IT security

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

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• 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

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• 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

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• 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

Zero trust is about more than products

The zero trust security model is more than just products and network segmentation, it’s an architectural design principle with identity at its core that needs to be applied enterprise-wide, says KuppingerCole Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Seven steps to manage risk of catastrophic cyber attack

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

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• Simon Persin, Turnkey Consulting

Automation will bring job security, say most IT security pros

Most security professionals believe that although automation can support humans, it will not result in a reduction in job opportunities, a study shows Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NCSC seeks new breed of cyber security startups

The UK intelligence community is seeking to promote a new breed of technology startup to help detect, respond to and facilitate rapid recoveries from cyber attacks on the UK Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

How botnets pose a threat to the IoT ecosystem

While connected devices are transforming our personal and working lives in a multitude of ways, they are also a growing security risk – attackers are hijacking these devices and turning them into internet of things botnets Continue Reading

By

• Nicholas Fearn

Security Think Tank: Cyber attack survival not a matter of luck

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

By

• Paddy Francis

Bounty UK fined £400,000 for sharing personal data unlawfully

UK pregnancy and parenting club fined for “unprecedented” level of unauthorised sharing of personal data by operating as a data broking service Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Police local cyber crime units get multimillion pound boost

UK policing marks the completion of the local phase of a national cyber crime programme to complement regional and national response capabilities Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Government breach data highlights cyber skills misconception

Results of a government-sponsored survey highlight a dangerous misconception around cyber skills, according to a former GCHQ trainer Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Aim for integrated resilience, continuity and recovery

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

By

• Mike Gillespie

Most organisations still lack incident response plans

Most companies lack incident response plans, others fail to test them and nearly half are not GDPR compliant, but some report improved security through automation, a study shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Triton industrial malware group still active, researchers warn

Security researchers have found traces of a Russian-linked cyber attack group in another critical infrastructure facility, prompting calls for increased diligence around industrial cyber security Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

CW Middle East: Visibility and security of networks are top IT priorities

The 2019 Computer Weekly/TechTarget IT Priorities survey shows that enterprise buyers in the Middle East, like those in the UK and Europe, are looking to lock down their networks in the face of an almost constant barrage of threats and malicious actors. Also read how Facebook planned to use its Android app to track the location of its customers and to allow advertisers to send political advertising, and what further details operator O2 has revealed about how it is planning for the advent of 5G. Continue Reading

ANZ business users calling the shots in ICT decisions

Business users in ANZ firms have more sway about technology decisions, but it is not always a case of shadow IT Continue Reading

By

• Beverley Head

Security Think Tank: Incident response vital to guard against catastrophic cyber attack

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

By

• Maxine Holt, Omdia

A quarter of phishing emails bypass Office 365 security

Cloud-based email is leaving enterprises vulnerable to phishing attacks capable of giving cyber criminals access to a wide range of critical data, warn security researchers Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Why cyber security needs to be prioritised at board level

Despite the rising number of headline-grabbing security breaches, many company executives are still not prioritising cyber security in the boardroom Continue Reading

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• Tom Kranz, Cyber Lab

Digital doppelgangers for sale to defeat anti-fraud tech

Security researchers have uncovered an online market selling digital identities to help cyber criminals to defeat anti-fraud technologies, as financial cyber crime becomes a bigger threat than ever before Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK councils team up to boost cyber security

Three UK councils and data analysis firm Splunk have teamed up to improve cyber defence capabilities and maintain their security systems Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

How simulated disaster management can help tackle security skills gap

With the increasing need for cyber security professionals, organisations are turning to new ways to address the skills gap facing the security sector Continue Reading

Using data science at Sainsbury’s

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to one of the UK’s leading retailers, Sainsbury’s, about its data science strategy and how it helps the firm to better understand customers. We take a detailed look at the evolution of the business intelligence market and the impact of big data. And we find out how simulated disaster management can tackle the security skills gap. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: BC/DR plan key to cyber attack survival

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

By

• Petra Wenham

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 11

In this week’s episode of The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, the team discuss Google’s forthcoming cloud conference, how tech can be used to boost social inclusion, while data analytics is being hailed as a means of assisting MI5 with with its terrorism detection work Continue Reading

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• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

GCHQ cyber courses for teens recognised by qualification board

The Scottish Qualifications Authority has accredited courses pioneered by GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre to teach teenagers about cyber security Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Ransomware getting more targeted, warns Flashpoint

Ransomware attacks are becoming more targeted and designed to infect different sized organisations in specific industries and regions, say security researchers Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

GDPR at a critical stage, says information commissioner

The ICO is calling on data protection officials to help kick off the next phase of the GDPR by embedding sound data governance at its annual conference, where another DPO was recognised for excellence Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

How APAC firms can tame the data beast

Companies and data management experts across Asia-Pacific reveal how they are tackling data management challenges that have been compounded by growing cloud usage and compliance requirements Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

UK plans for online safety laws not enough, says BCS

Government plans for online safety laws need to be complemented with a national cyber safety programme in schools, according to IT and computer science professional and educational body Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: How to reduce the impact of a potential cyber extinction event

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

By

• Andy Jones, Information Security Forum (ISF)

Critical infrastructure under relentless cyber attack

A lack of visibility into the attack surface, inadequate security staffing and reliance on manual processes undermine operational technology security capabilities, a study reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

London council fined by the ICO for disclosing personal information held on Met Police Gangs Matrix

The London Borough of Newham has been fined for disclosing the sensitive personal information of more than 200 individuals that police held information on Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

European firms see value in ‘known good’ approach to security

European data protection regulations are driving enterprise interest in an approach to security being championed by virtualisation software maker VMware, says the company’s security lead Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Huawei ban will cost UK plc £6.8bn, delay 5G

If the UK government decides to impose tighter restrictions, or an outright ban on the use of Huawei in national 5G networks, the country faces severe consequences, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The rise of digital workers and the bot economy

Automation Anywhere’s booming business, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, is a sign of things to come in the new world of work where digital workers can be hired from a bot store Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Enhanced Wi-Fi cuts costs to maximise efficiency at Dorset school

The need for cost-effective, manageable wireless infrastructure without additional annual licence fees drove Lytchett Minster School’s decision to upgrade its on-site network with TP-Link Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Researchers uncover US-based malware distribution centre

More than a dozen US-based web servers are operating as the malware equivalent of an Amazon fulfilment centre to target businesses, security researchers have found Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Document-based malware on the rise, businesses warned

Document-based malware spiked in the first quarter of the year, building on a gradual rise in the past year, warn researchers Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Third-party Facebook apps expose 540 million users’ details

Researchers have discovered another trove of Facebook users’ details, showing there is still no control over data shared with third parties, potentially exposing Facebook to more regulatory and legal action Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Fresh approach needed to reap cloud security benefits

Transitioning to cloud-based services offers businesses an opportunity to improve security capabilities, but only if they adopt a proactive cloud-native approach, says Palo Alto Networks cloud security expert Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Government urges businesses and charities to up cyber security

The UK government is urging businesses and charities to take action to prevent cyber attacks as the costs go up, despite an overall reduction in breaches, partly driven by new data protection laws Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Employees lack awareness of corporate data-sharing policies

IT leaders believe their organisations are highly likely to lose data in the next 12 months due to accidental data breaches Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Akamai to open second traffic scrubbing centre in Australia

New centre in Melbourne will meet growing demand for scrubbing services to mitigate the impact of distributed denial of service attacks in Australia Continue Reading

By

• Beverley Head

Women now almost a quarter of cyber security workforce

Women in cyber security are younger, have achieved higher levels of education and are assuming leadership roles at higher rates than men, a study shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Four in 10 leading banks failing on email fraud protection

Top UK traditional and challenger banks risk exposing customers to email fraud, a study reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber attacks increasingly exploiting supply chain weaknesses

Cyber attacks are increasingly characterised by supply chain attacks, counter incident response and lateral movement, research reveals Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Huawei reports record numbers despite tumultuous year

Huawei has become one of the world’s largest technology companies by revenue, suggesting the accusations over its ties to the Chinese government are failing to have much impact Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The nightmare driving test – making driverless cars safe

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to AI experts about the challenges of teaching autonomous vehicles how to drive safely in often extreme environments, and how deep learning simulations can help. Our latest buyer’s guide looks at business intelligence and analytics technologies. And we examine the implications of the EU’s controversial new copyright laws. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Thales completes acquisition of Gemalto

Multi-billion-euro acquisition gives Thales a global leadership position in digital identity and security Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Black Hat Asia 2019: Get ready for the cyber arms race

The arms race is now squarely in the cyber realm as defence teams and threat actors arm themselves with AI tools Continue Reading

By

• Ai Lei Tao

Rapidly multiplying IoT cyber attacks use well-known weaknesses

Internet of things threats and attacks are increasing rapidly, but rely on well-known security weaknesses, security researchers discover Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Zuckerberg calls for new internet regulation

Facebook chief calls for new internet regulation in four key areas to define clear responsibilities for people, companies and governments, including more GDPR-aligned data protection rules Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Mind the Brexit gap in cyber security

Leaving the EU could mean a new cyber security regime for the UK – firms need to understand how the changes might affect them Continue Reading

By

• Elliot Rose

Singapore government to review data security in public sector

A high-level committee comprising ministers and private sector security experts will review data security practices and recommend measures to better protect citizens’ data Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Windows 10 security breach highlights third-party vulnerabilities

The recent Windows 10 PC security breach brought on by third-party software from a Chinese tech company raises concern about the security strength of third-party providers. Continue Reading

By

• Jesse Scardina, News Writer

Magento e-commerce sites urged to apply security update

Security experts are urging companies using the Magento e-commerce site to apply security updates without delay to avoid a disastrous hacking campaign Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

ICO kicks off sandbox beta to support innovation

The UK’s privacy watchdog has launched the first phase of an initiative aimed at enhancing data protection while supporting business innovation Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Infosec pros slam government-mandated backdoors

Government-mandated encryption backdoors increase vulnerability to nation-state attacks, according to the majority of cyber security professionals Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Huawei making no progress on addressing security concerns

Huawei has made no material progress on addressing the issues identified last year by the NCSC, according to the latest highly critical report from its HSCEC Oversight Board Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Encryption adoption driven by new tech and compliance

The adoption of encryption is at its highest level yet, driven by the need to protect data generated by new digital initiatives, but still less than half of organisations are applying it consistently across the enterprise Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK IoT research centre to tackle cyber risk

A government-backed national IoT research centre has been launched as part of UK efforts to become a world leader in tackling cyber threats   Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber attacks targeting industrial control systems on the rise

Malicious cyber activity increased to almost half of the industrial infrastructure protected by Kaspersky Lab in 2018, but the UK is among the most secure countries, the security firm reports Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Mind the overlap between GDPR and ePD, warns privacy lawyer

Organisations need to be aware of the overlaps between European data protection and privacy rules, and which takes precedence, a privacy lawyer warns Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Norsk Hydro cyber attack cost estimates up to $41m

Initial estimates have put the financial impact of last week’s ransomware attack on the Norwegian aluminium producer of up to nearly $41m, raising questions about cyber insurance coverage Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Web inventor wants a web built on solid data principles

Tim Berners-Lee has urged app developers to be courteous to users’ data privacy, saying users should own their own data and apps need to interoperate Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Police make 61 arrests in global crackdown on dark web

Law enforcement agencies from the US, Canada and Europe, including the UK, have joined forces to target suppliers and buyers of illegal goods on dark web marketplaces and warn buyers of risks Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

IT complexity raises concerns of certificate-related outages

Company executives are concerned that increased IT complexity will result in more security certificate-related outages, with nearly two-thirds of organisations affected in the past year Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Europe passes controversial Copyright Directive

The European Parliament has passed a new Copyright Directive, including a number of highly controversial articles Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

BT switches on quantum network link at Adastral Park

BT has opened its quantum network link between its Adastral Park research base and the UK Quantum Network node at the University of Cambridge Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Asus releases fix for supply chain cyber attack

Asus has released a fix for a supply chain attack and downplayed the impact on customers while promising to contact all those affected as incident highlights code signing vulnerabilities Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

A ‘stunning victory’ in Post Office Horizon trial

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we report on the latest news from the court case about the controversial Post Office Horizon IT system after claimants achieve a ‘stunning victory’ in a judge’s ruling. Top IT leaders share their views on creating a strategy for the digital age. And the CIO of Halfords talks about cloud, data analytics and emerging technologies. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Nominet urges SMEs to register .uk domains to thwart squatters

The automatic right of .co.uk domain name holders to register the shorter .uk domains ends in June Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Firms urged to gear up for new malware and tactics as threats proliferate

The volume of malware attacks reached a record level in 2018, with UK and India bucking global trend of increased ransomware attacks, a study shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Geopolitical issues affecting cyber security

Geopolitical issues are affecting business decisions, according to the majority of cyber security professionals, a survey shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security challenge is to move as fast as the business

Adapting security to the pace at which the business is moving is one of the biggest challenges facing infosec professionals in the cloud era, says Palo Alto Networks Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Lack of security skills exposing business to attack

The cyber skills shortage is leaving businesses at increased risk of attack as organisations continue to struggle to fill security-related positions, a survey shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

MPs hear more revelations about Gov.uk Verify as troubled project gets a new leader

Hello and good luck, to Lisa Barrett  - the newly appointed director of digital identity at the Government Digital Service (GDS). She's taken on what many people outside GDS see as something of a ... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Mike Lynch heads to High Court to defend against HP allegations

The UK’s biggest fraud case commences, with the former CEO of Autonomy, Mike Lynch, attempting to clear his name Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Small businesses hit hardest by cyber crime costs

Small businesses felt the biggest impact of the UK’s cyber crime bill in 2018, research shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Digital Darwinism unkind to those who wait, says Palo Alto

As business-driven digital transformation, including the move to cloud, continues apace, companies need to rethink their approach to how they deploy and consume security, or risk being left behind Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK government at odds over Huawei threat

The chair of the Science and Technology Committee has criticised the government’s vague response to concerns about Huawei’s activities in the UK Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Facebook security policy and practices unfit, say infosec pros

Confidence in Facebook’s ability to keep users’ data safe has once again been shaken by revelations of poor password protection practices, prompting calls for a security review Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK police should not deploy live facial recognition technology until issues are resolved, MPs told

The Science and Technology Committee has heard from the information and biometrics commissioners about the flawed use of live facial recognition technology by UK police Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Government cyber security strategy is ‘chaotic’

Responding to potential threats at a national level is unfeasible given the time ministers are currently dedicating to Brexit negotiations, says shadow Cabinet Office minister Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Remainers accidentally DDoS the British government

With eight days until the UK's scheduled exit from the European Union, a prime minister who has lost control, a paralysed political system, and Britain reduced to a laughing stock on the world ... Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Russian cyber espionage groups targeting EU governments

Two Russian cyber espionage groups are targeting EU governments ahead of European elections, say researchers Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Spike in cyber attacks targeting Cisco Webex

Cyber attacks targeting a leading web conference tool have increased dramatically and sextortion is becoming more popular with attackers, according to WatchGuard Technologies Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Police investigate Norsk Hydro ransomware attack

Ransomware attack on one of the world’s largest aluminium producers is under police investigation Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst