IT security

Security Think Tank: The past and future of security automation

Artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques are said to hold great promise in security, enabling organisations to operate an IT predictive security stance and automate reactive measures when needed. Is this perception accurate, or is the importance of automation being gravely overestimated? Continue Reading

By

• Paddy Francis

Security funding soars despite Covid-19 slump, but problems lie ahead

The overall cyber security funding ecosystem in the UK is healthier than ever despite Covid-19, but the figures mask stark and concerning disparities in where the money is going Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CCPA enforcement has begun: Here’s what to expect

The US’s California Consumer Privacy Act came into force in January this year, but enforcement against technology companies did not begin until this month Continue Reading

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• Omer Tene, IAPP

Cyber4Summer scheme to divert young people from cyber crime

Cyber4Summer platform will offer 100 different tracks covering a range of security skills to divert them from falling into a life of cyber crime Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Balancing human oversight with AI autonomy

Artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques are said to hold great promise in security, enabling organisations to operate an IT predictive security stance and automate reactive measures when needed. Is this perception accurate, or is the importance of automation gravely overestimated? Continue Reading

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• Richard Absalom, Information Security Forum

MSP Xchanging attacked in ransomware incident

Specialist managed services provider is restoring customer access to systems after an unspecified ransomware incident Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Australian government foreshadows ‘sovereign data’ classification

The Australian government will examine if certain government datasets should be declared sovereign and only be hosted in the country Continue Reading

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• Stephen Withers

GDPR at two: How far we’ve come, how far we still have to go

Marking two years of the General Data Protection Regulation, industry voices weigh in on the state of data protection and privacy, consider what has changed, and what still needs to change. Continue Reading

Pub ‘check-in’ apps provoke fresh privacy concerns

With pubs and restaurants required to collect customer data for contact tracing when they reopen, data privacy risks will be heightened. Continue Reading

The privacy challenges of easing lockdown

In this week’s Computer Weekly, as pubs in the UK re-open after lockdown, we examine the privacy issues around collecting customer data for contact tracing. We look at how interconnected devices are revolutionising the manufacturing and engineering sectors. And we assess GDPR progress two years after its introduction. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Lorca scale-ups bring diverse security to the fore

London Office for Rapid Cybersecurity Advancement announces the cyber security scale-ups that will make up its fifth cohort Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Need to secure industrial IoT more acute than ever

A report from the Lloyd’s Register Foundation is calling for urgent action to secure industrial infrastructure, as the IoT leaves it increasingly exposed Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

It’s time to party! Yet another government digital identity scheme is on the way

On 14 March 2021, we will mark the tenth anniversary of the official approval for the development of a single government-wide digital identity system. Save the date in your diaries. Intended to ... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

North Korea behind spate of Magecart attacks

The Magecart credit card skimmer found on the website of retailer Claire’s Accessories was likely put there by the Lazarus or Hidden Cobra North Korean APT group, reports Sansec Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: SIEM and AI – a match made in heaven?

Artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques are said to hold great promise in security, enabling organisations to operate an IT predictive security stance and automate reactive measures when needed. Is this perception accurate, or is the importance of automation gravely overestimated? Continue Reading

By

• Petra Wenham

CIO interview: David Allison, global head of IT, First Quantum Minerals

For his first global CIO role, the IT chief had to tackle unusual challenges such as reliable networking and IT use in inhospitable mining environments in developing countries Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

Chinese law may require companies to disclose cyber-security preparations outside China

Companies with Chinese operations may have to disclose information about the security of their networks in other countries under China’s draft data security law Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Security Think Tank: Artificial intelligence will be no silver bullet for security

AI and machine learning techniques are said to hold great promise in security, enabling organisations to operate an IT predictive security stance and automate reactive measures when needed. Is this perception accurate, or is the importance of automation gravely overestimated? Continue Reading

By

• Ivana Bartoletti

Cops take out encrypted comms to disrupt organised crime

The UK’s National Crime Agency, alongside other law enforcement agencies in France and the Netherlands, have busted illicit arms and drugs rings after disabling an encrypted comms platform Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Locked-down teens flock to NCSC CyberFirst training scheme

A record number of 14 to 17-year-olds have signed up to the National Cyber Security Centre’s CyberFirst summer school Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Police secrecy over ‘IMSI-catcher’ mass surveillance of mobile phones

Following a tribunal ruling, constabularies in England and Wales can refuse to confirm or deny whether they use mass surveillance devices, known as IMSI-catchers to monitor people’s location, phone calls and text messages Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Sodinokibi gang begins dark web celebrity data auctions

Group claims to be auctioning confidential legal data on pop stars Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and basketball player LeBron James Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: AI cyber attacks will be a step-change for criminals

AI and machine learning techniques are said to hold great promise in security, enabling organisations to operate an IT predictive security stance and automate reactive measures when needed. Is this perception accurate, or is the importance of automation gravely overestimated? Continue Reading

By

• Lee Howells and Yannis Kalfoglou

UK’s unsung cyber security heroes sought

Nominations have opened for the fifth annual Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Zoom making progress on cyber security and privacy, says CEO

Three months after being hit by a spate of security incidents, Zoom’s CEO, Eric Yuan, has been discussing progress towards a more secure product Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Remote workers more aware of security, but still flout the rules

Almost three-quarters of remote workers reckon they have gained in cyber security awareness during lockdown, but don’t seem to be especially bothered about keeping themselves safe Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Mysterious EvilQuest macOS ransomware spreads through torrents

A new strain of ransomware, dubbed EvilQuest, is threatening Apple Mac environments, and seems to behave quite oddly Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Black Lives Matter, but do bots know that?

The volume of content generated each day necessitates automated moderation to curate everything as it is published, ensuring offensive and objectionable material is blocked. But this only works if systems are adequately configured and reviewed Continue Reading

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• Peter Ray Allison

Security Think Tank: Get your house in order before deploying AI

AI and machine learning techniques are said to hold great promise in security, enabling organisations to operate a IT predictive security stance and automate reactive measures when needed. Is this perception accurate, or is the importance of automation being gravely overestimated? Continue Reading

By

• Mike Gillespie

FCA estimates about 2.6 million Brits have bought cryptocurrency

UK financial services regulator says there has been a significant increase in ownership of cryptocurrencies in the UK Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Time to rethink business continuity and cyber security

Business continuity and cyber security remain largely in separate silos, but changes in the IT and cyber threat landscapes mean there is an urgent need for organisations to alter their approach Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

FakeSpy Android malware targets Royal Mail app users

The FakeSpy malware was first identified in October 2017 but is now significantly more powerful and dangerous Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Australia to invest a record A$1.35bn in cyber security

The Australian government is making its largest ever investment in cyber security over the next decade to identify cyber threats, disrupt foreign cyber criminals and build new capabilities Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

ReversingLabs makes over 100 Yara rules publicly available

Threat intelligence specialist is making its IP available on GitHub to support malware hunters in their work Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: ‘Shift left’ to secure containers

Adopting containers promises great organisational efficiency advantages, but the fast-evolving technology can be problematic for security teams. What do CISOs need to know to safeguard containers? Continue Reading

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• Paul Holland, Information Security Forum

BNP Paribas uses biometrics to increase contactless payment limit

French bank BNP Paribas is enabling customers to make higher value contactless payments through fingerprint-recognition technology Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

The Security Interviews: What CISOs can learn from Covid-19

Mike Lloyd, CTO at Redseal, holds 21 cyber security patents and a PhD in stochastic epidemic modelling from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, so is probably the man to talk to when it comes to cyber security in the world of Covid-19 Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Complex security estates hinder incident response

The more disparate security tools in use in an organisation, the harder it becomes to mount an effective incident response Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Unlocking value in the railway network’s data

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we find out how the rail industry is working to improve its use of data to deliver better services to passengers. Is flash the saviour of the storage universe? Our buyer’s guide assesses the choices for IT managers. And we examine the failure of the government’s Covid-19 contact-tracing app. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Lawyers learn of fresh US allegations against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from press reports

The US has filed an updated indictment against Julian Assange alleging that he conspired with hacking groups to obtain information for WikiLeaks. Defence and prosecution lawyers learned about it from press reports Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Phishing back in vogue as ransomware vector

Researchers have observed an increase in phishing as a means to deliver ransomware payloads – and organisations don’t appear to be prepared Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Evil Corp’s latest ransomware project spreading fast

A new ransomware strain dubbed WastedLocker is spreading rapidly and targeting major corporations Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Post-pandemic security market still set for growth, but slower

Frost & Sullivan report says the global security industry will withstand the economic crash caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, but growth will be slower for a few years Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

GCHQ launches Manchester accelerator programme to help firms leverage tech for citizen well-being

Innovation Co-Lab will mentor companies to grow, prevent crime and improve online safety Continue Reading

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• Laura Middag Alvarez

How Malaysia’s industries are tapping IoT

Computer Weekly speaks to four industries that claim to have benefited from various IoT deployments and how it has changed their businesses Continue Reading

By

• Edwin Yapp

Making the case for cloud-based security

Cloud-based security tools can hasten threat detection and response, but adoption will depend on where an enterprise is on the cloud readiness scale Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Out of date security laws leave UK plc at risk during pandemic

The CyberUp coalition has written to Boris Johnson to urge him to reform the UK’s 30 year-old cyber crime laws Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Airports deploy thermal cameras to control Covid-19, science suggests it’s merely ‘safety theatre’

UK airports are rolling out thermal surveillance cameras to identify people who may have coronavirus, but science says the technology is ineffective at detecting and preventing the spread of the disease Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly
• Laura Middag Alvarez

Coronavirus: Cyber crime landscape evolving as lockdown eases

As some countries begin to gradually ease Covid-19 lockdown measures, cyber criminals’ tactics are changing, but the pandemic remains a tempting lure Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Australian government has failed on cyber security

The federal government’s current approach of allowing each agency to make its own cyber decisions is not working and more needs to be done to hunt down adversaries Continue Reading

By

• Carlo Minassian

SASE And Cato; The Fit...

As promised in the previous blog, given the seeming importance of SASE, here’s more definition in terms of what briefings with Cato Networks revealed. If we look at the key areas where SASE and ... Continue Reading

By

• Steve Broadhead, Broadband Testing

Pub ‘check-in’ apps provoke fresh privacy concerns

With pubs and restaurants required to collect customer data for contact tracing when they reopen, data privacy risks will be heightened Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CBI: Digital economy needs joined-up regulations and gigabit broadband

The coronavirus pandemic has shown the need for fast, reliable networking across the UK. The CBI is urging the government to do more Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Veeam bullish on growth in APAC

Veeam’s top executive in Asia-Pacific expects the company’s growth momentum in the region to continue despite the Covid-19 pandemic, and is setting sights on growth areas such as container backups Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

NCSC catches a million phishes in its nets

The NCSC has racked up a million suspicious email reports from the public just two months after launching a reporting service, but the lucky sender won’t be receiving a grand prize Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Securing containers needn’t be taxing

Adopting containers promises great organisational efficiency advantages, but the fast-evolving technology can be problematic for security teams. What do CISOs need to know to safeguard containers? Continue Reading

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• Andrew Morris, Turnkey Consulting

EU judges GDPR an overall success, but changes still needed

Two years after its implementation, an EU report says that the GDPR is achieving what it set out to do, with a few reservations Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Political parties harvest personal data to create profiles on voters, most of it wrong

The UK’s three main political parties are collecting personal data on voters, but much of it is wrong and its use may fall foul of data protection laws Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Brits will sell their personal data for pennies

Surprising findings from an Okta report on digital identity suggest Brits would be willing to part with valuable personal data for a surprisingly low amount Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

APT groups’ mobile momentum finally faces resistance

State-backed APT groups are increasingly targeting mobile devices as Covid-19 puts the spotlight on remote working infrastructure security. We explore how the industry is fighting back Continue Reading

By

• Matthew Staff

How to apply zero-trust models to container security

Containers have become a common fixture in software development, but they have resulted in new concerns for security teams. Is zero-trust the answer to tackling them? Continue Reading

By

• Nicholas Fearn

Neurodiversity on the rise among career hackers

More diverse hackers enhance the ability of both traditional and cutting-edge cyber security solutions to find and fix vulnerabilities, according to a new report from Bugcrowd Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Twitter contacts business users over data exposure

Issue relates to how web browsers cached confidential data entered in Twitter’s ads and analytics services, but is unlikely to have resulted in compromise Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

SoftIron aims at data too valuable for commodity storage

UK array maker hopes to be the storage provider of choice for those that really value their data, with highly optimised Ceph-powered hardware aimed at HPC users and enterprises Continue Reading

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• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Flash-based MacOS malware hides in plain sight

By masquerading as a legitimate Adobe web application, the new malware strains can trick Mac users into bypassing their on-board defences Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Concern over digital risk falls dramatically during pandemic

Brits are understandably more worried about the NHS than personal cyber security Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Huawei to invest S$5m in Singapore to boost tech ecosystem

Huawei is pumping in S$5m this year to develop joint partner offerings in Singapore with a focus on artificial intelligence Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

APAC still hotbed for cyber attacks

Individuals and organisations in APAC are encountering malware more frequently than the rest of the world, study finds Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Online shopping fraud hits £16m during lockdown

A quarter of victims were aged between 18 and 26, says Action Fraud Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Eurostar to roll out facial recognition for ‘passport-free’ travel to Europe

Facial recognition will make passports on the Eurotunnel an option rather than a necessity, but privacy campaigners have questioned whether gathering biometric data on passengers is necessary Continue Reading

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• Laura Middag Alvarez

Australian prime minister confirms country is suffering repeated nation-state cyber attacks

Concern over critical national infrastructure as cyber attackers repeatedly try to gain access to network of organisations operating in multiple sectors Continue Reading

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• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

AI bias and privacy issues require more than clever tech

The new AI Barometer report from the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation has assessed the threats and opportunities of artificial intelligence in the UK Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Facebook allows US users to disable political ads

Users of the social media platform will soon be able to opt out of seeing politically motivated posts Continue Reading

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• Laura Middag Alvarez

US pulls out of talks with Europe for global digital tax

Despite the US’s resistance to an international digital services tax, the UK and other European countries plan to continue pushing for a global solution to taxing technology giants Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton , Senior reporter

How Australian firms can plug data protection gaps

Australian organisations can address data protection challenges by creating roles such as a data governance lead, classifying data and improving employee awareness of cyber hygiene. Continue Reading

APAC firms still coming to grips with data protection

More governments in Asia are implementing data protection regimes, but challenges such as checkbox compliance and the lack of effective staff training remain. Continue Reading

CW APAC: Trend Watch – data protection

Asia-Pacific organisations see the importance of having good data protection practices, even as they are still grappling with organisational and operational challenges. In this handbook, Computer Weekly looks at the different levels of preparedness across the region and what firms can do to plug any gaps. Continue Reading

Data protection watchdog calls for controls on police mobile phone stop-and-searches

Information commissioner wants new safeguards on the use of police powers to download sensitive personal data from the mobile phones of suspects and crime victims Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Cisco patches dangerous Webex vulnerability

CVE-2020-3347 bug enables cyber criminals to steal meeting records from within Cisco’s Webex service Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Check Point uncovers targeted Microsoft Office 365 phishing campaign

Organised criminal campaign exploited Adobe, Oxford University and Samsung web domains to trick users into giving up their passwords Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Zoom U-turns on end-to-end encryption

Embattled video-conferencing provider Zoom backtracks on previous refusals to provide end-to-end encryption to free users Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Help secure the top UK entry point for cyberfraud

“NHS” is the UK’s most trusted brand. Until recently it was one of the least protected/secure. There have been significant improvements but, as a result of Covid, impersonating the NHS now comes ... Continue Reading

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• Philip Virgo, Winsafe Ltd

Cosmetics company Avon offline after cyber attack

Representatives left unable to place orders after company’s back-end systems went offline over a week ago Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Amnesty identifies most privacy-invasive Covid-19 contact-tracing apps

Bahrain’s ‘BeAware Bahrain’, Kuwait’s ‘Shlonik’ and Norway’s ‘Smittestopp’ are the most privacy-invasive contact-tracing apps, reveals Amnesty International study Continue Reading

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• Laura Middag Alvarez

Coronavirus: Cyber security spend to slow in 2020

Analysts revise down previous growth targets for security technology as the Covid-19 pandemic bites Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Coronavirus: 50% of security pros had no pandemic contingency plan

A survey of security professionals conducted on behalf of Bitdefender reveals the lack of forward planning for events such as the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Malaysia’s telco industry on edge amid new developments, appointments

Spotlight trained on newly appointed key regulatory personnel that could see a change in Malaysia’s telco policy, including a deferment of 5G roll-out Continue Reading

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• Edwin Yapp

Macquarie eyes government contracts with new Canberra datacentre

New Macquarie datacentre in the Australian capital designed to achieve Tier 4 datacentre standards will deliver 1.5MW of capacity by December 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

UK-US data deal puts Brexit data adequacy pact at risk

European Data Protection Board writes to MEPs saying the UK is at risk of failing to strike a post-Brexit data adequacy accord if its data protection agreements with the US don’t strike the right note Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Activists call on Zoom to implement encryption for all

A coalition of tech organisations and nonprofits have urged Zoom CEO Eric Yuan to make end-to-end encryption available to all users Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Norway’s contact-tracing app suspended over privacy concerns

Norway has been given until 23 June to justify the location tracking of citizens who download its contract-tracing app Continue Reading

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• Laura Middag Alvarez & Bill Goodwin

Sassy Security

For all the impacts the likes of COVID-19 and technological advance have on IT, there are two immovable staples that we can rely on: Gartner to keep on introducing new acronyms to create new magic ... Continue Reading

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• Steve Broadhead, Broadband Testing

The Security Interviews: Temper tantrums ahead as GDPR enters its terrible twos?

On the General Data Protection Regulation’s second birthday, Tim Hickman, a data protection lawyer and partner at White & Case LLP, discusses the regulation’s teething troubles and assesses how best to maintain optimum compliance. Continue Reading

Banking trojans roar back to prominence in May

Check Point sees an upswing in malicious activity around a number of classic banking trojan malware variants Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Why UK needs independent oversight body for contact-tracing app

The public needs and deserves clarity, and not just assurances, over the UK’s Covid-19 contact-tracing app Continue Reading

By

• Dan Cooper  

NatWest develops behavioural biometrics as additional authentication

Bank is working with Visa to develop behavioural biometrics technology as an extra layer of invisible authentication Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Accessories store Claire’s hit by Magecart credit card fraudsters

Attackers gained access to retailer’s website as long ago as March Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Coronavirus: Enterprise VPN adoption in India set to rise

Advancement in cloud technologies and secured remote access to applications will significantly contribute to the overall growth of India’s VPN market, says GlobalData Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Hospital uses thermal surveillance cameras to protect patients against second wave of Covid-19

A North Midlands NHS trust claims to be the first NHS trust to deploy thermal surveillance cameras to protect patients and staff against the coronavirus Continue Reading

By

• Laura Middag Alvarez

NHS email service users ensnared in phishing attack

More than 100 accounts on the NHSmail service were affected by attack, but health service says no patient data was accessed Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor