IT security

GDPR an opportunity to improve data systems and processes

A year after the official implementation of the GDPR, it is important to highlight the positive opportunities that compliance provides and the insights breach reports are providing, say Deloitte consultants Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Google cuts off Huawei from Android ecosystem

Google decision follows an executive order signed by President Trump, but Huawei insists US businesses and consumers will be the real losers Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

ICO to support GDPR certification schemes

The UK data protection watchdog is accepting enquiries from organisations considering developing GDPR certification schemes, which the ICO says could help recipients achieve competitive advantage Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Challenges of segregation

What are the security benefits and challenges of segregating IT environments, and how best are these challenges overcome? Continue Reading

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• Mike Gillespie

Identity custodians needed in digital era

Digital identity systems will fail if they do not take humans into account, warns identity innovator, suggesting that a ‘digital guardian’ could help overcome most of these challenges Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

GozNym bust underlines cyber crime threat

A criminal network using GozNym malware has been shut down in an international law enforcement operation, but others are still operating, underlining the need for vigilance, warns a security expert Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Vulnerability assessment done. Now what?

Vulnerability assessment establishes the current state of an organisation’s cyber security, but to meet industry best practices, companies should go beyond that to achieve continuous improvement Continue Reading

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• Sam Bocetta

Trump bans ‘adversary’ tech from US telecoms in blow at Huawei

US president announced ban on telecoms equipment from designated “adversary” states, including China Continue Reading

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• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

Are there any positives from the first year of GDPR?

A year has passed since the new EU data protection law came into force. What have we learned in that time that can help organisations deliver benefits from the regulation? Continue Reading

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• Elle Todd, Reed Smith

Norwegian industry and state must combine to counter cyber threats

Norway has been targeted by two large ransomware attacks in recent months – and public and private organisations must react in a coordinated way Continue Reading

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• Gerard O'Dwyer

Self-sovereign ID key to data privacy

Coupling self-sovereign identity with insights from research on consumer identity management may be the key to personalising products and services without putting people at risk, says industry analyst Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Fujitsu sets out to restore trust in technology

Trust in technology, how to recapture it, and how to ensure AI doesn’t overstep its bounds were the big messages on the opening day of Fujitsu Forum in Tokyo Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Proper segregation is more important than ever

What are the security benefits and challenges of segregating IT environments, and how best are these challenges overcome? Continue Reading

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• Emma Bickerstaffe, Information Security Forum (ISF)

Facebook engaged in ‘calculated’ campaign to eliminate competition, claims businessman

A US businessman is seeking damages from Facebook after accusing the social media company of unfairly blocking “humorous” Facebook pages which generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising revenue Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin and Sebastian Klovig Skelton

Microsoft working to support decentralised identity

Microsoft is among the big tech players aiming to help enable personalisation of products and services without putting privacy at risk Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Implement multifactor authentication, urges expert panel

Multifactor authentication should be a top priority for organisations to defend users from cyber attacks, coupled with zero-trust architecture and artificial intelligence-based technologies, says expert panel Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Understanding tech is key to effective data segregation

What are the security benefits and challenges of segregating IT environments, and how best are these challenges overcome? Continue Reading

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• Petra Wenham

APAC firms on the back foot in cyber security

Most Asia-Pacific organisations did not consider cyber security until after their digital transformation projects had begun, new survey finds Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Digital business is connected business, says KuppingerCole

Businesses need to unlock data, rethink identity and access management, and capitalise on artificial intelligence in the digital era, says KuppingerCole Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Electronic ID in the Nordics – a model for other countries?

Use of electronic identity schemes in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark is far ahead of other countries – but why? Continue Reading

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• Alex Cruickshank

Spyware targets WhatsApp users

Social media platform issues update after it discovered a flaw being exploited by commercial spyware Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Security Think Tank: How to realise the benefits of security zoning

What are the security benefits and challenges of segregating IT environments, and how best are these challenges overcome? Continue Reading

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• Paddy Francis

National Crime Agency calls for additional funding to tackle 21st century crime

Organised criminal gangs represent the biggest cyber threat to the UK, and law enforcement has identified rogue servers hosted in the UK Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Security standard for surveillance cameras set for launch

A long-overdue cyber security standard for the manufacturer of surveillance cameras is on track for an official launch in June Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Benefits and challenges of security segmentation

What are the security benefits and challenges of segregating IT environments, and how best are these challenges overcome? Continue Reading

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• Maxine Holt, Omdia

Debugging bug bounty programmes

Bug bounty programmes have recently become a popular method of vulnerability management, but poor programme management can lead to development teams becoming overwhelmed and bugs being missed Continue Reading

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• Peter Ray Allison

Security Think Tank: Surviving the existential cyber punch, part 3

How should businesses plan to survive a potential cyber attack extinction event? Continue Reading

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• Gregory Touhill, ISACA

Key lessons from an ethical hacker

Understanding hacker techniques and processes is the best way to defend against cyber attacks, and focusing on business risks is the best way to get security budget, according to an ethical hacker Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Dutch businesses not yet implementing NIS Directive

Little urgency to comply with the Network and Information Systems Security Act, which seeks to protect the Netherlands’ vital infrastructure and digital services from cyber attack Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Facebook co-founder: ‘It is time to break up Facebook’

Co-founder of Facebook, Chris Hughes, has published an op-ed in The New York Times calling for Facebook to be broken up, as it faces investigations from the US Federal Trade Commission Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor
• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Northern Ireland generating cyber security knowledge and jobs

Northern Ireland is establishing itself as an international hub of cyber security research and innovation, providing growing employment opportunities Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Some Australian firms still in the dark about cyber security

A report suggesting Australian firms are experiencing fewer cyber incidents has left its co-author perplexed with the findings Continue Reading

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• Beverley Head

Dutch developer offers businesses nuclear security option for communications

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Young Dutch cyber criminals get re-education rather than jail time

 Continue Reading

Gov.uk Verify is the Theresa May of digital government

Gov.uk Verify is the Theresa May of digital government. The embattled Prime Minister faces calls to quit from all around – her own Conservative MPs, grassroots Tory activists, the right-wing press ... Continue Reading

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• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Gov.uk Verify has 'failed users' and its leaders lack accountability, say MPs

Public Accounts Committee slams government's flagship digital identity service after a ‘catalogue of problems’ Continue Reading

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• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Time to start thinking about AI regulation, says KuppingerCole

Organisations and individuals should think about regulating artificial intelligence to avoid sleepwalking into a future regulated by these technologies, says analyst Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber criminals targeting C-suite, DBIR shows

Executives and cloud-based services are gaining popularity as targets for cyber criminals, according to the latest data breach investigations report Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Privileged access management moving to cloud

Survey shows nearly half of information security professionals are either planning to move privileged access management to the cloud or are exploring the possibility Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Top lessons learned from cyber attacks

Cyber security experts weigh in on lessons learned from cyber attack experiences, underlining that recovery capability is as important as defence Continue Reading

Nurturing innovation at DWP

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we find out about the Department for Work and Pensions’ Innovation Dojo and how it’s helping to try out new digital ideas. We look at Anthos, Google’s new multicloud platform which the supplier claims will redefine enterprise IT. And we report from the NCSC cyber security conference, where experts discussed the lessons learned from recent high-profile attacks. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

HMRC begins deleting unlawful voice biometric data

HM Revenue and Customs is to forge ahead with Voice ID despite beginning to delete the largest state-held voice biometric database gathered without consent after UK privacy and data protection watchdog issues order Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

AWS to power Australia’s 2021 online census

PwC Australia, one of two firms appointed by the government to run the next Census, will build and operate an online form and a website on Amazon Web Services Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Zero trust: A 21st century security model

Traditional corporate security models date back to a time when there were fewer, lower-level threats, but a zero trust model is better suited to the 21st century, according to the originator of the idea Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Norsk Hydro urges caution as it counts cost of cyber attack

Norwegian aluminium giant Norsk Hydro is urging partners to be cautious in the wake of a damaging ransomware attack in March as financial impact estimates come in above initial estimates Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Police down two dark web markets

Europol-supported coordinated law enforcement approach across Europe and the US was key to operations’ success Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Singapore rolls out blockchain platform for verifying educational certificates

Employers in the city-state can now use the OpenCerts platform to verify the qualifications of employees and new hires Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Firms urged to embrace positive security trends to win cyber war

Modern cyber security challenges overshadow the information security successes of the past, but several positive trends are emerging as defenders come to grips with new threats, says Deloitte Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Huawei furore leads inevitably to a global polarisation of the tech sector

The sacking of defence minister Gavin Williamson is another indication of how technology is influencing politics, and vice versa. While his crime was to leak details from a national security ... Continue Reading

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• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Microservices introduce hidden security complexity, analyst warns

Microservice architecture – an approach to application development in which applications are built as a suite of modular services – simplifies development but complicates security, says KuppingerCole Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Businesses unprepared for cyber breaches

Study shows many organisations lack IT security and operations basics, including visibility across their IT operations Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Why IT departments miss basic IT security hygiene

IT departments are failing to patch security holes in software because of a disconnect between security and operations teams, survey finds Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Defence secretary sacked over Huawei leak

Defence secretary Gavin Williamson has been sacked after leaking confidential discussions over the use of Huawei networking equipment Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

BSA releases framework for secure software

Software industry advocacy group releases framework to facilitate flexible and comprehensive software security assessments Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Protecting your digital assets: Why it pays to invest in cyber insurance

Cyber insurance offers financial protection against the worst happening to a company’s data and digital assets, and is something few businesses can afford to be without Continue Reading

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• Stuart Burns

Get more proactive on cyber security, says ex Europol chief

Business needs to get more proactive, collaborative, resilient and analytical to manage cyber risks posed by cyber criminals down to acceptable levels, says former Europol chief Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK gears up for new laws on IoT security

The UK plans to introduce measures to require that basic cyber security features are built into internet-connected devices Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber criminals increase use of fileless attacks

Fileless attacks are increasingly popular with cyber criminals, while Russia and China top the league of nation state data exfiltrators, threat data shows Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Inside Huawei

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we visit the new campus of Chinese networking supplier Huawei to find out what the firm thinks of the controversy raging about the security of its products. Our latest buyer’s guide examines the technologies and best practices in storage optimisation. And we look at the latest opportunities for making the most of technology in schools. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Most businesses vulnerable to supply chain cyber attacks

UK firms trail the leaders US and Germany in knowing the most about their partners’ cyber security practices, but most companies globally are in the dark about this growing source of vulnerabilities Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 13

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, the team are joined by security editor Warwick Ashford to talk about his time at the CyberUK conferences, as well as connected cars, education in the UK, and Brian McKenna’s trip to China Continue Reading

By

• Computer Weekly Staff

Nearly half of UK IT pros report serious data breaches

Integration of security systems and employee training recognised as key ways to reduce the growing severity of data breaches Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Privacy and data protection an opportunity, says entrepreneur

Organisations should see data protection and privacy compliance as an opportunity to build trust with customers, according to startup One.Thing.Less Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Fix the basics first, then worry about AI, advise experts

The freedom of the internet is at risk, with the cyber arms race and the industrialisation of hacking are set to continue as attackers move up the value chain to target trust mechanisms, threat experts predict Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Australians lost half a billion dollars to scams in 2018

Most of the losses went to investment scams as tricksters found innovative ways to dupe victims into parting with their money Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Facebook faces fresh privacy actions from regulators

Facebook faces legal action from Canada after it dismissed regulators’ findings that it failed to protect customer privacy. The firm has set aside $5bn to settle a privacy action in the US and faces a new investigation in Ireland Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Security Think Tank: Surviving the existential cyber punch part 2

How should businesses plan to survive a potential cyber attack extinction event? Continue Reading

By

• Gregory Touhill, ISACA

Top lessons from cyber attacks

Cyber security experts weigh in on lessons learned from cyber attack experiences, underlining that recovery capability is as important as defence Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Huawei leak inquiry launched

Cabinet secretary Mark Sedwill has instituted an inquiry aimed at discovering who leaked confidential discussions about UK mobile operators’ use of Huawei in their future 5G networks to the press Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

GDPR cases drive bigger budgets for Nordic regulators

High-profile General Data Protection Regulation cases in Finland and Sweden have increased the workload for regulators, which are to receive an increase in funding Continue Reading

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• Gerard O'Dwyer

Public becoming more aware of privacy abuses and unethical tech

Widespread abuses of privacy, biometric information and artificial intelligence mean the internet is in poor health, but growing popular awareness of its problems gives some cause for hope, says the Mozilla Foundation Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK up for cyber challenge but work to be done, says minister

Lidington says National Cyber Security Strategy has “revolutionised the UK’s fight against cyber threats” Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NCSC and ICO pledge to support data breach victims

The UK’s cyber security agency and privacy watchdog have agreed to work together to improve support for data breach victims and enhance cyber guidance Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

European Union to create central biometrics database

New rules will see the introduction of a repository of personal data from hundreds of millions of citizens to support law enforcement across member states Continue Reading

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• Angelica Mari

No final decision taken on Huawei 5G ban, government claims

Culture secretary tells MPs that a final decision on use of Huawei in UK 5G networks has not been taken, and says government is taking the leak of confidential discussions at the National Security Council very seriously Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cabinet Office addresses 5G security issue

Cabinet Office uses NCSC conference to lay out government’s approach to the security of 5G networks, as controversy grows around using equipment from Chinese supplier Huawei Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NCSC looks to industry to scale Active Cyber Defence

The national cyber security agency is calling on wider government organisations as well as industry to help scale automated cyber attack blocking systems country-wide Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NCSC to scale up intelligence sharing, says GCHQ director

The GCHQ director has outlined the agency’s cyber security mission in the third decade of the internet age at CyberUK, promising to scale up the sharing of declassified cyber intelligence with industry Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

PM May approves Huawei for use in 5G networks despite opposition

The UK’s National Security Council has approved the use of Huawei’s networking equipment in parts of the country’s 5G mobile networks in spite of widespread opposition Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Global intelligence agencies share UK stage for first time

Representatives of intelligence agencies from the Five Eyes alliance are to share a public platform in the UK for the first time at this year’s NCSC CyberUK conference Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Casual collaboration comms pose security risk, survey shows

UK employees have a worryingly casual attitude to workplace communications, underling the need for employers to take steps to counter related cyber attack vulnerabilities Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

WannaCry hero pleads guilty, urges others to stay on ‘good side’

Briton hailed as WannaCry hero finally pleads guilty to charges of writing and distributing malware, but urges security researchers to stay away from the “dark side” Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

APAC set for blockchain boom

Led by China, spending on blockchain technology in Asia-Pacific excluding Japan will surpass $2bn by 2022 Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

NCSC urges better online security practices

UK cyber security agency is urging citizens to improve online safety and password security after research reveals most-hacked passwords and a survey exposes gaps in online security Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Facebook leaks: Zuckerberg turned data into dollars in ruthless battle with competitors

Facebook’s CEO ruthlessly exploited personal data shared by its users to turn Facebook into the biggest social network, but internal documents show that privacy appeared to be an afterthought for executives Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Sebastian Klovig Skelton and Duncan Campbell

20 firms join Tech Nation’s cyber security scale-up programme

Tech Nation scale-up programme is designed to boost the UK’s cyber sector, accelerate the growth of its top companies and build a robust, cross-industry network Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

State-sponsored hackers are hijacking DNS, researchers warn

A DNS-hijacking campaign targeting the Middle East and Africa may lead to actors more broadly attacking the global DNS system Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK government to introduce online porn age checks

World-first regulations will see age verification introduced in July and enforced by the British Board of Film Classification. Non-compliant sites risk withdrawal of payment services or being blocked Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Nearly a quarter of tech firms do not security check products

Nearly a quarter of organisations polled do not run security checks on products, and nearly a third admitted to shipping products with known security vulnerabilities, a survey shows Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Politics, privacy and porn: the challenges of age-verification technology

The age-verification requirements of the Digital Economy Act are to come into force in July this year, but registering people’s personal details for accessing age-restricted content carries significant risks and challenges Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

TfL suspends Wi-Fi service as Extinction Rebellion spreads

Transport for London has cut off its public Virgin Media Wi-Fi service to disrupt climate change protests Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Morrisons to launch fresh appeal against breach liability ruling

Supermarket chain Morrisons is to launch a second appeal against a High Court ruling that found it liable for a data leak by a former employee Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Wipro admits to potential breach to employee accounts by phishing attack

Indian IT services company Wipro is investigating a phishing attack, which hit some staff email accounts and launched attacks on customer environments Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Singtel and NUS claim quantum breakthrough

Researchers from Singtel and the National University of Singapore have succeeded in coordinating the paths of photons across a fibre network to drive wider adoption of quantum key distribution Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Security Think Tank: Surviving the existential cyber punch

How should businesses plan to survive a potential cyber attack extinction event? Continue Reading

By

• Gregory Touhill, ISACA

Huawei cyber security chief John Suffolk: It’s not our culture to be aggressive

John Suffolk, global cyber security and privacy officer at China-based telecoms equipment supplier Huawei, tells Huawei Analyst Summit growth is the best answer to US criticism Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

Energy industry needs to up cyber defences, warns report 

Cyber threat actors are advanced and persistent, but firms in the energy industry are using outdated systems and technology to save money, putting them at risk of cyber attacks, warns F-Secure report Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NatWest eases business payments with biometric authentication on mobile

NatWest is making it easier and safer for businesses to make payments of any size via a mobile app using biometric authentication technology Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How Palo Alto Networks fends off its cyber adversaries

Palo Alto Networks CIO Naveen Zutshi talks up the company’s approach in keeping threat actors at bay Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Facebook takes extraordinary legal steps to contain document leak

Facebook targets journalists and news organisations for computer searches Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly