IT security

Scattered Spider widens web to target insurance sector

Following a series of high-profile attacks on prominent retailers and consumer brands, the Scattered Spider cyber crime collective appears to be expanding its targeting to the insurance sector Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

What is confidential computing?

Confidential computing is a concept in which encrypted data can be processed in memory to limit access to protect data in use. It is especially suitable for public clouds. Continue Reading

By

• Scott Robinson, New Era Technology
• Alexander S. Gillis, Technical Writer and Editor

What is market concentration?

Market concentration refers to how a market is distributed among competing companies. Continue Reading

By

• Katie Terrell Hanna
• Ivy Wigmore

UKtech50: Vote for the most influential person in UK technology

Our judges have selected the top 50 leaders from a shortlist of nearly 500 people – now it’s your chance to tell us who you think is the most influential person in UK technology Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

What is ESG reporting? Importance and how to get started

ESG reporting is a type of corporate disclosure that details an organization's environmental, social and governance (ESG) promises, efforts and progress. Continue Reading

By

• Scott Robinson, New Era Technology
• Cameron Hashemi-Pour, Former Site Editor
• Sean Michael Kerner

Intelligence sharing key to cyber security in Europe, says EU Commission cyber expert

Cyber criminals choose not to attack Europe due to its resilience and preparedness, says the EU Commission’s principal advisor for cyber security coordination, Despina Spanou Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

What is a compliance audit? (with an example checklist)

A compliance audit is critical for finding any potential compliance gaps in an organization's operations. Here's what companies can do to prepare for them. Continue Reading

By

• Paul Kirvan

What is HMAC (Hash-Based Message Authentication Code)?

Hash-based message authentication code (HMAC) is a message encryption method that uses a cryptographic key with a hash function. Continue Reading

By

• Scott Robinson, New Era Technology
• Rahul Awati

What is operational risk?

Operational risk is the risk of losses caused by flawed or failed processes, policies, systems, people or events that disrupt business operations. Continue Reading

By

• Kinza Yasar, Technical Writer
• Lisa Morgan

Fortifying retail: how UK brands can defend against cyber breaches

The recent spate of cyber attacks on UK retailers has to be a wake-up call to build more cyber resilience into digital supply chains and fortify against social engineering attacks Continue Reading

By

• Jadee Hanson

UKtech50 2025: 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 2025 Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Apple encryption row: Does law enforcement need to use Technical Capability Notices?

History shows that law enforcement can bring successful prosecutions without the need for the Home Office to introduce ‘backdoors’ into end-to-end encryption Continue Reading

By

• Professor Peter Sommer, digital evidence expert witness

MPs to investigate potential for government digital identity scheme

Amid growing calls for a national digital ID scheme, Home Affairs Committee launches inquiry into likely benefits and risks Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

NHS IT the big winner in Reeves’ Spending Review

The chancellor of the exchequer has significantly upped spending on digital and technology initiatives in the current Spending Review period, with the NHS receiving a 50% tech funding increase Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

WhatsApp seeks to join Apple in legal challenge against Home Office encryption orders

WhatsApp today applied to intervene in an Investigatory Powers Tribunal case that is considering the UK’s ability to issue a technical capability notice on Apple to ‘weaken encryption’ Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

Cyber security beyond compliance: Why resilience is the new boardroom imperative

Cyber security has been everything from a tick-box exercise to a compliance headache for organisations - but the pressing threats we face mean cyber resilience must become a boardroom issue Continue Reading

By

• Dax Grant

Human vs digital therapy: AI falls short when IT pros need help

Stressed IT and cyber professionals are turning to AI chatbots for support, but is handing people's mental wellbeing over to algorithms really such a bright idea? Continue Reading

By

• Malcolm Hanson, PTSD Revolution

Investor behaviour in the wake of cyber's 'black swan' moment

So-called Black Swan events expose the blind spots in even the most sophisticated forecasting models, signaling a need to rethink how businesses, and those investing in them, quantify and prepare for cyber risk. Continue Reading

By

• Ed Bartlett, Hicomply

Government using national security as ‘smokescreen’ in Apple encryption row

Senior conservative MP David Davis says the Home Office should disclose how many secret orders it has issued against telecoms and internet companies to Parliament Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

How breaking things builds resilient systems

To prevent and recover from outages in today’s complex, cloud-native world, enterprises must proactively and deliberately inject failure into their systems through chaos engineering practices Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

June Patch Tuesday brings a lighter load for defenders

Barely 70 vulnerabilities make the cut for Microsoft’s monthly security update, but an RCE flaw in WEBDAV and an EoP issue in Windows SMB Client still warrant close attention Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber Bill at risk of becoming a missed opportunity, say MPs

An APPG report warns that the government’s flagship cyber security legislation is too narrow in its scope and risks missing opportunities to embed resilience at the heart of the British economy Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

What is ransomware as a service (RaaS)?

Ransomware as a service (RaaS) is a subscription-based business model that enables threat actors, also called affiliates, to launch ransomware attacks by accessing and using predeveloped ransomware tools. Continue Reading

By

• Alexander S. Gillis, Technical Writer and Editor
• Kinza Yasar, Technical Writer
• Sean Michael Kerner

How to choose coding standards: Development best practices

Learn how coding standards enhance quality and efficiency in software projects. Follow coding conventions and standards to achieve the five pillars of code quality. Continue Reading

By

• Damon Garn, Cogspinner Coaction

UK defence scheme invests in future cyber tech Cheri

Cambridge-based SCI Semiconductors is awarded DTEP funding to work on the application of defensive Cheri technology Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Third-party security weaknesses threaten Europe’s big banks

Security breaches via third parties increased by 25% at Europe’s largest finance firms Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Are we normalising surveillance in schools?

Children and teenagers are subjected to a vast array of surveillance technologies in schools. These are intended to keep them safe, but are we normalising surveillance for young people? Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

US lawmakers say UK has ‘gone too far’ by attacking Apple’s encryption

US politicians are calling for Congress to rewrite the US Cloud Act to prevent the UK issuing orders to require US tech companies to introduce ‘backdoors’ in end-to-end encrypted messaging and storage Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

UK ICO publishes AI and biometrics strategy

The UK data regulator has outlined how it will approach the regulation of artificial intelligence and biometric technologies, which will focus in particular on automated decision-making systems and police facial recognition Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

CISOs must translate cyber threats into business risk

To manage risk effectively and secure board-level buy-in, CISOs must stop talking about technology and start speaking the language of business, according to a senior Check Point executive Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Withers

HMRC phishing breach wholly avoidable, but hard to stop

A breach at HMRC saw innocent taxpayers tricked into letting scammers impersonate them through simple phishing attacks leading to account takeover. Such attacks are avoidable, but hard to stop Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CISOs: Don't block AI, but adopt it with eyes wide open

The Security Think Tank considers how CISOs can best plan to facilitate the secure running of AI and Gen AI-based initiatives and ensure employees do not inadvertently leak data or make bad decisions. Continue Reading

By

• Mike Gillespie and Ellie Hurst, Advent IM

Compliance stakeholders and how to work with them

Stakeholders' involvement can strengthen an organization's compliance program. Learn best practices for engaging key stakeholders in compliance initiatives. Continue Reading

By

• Paul Kirvan

UK’s error-prone eVisa system is ‘anxiety-inducing’

People experiencing technical errors with the Home Office’s electronic visa system explain the psychological toll of not being able to reliably prove their immigration status in the face of a hostile and unresponsive bureaucracy Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Building the foundations: A national roadmap for digital identity and sovereign data

Now the UK government has offered some clarity on the future of private and public sector digital identity services, it's time to work together to put the essential foundations in place to make digital ID work for everyone Continue Reading

By

• David Crack, Association of Digital Verification Professionals

How GitLab is tapping AI in DevSecOps

GitLab CISO Josh Lemos explains how the company is weaving AI, through its Duo tool, into the entire software development lifecycle to enhance efficiency and automate incident response Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Put ROCs before SOCs, Qualys tells public sector

Putting risk operations before security operations may help government agencies and other public sector bodies better manage the myriad threats they face, and make better decisions for the security of all Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC sets out how to build cyber safe cultures

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre has published guidance for security teams and leaders on how to foster accessible and appropriate cyber security cultures in their organisations Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Investigatory powers: Guidelines for police and spies could also help businesses with AI

Computer Weekly talks to Muffy Calder, technology advisor to the UK’s investigatory powers commissioner, about privacy, intrusion and artificial intelligence Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

Microsoft outlines three-pronged European cyber strategy

Microsoft chair Brad Smith outlines an expansive cyber programme targeting governments across Europe with enhanced threat intelligence and support Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

European Commission should rescind UK data adequacy

Civil society organisations have urged the European Commissioner to not renew the UK’s data adequacy, given the country’s growing divergence from European data protection standards Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Fortifying the future: The pivotal role of CISOs in AI operations

The Security Think Tank considers how CISOs can best plan to facilitate the secure running of AI and Gen AI-based initiatives and ensure employees do not inadvertently leak data or make bad decisions. Continue Reading

By

• Aditya K Sood, Aryaka

Dutch university’s rapid response saved it from ransomware devastation

Eindhoven University of Technology has planned multi-factor authentication and regularly practised cyber crisis drills – yet it still fell victim to attackers who exploited gaps in its defences Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Infosecurity 2025: SMEs feel on their own in the face of cyber attacks

Project findings to be presented at Infosecurity Europe 2025 highlight vulnerability of SMEs to cyber attack Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Preparing for AI: The CISO’s role in security, ethics and compliance

The Security Think Tank considers how CISOs can best plan to facilitate the secure running of AI and Gen AI-based initiatives and ensure employees do not inadvertently leak data or make bad decisions. Continue Reading

By

• Elliott Wilkes, ACDS

SailPoint charts course for AI-driven identity security

SailPoint is driving the use of agentic AI in identity security with its Harbor Pilot offering while preparing to help enterprises govern and secure AI agents Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

US cyber agency CISA faces stiff budget cuts

CISA is one of several US agencies facing drastic budget cuts under the Trump administration Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The hidden security risks of open source AI

The Security Think Tank considers how CISOs can best plan to facilitate the secure running of AI and Gen AI-based initiatives and ensure employees do not inadvertently leak data or make bad decisions. Continue Reading

By

• Brian Fox, Sonatype

Cyber and digital get over £1bn to enhance UK’s national security

The government has set out plans to spend over a billion pounds on digital and cyber warfare capabilities to enhance the UK’s ability to defend itself and fight offensive wars Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

What is a next-generation firewall (NGFW)?

A next-generation firewall (NGFW) is a network security device that combines traditional firewall capabilities with advanced features to detect and block sophisticated cyberattacks. Continue Reading

By

• Casey Clark, TechTarget
• Sharon Shea, Executive Editor

AI security: Balancing innovation with protection

The Security Think Tank considers how CISOs can best plan to facilitate the secure running of AI and Gen AI-based initiatives and ensure employees do not inadvertently leak data or make bad decisions. Continue Reading

By

• Javvad Malik, KnowBe4

Infosecurity 2025: NCA cyber intelligence head spells out trends

Will Lyne, head of cyber intelligence at the National Crime Agency, sketches out cyber criminal trends as ransomware and other attack varieties become democratised beyond Russophone, skilled software developers Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Risk maturity model: How it works and how to use one

Explore risk maturity models and assessment tools for enhancing enterprise risk management. Improve ERM programs to mitigate risk and gain a competitive edge. Continue Reading

By

• Ben Lutkevich, Site Editor

What is security?

Security for information technology (IT) refers to the methods, tools and personnel used to defend an organization's digital assets. Continue Reading

By

• Nick Barney, Technology Writer
• Madelyn Bacon, TechTarget

Rethinking secure comms: Are encrypted platforms still enough?

A leak of information on American military operations caused a major political incident in March 2025. The Security Think Tank considers what CISOs can learn from this potentially fatal error Continue Reading

By

• Russell Auld, PAC

An explanation of ransomware

Ransomware locks an organization out of its data or digital services until it pays up. To minimize attacks, businesses can enhance security, train employees and back up data. Continue Reading

By

• Tommy Everson, Assistant Editor
• TechTarget Contributor

Dutch businesses lag behind in cyber resilience as threats escalate

The Netherlands is facing a growing cyber security crisis, with a staggering 66% of Dutch businesses lacking adequate cyber resilience, according to academic research.   Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

How cyber security professionals are leveraging AWS tools

It’s now essential for IT security teams to have oversight of cloud computing, and Amazon Web Services offers a plethora of tools to make managing it easier. Find out how cyber pros are using them in the wild Continue Reading

By

• Nicholas Fearn

What VMware’s licensing crackdown reveals about control and risk 

An assessments of the risks VMware customers on perpetual licences now need to consider Continue Reading

By

• Iain Saunderson, CTO, Spinnaker Support

Noisy quantum hardware could crack RSA-2048 in seven days

Research highlights the need for quantum safe cryptography given the speed with which quantum computing is evolving Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Cloud migration demands contractual safeguards and clear strategy

Cyber security experts urge organisations to define clear objectives, understand shared security models and implement strong data governance when migrating workloads to the cloud Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Signalgate is a signal to revisit security onboarding and training

A leak of information on American military operations caused a major political incident in March 2025. The Security Think Tank considers what can CISOs can learn from this potentially fatal error. Continue Reading

By

• Mike Gillespie and Ellie Hurst, Advent IM

Zero-trust is redefining cyber security in 2025

The future of zero-trust is about embedding resilience into every facet of an organisation. To achieve this, SRM leaders must reimagine their strategies to address emerging challenges and prioritise key areas. Continue Reading

By

• Dale Koeppen, Gartner

RSAC rewind: Agentic AI, governance gaps and insider threats

AI was naturally a major theme of this year's RSAC conference, but we maybe failed to anticipate how it is coming to dominate every conversation. Continue Reading

By

• James Robinson, Netskope

AI and compliance: Staying on the right side of law and regulation

Without careful planning, AI projects risk blundering into a legal and regulatory minefield. We look at the risks from hallucinations, basic errors and coming regulation Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Pritchard

AI compliance: Dealing with data change and proliferation

Podcast: We talk with Vigitrust CEO Mathieu Gorge about staying on top of compliance and artificial intelligence, where the danger is data that changes during AI processing and can also proliferate Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Gov.uk Wallet open to public sector bodies

Government departments can soon begin to add documents to Gov.uk Wallet, as the Government Digital Service publishes guidance for public sector bodies on how to use the smartphone app Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

UK biometric surveillance exists in ‘legal grey area’

The rapid proliferation of ‘biometric mass surveillance technologies’ throughout the UK’s public and private sectors is taking place without legal certainty or adequate safeguards for the public Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Adidas confirms customer data was accessed during cyber attack

Sportswear manufacturer Adidas has confirmed its systems were infiltrated by an unauthorised third party Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Remote purchase fraud surges 14%, says banking industry

Brits lost over £1bn to payment fraud in its many forms last year, according to the latest banking industry numbers Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Maturing UK fintechs increase tech and cyber security hiring

Increased hiring reflects that fintechs are maturing and now require more cyber security and compliance experts Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

US makes fresh indictments over DanaBot, Qakbot malwares

US charges the operators of two malwares, DanaBot and Qakbot, whose actions led to millions of dollars worth of cyber theft and fraud Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Armed forces charity steps in to address cyber mental health crisis

CIISec and military charity PTSD Resolution hope to address a gathering mental health crisis among frontline cyber professionals Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Building resilient cyber threat intelligence communities

Cyber threat intelligence is no longer a luxury: intelligence sharing communities must mature, and there are many common lessons to learn. Continue Reading

By

• Rob Dartnall, SecAlliance

Security vs. usability: Why rogue corporate comms are still an issue

A leak of information on American military operations caused a major political incident in March 2025. The Security Think Tank considers what can CISOs can learn from this potentially fatal error. Continue Reading

By

• Elliott Wilkes, ACDS

When leaders ignore cyber security rules, the whole system weakens

The US ‘Signalgate’ debacle is a case study in how security collapses when leadership treats basic rules as optional Continue Reading

By

• Raihan Islam, defineXTEND

Preparation and appreciation – the human factor in incident response

A typical incident response effort is highly technical, so where do soft skills come in and how do you know how effective your team is? We look at a measurement option and the human consideration in these scenarios Continue Reading

By

• Dan Raywood

Why we must reform the Computer Misuse Act: A cyber pro speaks out

Britain’s outdated hacking laws are leaving the UK’s cyber practitioners hamstrung and afraid. Security professional Simon Whittaker reveals how he nearly ran afoul of the Computer Misuse Act, and why he’s speaking out for reform. Continue Reading

UK eVisa: Ethical or harmful?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we examine the criticism being levelled at government proposals to use electronic visa data and biometrics to surveil migrants living in the UK. We also hear from a noted cyber pro about why he thinks the Computer Misuse Act is ripe for reform. And we find out everything there is to know about retrieval augmented generation architectures and how they can be used to infuse generative artificial intelligence (AI) into a business context. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

What are the best practices for securing AWS tech stacks?

An AWS tech stack can aid business growth and facilitate efficient operations, but misconfigurations have become all too common and stall this progress Continue Reading

By

• Nicholas Fearn

Essex Police discloses ‘incoherent’ facial recognition assessment

An equality impact assessment of Essex Police live facial recognition deployments is plagued by inconsistencies and poor methodology, undermining the force’s claim that its use of the technology will not be discriminatory Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Microsoft raises posse to target dangerous Lumma malware

Microsoft, along with a consortium of partners, has seized and disrupted a significant part of the Lumma malware-as-a-service network used to steal data and funds Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How to tackle your infrastructure technical debt

Gartner analysts explain how infrastructure and operations teams can address the accumulation of outdated systems and make a compelling business case for upgrades Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Withers

M&S cyber attack disruption likely to last until July

M&S says it has moved into recovery mode after a ransomware attack, but expects some disruption to persist throughout the coming weeks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC: Russia’s Fancy Bear targeting logistics, tech organisations

The NCSC and its partner agencies have blown the whistle on an extensive campaign of malicious cyber attacks orchestrated by the Russian state Fancy Bear operation Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

What is a passkey?

A passkey is an alternative user authentication method that eliminates the need for usernames and passwords. Continue Reading

By

• Mary E. Shacklett, Transworld Data
• Amanda Stevens

Podcast: RSA 2025 – AI’s risk surface and the role of the CISO

We review RSA 2025 with Vigitrust CEO Mathieu Gorge who looks at the impacts on compliance of AI’s expanding risk surface, the role of the CISO, and a changed supplier approach Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

UK Fraud Bill targets benefit claimants for mass surveillance

The UK government’s proposed Fraud Bill will disproportionately place millions of benefit claimants under constant surveillance, creating a two-tier system where people are automatically suspected of wrongdoing for seeking welfare Continue Reading

By

• Anna Dent

Capital One pushes out data tokenisation

Organisations using the Databricks and Snowflake platforms will be able to use Capital One’s Databolt tool to secure their data Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Strong fintech security posture at risk via third-party weak links

Despite having a strong security posture, the financial technology sector could be open to attack via third parties Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Ransomware attacks dropped by a third last month

Reported ransomware attacks eased off during April following a dramatic spike in the first quarter of 2025 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How to create a remote access policy, with template

Remote work, while beneficial, presents numerous security risks. Help keep your organization's systems safe with a remote access policy. Continue Reading

By

• Paul Kirvan

Dell unveils disaggregated infrastructure strategy

Dell makes push for disaggregated infrastructure, aiming to offer enterprises the independent scaling of three-tier architectures with the operational benefits of hyperconverged systems Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Hacking contest exposes VMware security

In what has been described as a historical first, hackers in Berlin have been able to demo successful attacks on the ESXi hypervisor Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Retail cyber attacks hit food distributor Peter Green Chilled

Cold chain services provider Peter Green Chilled, which supplies the likes of Aldi, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, has been forced to halt operations after succumbing to a ransomware attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Tackling the UK’s cyber threats

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we report from the National Cyber Security Centre’s annual update on the state of UK security and examine the emerging threats. The chief data officer of Standard Chartered bank discusses preparing for artificial intelligence. We also look at the networking implications of GPU-based AI datacentres. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

UK at risk of Russian cyber and physical attacks as Ukraine seeks peace deal

UK cyber security chief warns of ‘direct connection’ between Russian cyber attacks and physical threats to the UK Continue Reading

UK critical systems at risk from ‘digital divide’ created by AI threats

GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre warns that a growing ‘digital divide’ between organisations that can keep pace with AI-enabled threats and those that cannot is set to heighten the UK's overall cyber risk Continue Reading

Chinese cyber spooks lure laid-off US government workers

A Washington DC-based think tank has published evidence that Chinese intelligence services have been running a network of digital ‘front’ companies targeting laid-off government workers as recruits Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Legal Aid Agency breach may encompass millions of people

Legal Aid Agency says the data of anybody who applied for legal aid over the past 15 years has been compromised in a cyber attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor