Broadband Testing

Cyber non-profit enlists ex-NCSC head as technical chair

Founding NCSC chief exec Ciaran Martin is to join the newly launched Cyber Monitoring Centre non-profit as chair of its technical committee Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC invites security pros to join the big leagues

The NCSC is inviting security pros from across the UK to sign up to work with its experts on an intelligence-sharing initiative Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Biometric revolution in IAM: The future of authentication

The IAM landscape is experiencing profound change thanks to the advent of biometrics. Learn about the latest advantages and key benefits of biometrics in identity Continue Reading

By

• Isla Sibanda

Cloud-to-cloud backup: What it is and why you (probably) need it

Basic cloud data protection is just not enough. Several loopholes leave business data vulnerable and that means additional cloud-to-cloud backup should be seriously considered Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Pritchard

The Security Interviews: Rebecca Taylor, SecureWorks Counter Threat Unit

In October 2023, Rebecca Taylor of the SecureWorks Counter Threat Unit was recognised at the annual Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards for her work. Computer Weekly caught up with her to talk mentoring, cyber career development and diversity Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CERT vs. CSIRT vs. SOC: What's the difference?

What's in a name? Parse the true differences between a CERT, a CSIRT, a CIRT and a SOC, before you decide what's best for your organization. Continue Reading

By

• Ed Moyle, SecurityCurve

Victims of 2023 Capita data breaches head to High Court

More than 5,000 people impacted by data breaches arising from two cyber incidents affecting outsourcer Capita have joined a group action lawsuit Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Tape is back on the main menu

The news that another of the big players in global file systems, Hammerspace, has integrated tape access into its data orchestration software should remind us all that tape’s modern incarnations ... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Betts, Freeform Dynamics

Singapore proposes governance framework for generative AI

AI Verify Foundation and Infocomm Media Development Authority have proposed a governance framework for generative AI to address the risks and concerns about the emerging technology Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

How to create a CSIRT: 10 best practices

The time to organize and train a CSIRT is long before a security incident occurs. Certain steps should be followed to create an effective, cross-functional team. Continue Reading

By

• Ed Moyle, SecurityCurve

Kaspersky shares Pegasus spyware-hunting tool

Kaspersky has developed a way of easily exposing the presence of Pegasus spyware on iOS devices and believes its methodology may also help users identify other such surveillance malware Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Republic of Ireland publishes progress update on digital strategy

Update reveals 2.3 million people in Ireland now have MyGovID accounts, and the Irish government plans to launch a new digital portal for businesses, as well as establishing an AI advisory council imminently Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

The human toll of ransomware: how IT pros suffer during incidents

Any ransomware attack causes significant challenges for a business or organisation going through such incident. But ransomware attacks also have tremendous impact on the staff – especially IT teams – working on mitigating the attack’s effect Continue Reading

By

• Pia Hüsch, Jamie MacColl and Gareth Mott

British Library catalogues back online after ransomware attack

The British Library has restored online access to its main catalogue of nearly 40 million items on a limited basis as it continues the long and arduous process of recovering from a ransomware attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cosmetics retailer Lush dealing with mystery cyber incident

Cosmetics retailer Lush confirms it’s investigating a cyber attack of an undisclosed nature, but key public-facing systems appear to be unaffected Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

British Library cyber attack explained: What you need to know

In this essential guide, Computer Weekly investigates the cyber attack on the British Library that has rendered IT systems inoperable and caused service disruption to thousands of users Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Russia hacked ex-MI6 chief’s emails – what they reveal is more Dad’s Army than deep state

A Russian hacking group that published emails of ex-MI6 chief Richard Dearlove claimed to have uncovered a conspiracy, but it was more Dad’s Army than the ‘deep state’, Computer Weekly and Byline Times reveal Continue Reading

By

• Sophie Hill

How legal disclosure failures disrupted the Post Office Horizon inquiry

From overly narrow search terms, overzealous deduplication of documents and failed email migrations, poor management of legal discovery has delayed justice for postmasters in the Horizon inquiry   Continue Reading

By

• Martin Nikel, Thomas Murray

EU amendment changes open source definition

The EU Cyber Resilience Act has the potential to cause confusion among open source developers, with questions remaining over open development Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

IT failure caused weekend chaos at Sussex hospitals

The critical incident at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, caused by IT issues on Sunday night, has now been resolved Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

NCA director sacked after WhatsApp and email security breaches

Nikki Holland, former director of investigations at the NCA, was sacked for “misconduct” after sending sensitive NCA information over personal email and WhatsApp Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

How the UK is supporting the Ukraine tech community

The launch of a TechBridge between UK and Ukraine allow IT experts from each country to collaborate and share experiences Continue Reading

By

• Nusrat Ghani, Department of Business and Trade

Incident response: How to implement a communication plan

Communication is critical to an effective incident response plan. Here are five best practices for communication planning and a free, editable template to get started. Continue Reading

By

• Mike Chapple, University of Notre Dame

10 types of security incidents and how to prevent them

Cyberattacks are more varied and numerous than ever. Learn the key signs of common security incidents and how to respond to keep systems and data safe. Continue Reading

By

• TechTarget Contributor
• Alissa Irei, Senior Site Editor

UK government seeks public views on impacts of AI-generated porn

The government’s Pornography Review will look in part at the use of AI throughout the industry to generate sexually explicit content without people’s consent Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Cisco fixes high-impact flaw in unified comms platform

Cisco unified comms customers are urged to patch a critical vulnerability in Unity Connection, a messaging and voicemail product Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Redefining the cyber domain to tackle the challenges of tomorrow

Emerging technologies have brought about a new age of cyber – and we need a 360-degree collaborative approach more than ever to succeed Continue Reading

By

• Saj Huq, Plexal

Davos 2024: AI-generated disinformation poses threat to elections, says World Economic Forum

Disinformation and misinformation are the top risks facing businesses, governments and the public over the next two years Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Windows Kerberos, Hyper-V vulns among January Patch Tuesday bugs

Microsoft starts 2024 right with another slimline Patch Tuesday drop, but there are some critical vulns to be alert to, including a number of man-in-the-middle attack vectors Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

SEC social media hack highlights value of MFA

The US SEC briefly appeared to approve new bitcoin trading rules after a social media account was targeted by troublemakers, proving the value of MFA once again Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Scotland ‘sleepwalking’ to mass surveillance with DPDI Bill

The independent checks and balances over biometrics and biometric-enabled surveillance must be strengthened to prevent Scotland from sliding into a surveillance state along with the rest of the UK Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Babuk Tortilla ransomware decryptor made available

A joint effort between Cisco Talos, Avast and the Dutch police will bring relief to many victims of a variant of the Babuk ransomware known as Tortilla Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Inadequate cloud logs are proving a headache for CISOs

The mass adoption of cloud environments is pushing strained CISOs to the brink and a lack of attention to logging isn't helping. Vectra's Mark Wojtasiak calls for organisations to do more to improve visibility in their clouds in 2024 Continue Reading

By

• Mark Wojtasiak

Study reveals cyber risks to US elections

With the 2024 US presidential election cycle beginning, a study produced by Arctic Wolf has highlighted big gaps in preparedness and resourcing at government bodies across the US Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How to fix the top 5 cybersecurity vulnerabilities

Check out how to fix five top cybersecurity vulnerabilities to prevent data loss from poor endpoint security, ineffective network monitoring, weak authentication and other issues. Continue Reading

By

• Dave Shackleford, Voodoo Security

Top 30 incident response interview questions

Job interviews are nerve-wracking, but preparation can minimize jitters and position you to land the role. Get started with these incident response interview questions and answers. Continue Reading

By

• Ed Moyle, SecurityCurve

Top incident response tools: How to choose and use them

The OODA loop helps organizations throughout the incident response process, giving insight into the incident response tools needed to detect and respond to security events. Continue Reading

By

• Kevin Beaver, Principle Logic, LLC

The future of CISOs in APAC

This is a guest post by Geoffrey Coley, regional chief technology officer for Asia-Pacific at Veritas Technologies The pace at which the cyber threat landscape is evolving with the use of malicious ... Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

How to become an incident responder: Requirements and more

Incident response is a growth area that provides career advancement options and a good salary. Here's an in-depth look at job requirements, salaries and available certifications. Continue Reading

By

• Ed Moyle, SecurityCurve

British Library ransomware attack could cost up to £7m

The cost of recovering the British Library’s ransomware-stricken IT systems could be up to £7m, it has emerged Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Inside the Met Police’s investigation into EncroChat crime gangs

The Met’s senior investigating officer responsible for investigating criminals using the EncroChat encrypted phone network tells the inside story of the UK’s biggest organised crime bust in a BBC podcast series released this week Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Mind the gap: AI leaders pulling ahead as LLMs take off

Advice on how to implement large language models safely within an enterprise IT environment Continue Reading

By

• Oliver King-Smith

computer security incident response team (CSIRT)

A computer security incident response team, or CSIRT, is a group of IT professionals that provides an organization with services and support surrounding the assessment, management and prevention of cybersecurity-related emergencies, as well as coordination of incident response efforts. Continue Reading

By

• Katie Donegan, Social Media Manager
• Peter Sullivan

Celona and Palo Alto partner to enhance private 5G network security

Wireless services specialist Celona and security firm Palo Alto Networks are coming together to enhance device protection for organisations operating private mobile networks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Dutch working to promote cooperation in Europe to keep internet safe

A Dutch cooperative approach offers national and international cooperation opportunities for ISPs to guard against DDoS attacks, lawful interception and detect abuse in networks Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Fighting money laundering with AI

Mike Foster, CEO of SymphonyAI Sensa-NetReveal, talks up how AI can be used to fight financial crime and how the company’s technology can augment existing AML investments Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

China’s UNC4841 pivots to new Barracuda ESG zero-day

The Chinese state threat actor behind a series of cyber attacks on Barracuda Networks customers embarked on a campaign targeting the supplier’s email security products in the run-up to Christmas Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cloudflare eyes GenAI workloads with Workers AI

Cloudflare’s Workers developer platform is touted to make it easier for organisations to deploy GenAI capabilities at the edge to speed up inferencing Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

2024: Putting Cyber Resilience into Social, Political, Business and Budget context.

On-line Safety, Safeguarding, Security, Counter-fraud and Resilience matter to voters and business. Cyber does not ... until they become victims ... Online crime is, however, now the world’s third ... Continue Reading

By

• Philip Virgo, Winsafe Ltd