IT security

The Security Interviews: How Crest is remaking the future of consultancy

Crest president Ian Glover taught himself cyber security while working on government computing systems in the 1970s and 1980s. Now he is on a decade-spanning mission to change security consultancy models Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

ICO acknowledges GDPR concerns over A-level results scandal

Information Commissioner’s Office says it has engaged with exams regulator Ofqual after its use of an algorithm to calculate A-level grades backfired Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

US decision to file new charges against Julian Assange ‘astonishing and potentially abusive’

Lawyer for WikiLeaks founder slams US decision to serve a second indictment at the 11th hour alleging that Assange conspired with hackers, as a potential abuse of process Continue Reading

By

• Charlie Jones

Russia’s Fancy Bear targets Linux environments with Drovorub malware

The Russian intelligence-linked Fancy Bear group is deploying a new malware called Drovorub against Linux environments as part of a cyber espionage operation, according to US warnings Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Executive interview: Sri Shivananda, chief technology officer, PayPal

Computer Weekly talks to PayPal’s tech head about the payment provider’s SOA, security, open source and the lockdown Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Oracle and Salesforce sued over online ad tracking

Class action lawsuits filed in Amsterdam and London will accuse Oracle and Salesforce of breaching GDPR in their processing and sharing of personal data to sell online advertising Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ed Sheeran is not promoting investment opportunities, says NCSC

The National Cyber Security Centre has issued a new warning after uncovering a series of online scams promoting fraudulent celebrity-endorsed investment opportunities Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

A CIO’s journey through the Covid-19 crisis

FDM’s IT chief takes us through the challenges of responding to the coronavirus pandemic, and the future opportunities that the changes introduced now present Continue Reading

By

• Jonathan Young, FDM Group

How to tackle the IAM challenges of multinational companies

The rapidly changing business, regulatory and IT environment makes identity and access management a tough nut to crack for large multinationals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

CW Benelux: Security system concerns at Schiphol Airport

A report has revealed problems with critical security systems at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. Also read why the Netherlands’ digital sector is yearning for attention from the government, and how data weaknesses persist despite Dutch companies investing heavily to comply with GDPR. Continue Reading

APAC consumers do not feel responsible for data security

Just one in four consumers believe they should protect their own data, underscoring the tightrope between security and convenience that organisations have been walking on Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Dutch organisations invest heavily in compliance – but in vain

 Continue Reading

EU and US start discussions on ‘enhanced’ Privacy Shield data-sharing agreement

Talks begin on a successor to the Privacy Shield EU-US data-sharing agreement declared unlawful in July 2020 – a decision by the European Court of Justice that left thousands of businesses facing legal uncertainty Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

How Dharma ransomware became an effective services business

New research looks under the bonnet of a Dharma ransomware attack, with the ransomware's ease of use being particularly dangerous for small to medium-sized enterprises Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft patches two zero-days with active exploits

Microsoft drops another major Patch Tuesday update, including fixes for two zero-day exploits that are already being exploited by cyber criminals Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security training body Sans Institute hit by data breach

Around 28,000 items of personally identifiable data were lost in a phishing attack on Sans, proving that even the professionals can be caught out Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Police use of facial recognition found ‘unlawful’ in court

In a landmark decision, the Court of Appeal has ruled that South Wales Police’s facial recognition deployments breached human rights and data protection laws Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

NHS hit by thousands of malicious emails at height of pandemic

The NHS received nearly 30,000 malicious emails at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in March and April Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Citrix users urged to patch five XenMobile CVEs

Patches are available for CVEs 2020-8208 through 8212 and should be installed as soon as possible Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Why data exports from the EU will be challenging without Privacy Shield

Organisations exporting data to the US under Privacy Shield or overseas generally, whether under standard contractual clauses or binding corporate rules, need to urgently review the legal basis of these transfers   Continue Reading

By

• Andrew Hartshorn, Shakespeare Martineau

Coronavirus: Phishing lures pivot to exploit vaccine hopes

Phishing emails are increasingly luring in victims with subject lines relating to the development of a vaccine for Covid-19 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

French data protection authorities to probe TikTok as suitors circle

France’s CNIL has confirmed a new investigation into TikTok’s data protection practices Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Hospitality sector is failing on contact-tracing obligations

Cyber security experts urge the government to do more to help small hospitality businesses improve their contact-tracing data-handling practices Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Exploring COVID-19 food supply chain disruptions

The food sector has been hard hit by COVID-19. Learn what some of those issues have been, how some companies have escaped the worst of it and what lessons are most important. Continue Reading

By

• Linda Rosencrance

3 DDoS mitigation strategies for enterprise networks

Enterprises can choose from three major approaches to mitigate DDoS attacks on their networks: Buy from an ISP, do it themselves or use a CDN service. Continue Reading

By

• John Cavanaugh, BlueAlly

Retailer Monsoon allegedly exposing data via Pulse Connect server

A researcher has found a critically insecure Pulse Connect Secure VPN version belonging to UK retailer Monsoon Accessorize, but claims the firm is ignoring his disclosures Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security teams struggle to keep pace with cloud threats

Security professionals face challenges in keeping pace with cloud deployments and migrations, and the additional security threats they open up Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

4 tips for proper cyber hygiene during the remote workforce era

IT services firms have a responsibility to secure their clients' remote workforces. Here are four tips for maintaining cyber hygiene in the cloud, using AWS as an example. Continue Reading

By

• John Gray

Virgin Media customers targeted in Twitter phish

Customers seeking help from the ISP are being targeted by a scam Twitter account Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Data Standards Authority publishes guidance on government data sharing

The Data Standards Authority (DSA) wants government departments to use new open data standards when sharing data, with the aim of improving public services Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Capital One hit with $80m fine by US regulators over 2019 data breach

US regulator imposes fine over data breach that affected 106 million Capital One customers in the US and Canada Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

TikTok to be banned in US in 45 days

Trump says his Executive Orders against Chinese mobile apps are in the interests of dealing with a national emergency Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Don’t believe the hype: AI is no silver bullet

We want to believe AI will revolutionise cyber security, and we’re not necessarily wrong, but it’s time for a reality check Continue Reading

By

• Mike Lloyd, RedSeal

How to achieve resilience – the modern uptime trinity

IT leaders can take responsibility for ensuring their organisations are resilient during times of crisis. There are no quick fixes, but if you think it is expensive to ensure resilience in your IT systems, try frequent failure instead Continue Reading

By

• Terry Critchley

Australia updates cyber security strategy but offers little new

The nation’s latest cyber security strategy includes centralised management of networks and a voluntary code of practice for deploying internet-connected devices, among other areas Continue Reading

By

• Anthony Caruana

Qualcomm chip vulnerability puts millions of phones at risk

Qualcomm has patched multiple vulnerabilities in its chip hardware that left hundreds of millions of smartphones open to compromise by malicious actors Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Canon said to be latest Maze ransomware victim

Canon may have had up to 10TB of its data exfiltrated by the Maze ransomware gang Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

GCHQ seeks researchers to tackle deep fakes and misinformation

A GCHQ research fellowship based at its Manchester office will explore various national security priorities such as deep fakes, fake news and the impact of AI Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Business leaders banking on technology to drive coronavirus recovery

GDP and IT spending are down, but business leaders see technology as the way to go when it comes to coping with the global pandemic Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Seven questions you need to ask when buying security insurance

Find out what you need to ask to make an informed decision on cyber security insurance with new help from the UK’s NCSC Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Netherlands investigates innovative privacy technology SSI

Dutch research organisation is looking into areas where self-sovereign identity technology could be used in society and business Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

The countdown is on for TikTok after Schrems II

Given the US’ threatened actions against TikTok and the outcome of Schrems II, it is clear that the spotlight is now firmly on international data transfers Continue Reading

By

• Jagvinder Singh Kang, Mills & Reeve

Second wave of Covid-19 cyber attacks locked in

More cyber attacks exploiting the pandemic seem likely, says Interpol Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Five signs you’re about to get hit with ransomware

A series of Sophos reports on the ransomware threat landscape shows how security professionals can sniff out a potential ransomware attack before it happens Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Liam Fox hack raises questions over government security

The hack of a former cabinet minister’s emails casts doubt over the effectiveness of safeguards and security training processes at the highest levels of the British government Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Post-Privacy Shield, what chance for a Brexit data adequacy deal?

The striking down of Privacy Shield has been hailed as a victory for digital rights and privacy campaign groups, but it will have consequences that go beyond transatlantic data transfers Continue Reading

The UK’s $500m space technology gamble

In this week’s Computer Weekly we ask why the UK government is spending $500m on a bankrupt satellite technology company. After a European court quashes the EU-US data sharing agreement, we examine the implications for a UK-EU data protection deal after Brexit. And how have small cloud suppliers coped in the pandemic? Read the issue now. Continue Reading

New foundation to bolster security of open source software

The Open Source Security Foundation will bring together key open source security initiatives across the industry to improve and support the security of open source software Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Estonian police and border services need better IT to block criminals from becoming e-residents

Police and Border Guard Board of Estonia needs to improve its IT systems to stop criminals from becoming e-residents, says report Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Microsoft offers way out of TikTok impasse

Microsoft offers to buy TikTok from its Chinese parent to ease security fears in the US Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

More data breaches from ransomware attacks in Australia

The number of data breaches caused by ransomware rose to 33 in the first half of 2020 from 13 in the previous six-month period, according to the latest report from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

ICO launches guidance on AI and data protection

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published guidance aimed at rendering the application of machine learning to data compliant with data protection principles Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Labour Party is latest victim of Blackbaud ransomware attack

Widening Blackbaud data breach ensnares the Labour Party as the cloud software firm continues to duck questions about its behaviour Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

US lawmakers grill big tech chiefs over market power

Sixth antitrust hearing sees CEOs of major technology companies face combative questioning from members of Congress over their market power and dominance Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Twitter confirms it was hit by targeted spearphishing attack

Investigation into 15 July 2020 hack of a number of high-profile accounts by cryptocurrency scammers has found evidence of a targeted spearphishing incident Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

EU sanctions China and Russia over cyber attacks

The EU is applying restrictive measure to six individuals and three entities accused of conducting disruptive cyber attacks in Europe, including the Russian GRU Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

EC launches digital identity consultation

European Commission’s consultation will look at revisions to the eIDAS regulation, aiming to improve effectiveness and extend it to the private sector Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Former UC Global staff confirm Embassy surveillance operation against Julian Assange

Spanish court investigates claims that security company illegally recorded meetings between Julian Assange, politicians, lawyers and celebrities at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly
• Ter García

Diversity in cyber improving but inclusion needs work, says NCSC

Study into diversity and inclusion in the cyber security sector has found that diversity is off to a good start, but inclusion is lacking Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Tech sector calls on government to 'urgently' resolve delays in digital identity policy

Trade body TechUK has written privately to DCMS secretary of state to express industry frustrations and request ‘urgent needs’ are resolved to enable digital identity market in UK Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

List of Blackbaud breach victims tops 120

More than 120 education and third-sector organisations may have had their data compromised through the breach of Blackbaud’s cloud platform Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Network security in 2020 highlights zero trust, SD-branch

In this roundup of networking blogs, experts explore various aspects of network security -- from old and evergreen to new and innovative -- and the roles they play in 2020. Continue Reading

By

• Michaela Goss, Senior Site Editor

Serious BootHole vulnerability puts millions of systems at risk

BootHole is a GRUB2 bootloader vulnerability and puts millions of PCs, servers and other devices at risk of compromise Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Majority of organisations at risk of cloud data exposure

Report casts doubt on the effectiveness of the shared responsibility model of cloud security Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Bank of Ireland fined for six-year-old IT breach

Bank of Ireland fined by regulator for its failings to prevent fraud six years ago Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Campaigners urge government to resist big tech lobbying pressure

Lobbyists for big tech, supported by senior US politicians, have rallied against stricter regulation of technology companies, and threatened the US-UK trade deal unless Britain scraps plans to levy a digital services tax Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Schrems steps up pressure on Irish data protection commissioner on Facebook’s data sharing with US

Austrian lawyer is considering ‘other’ options if the Irish data protection commissioner does not make a decision by October on his seven-year-old complaint against Facebook Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

Cosmetics firm Avon faces new cyber security incident

Technical information relating to Avon’s web and mobile sites was inadvertently left exposed on an unsecured Microsoft Azure server Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Taking back control of government data mustn’t leave the public in the dark

Boris Johnson has quietly transferred control over government data to Number 10, without explaining why. The public deserves more involvement in how their personal data is being used, says Labour Continue Reading

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• Chi Onwurah, Labour

De Montfort, KCL, Newcastle universities join list of Blackbaud victims

Embattled cloud services provider now has big questions to answer over its handling of data belonging to UK universities and charities Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Garmin may have paid hackers ransom, reports suggest

Garmin’s services are coming back online, but the company remains tight-lipped about what exactly happened to it Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Digital bank customer data breached through third party

FBI is investigating digital bank customer data breach that occurred via a former third-party supplier Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

NCSC names national security expert Lindy Cameron as new CEO

New National Cyber Security Centre head joins from the Northern Ireland Office and has spent 20 years in government at home and abroad Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Scotland’s security resilience centre concept goes national

Based on the success of the Scottish Business Resilience Centre, a series of regional Cyber Resilience Centres are now launching across the rest of the UK Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC inducts six security startups to Cyber Accelerator

10-week programme will guide some of the UK’s most innovative security startups as they scale their businesses for future growth Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Meet the CIO connecting IT in the most inhospitable environments

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we discuss the challenges of running global IT in the world of copper mining. We look at how tech suppliers are adapting their products to meet the lockdown demands of working from home. And we exam-ine how zero-trust methods can help secure container tech-nology. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

MI6 apologises after attempt to interfere with intelligence court

The UK Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, has apologised after attempting to persuade the secretary of Britain’s most secret court to withhold documents from senior judges in a case about crimes by undercover agents Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

Intelligent ways to tackle cyber attack

Artificial intelligence-powered security tools should enable IT security teams to achieve more with less Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Court adjourns hearing into Assange extradition as US delays serving new indictment

Westminster Magistrates Court suspends scheduled extradition hearing into WikiLeaks founder after it emerged the US had failed to serve a second superseding indictment against him Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

Australia issues new cloud computing guidelines

The new guidance, which comes after the expiry of the government’s cloud services certification programme, will help to bolster Australia’s cyber security resilience Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Garmin outage prompts ransomware attack speculation

Details are thin on the ground following a major service outage at Garmin, prompting industry speculation that the firm has fallen victim to a ransomware attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Investment in neurodiverse talent a win-win for security

Current careers guidance and recruitment processes for security jobs are not working for people with ADHD, autism, dyslexia and dyspraxia, but the problem is fixable with a little attention to detail Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

A question of trust: University and supplier on the hook for data breach

Data on students at the University of York was stolen in a ransomware attack on a supplier two months ago, and the response of both parties raises serious questions Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How Schrems II will impact data sharing between the UK and the US

At the end of this year, the UK will no longer be subject to the EU’s treaties, opening the way for it and the US to finalise a new trade relationship. Could the UK leave EU data protection standards behind? Continue Reading

By

• Eleonor Duhs, Fieldfisher

The secret managing director

The managing director of a Premier League side almost cost their club £1m when their email address was hacked during a transfer negotiation – but who could it be? Our first guess was Richard Arnold ... Continue Reading

By

• Ryan Priest

Post-Privacy Shield, what chance for a Brexit data adequacy deal?

The striking down of Privacy Shield has been hailed as a victory for digital rights and privacy campaign groups, but it will have consequences that go beyond transatlantic data transfers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft results show impact of tech-driven business resilience

While economies are set to shrink, businesses are leaning on tech to support operations, says Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

NCSC reveals scale of cyber attacks on UK sports industry

The UK’s sports industry is under near constant cyber attack, according to new statistics from the National Cyber Security Centre Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

No let-up in cyber attacks as lockdown eases

Cyber attacks are up by one-third as the coalescence of cyber activity and nation state-linked threats around the pandemic bears fruit for bad actors Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

US charges Chinese nationals with Covid-19 research hacking

The two hackers allegedly worked with the Chinese Ministry of State Security, targeting intellectual property and confidential business information Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Privacy Shield: Companies face new hurdles to legally transfer data to the US

Businesses will have to conduct legal assessments to ensure they can transfer data from the EU to the US and other countries, following a European Court of Justice ruling Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

Coronavirus: Government drags its feet on online misinformation

Online misinformation about Covid-19 continues to spread unchecked, according to a DCMS committee report which has accused the government of dragging its feet over online harms Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Russia Report reveals long-running cyber warfare campaign against UK

Russia has been hacking the UK for years and the British government has also known about it for years, according to the Intelligence and Security Committee’s report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Avon calling: what happens when lockdown eliminates your business model?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to global beauty brand Avon, to find out how it coped with a huge lockdown dilemma – how to adapt its door-to-door sales model when its reps couldn’t leave home. Our latest buyer’s guide examines the use of artificial intelligence in IT security. And we analyse the government’s decision to strip Huawei from the UK’s 5G network. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Australian industry panel calls for ‘clear consequences’ of cyber attacks

A government-appointed panel recommends strong deterrence and other measures to be implemented in Australia’s next cyber security strategy Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

ICO hails transformative year as average fine trebles

Information Commissioner’s Office annual report reflects on a busy period, during which it levied two of the largest fines so far seen under the GDPR Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Businesses underestimate negative impact of bot traffic

Research from Netacea finds that although awareness of malicious bot activity is high, many are underestimating its true impact Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Test and Trace programme unlawful, admits government

The Department of Health and Social Care failed in its legal obligation to complete a mandatory Data Protection Impact Assessment Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Automating IT security

IT security’s battle with the hacking community has always been a game of cat and mouse, but it’s becoming increasingly automated Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Enterprises need to rethink how end-of-life equipment is dealt with

Electronic waste is a massive and growing problem, but many companies are not recycling or reusing IT equipment, instead opting for physical destruction of the assets Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor