IT security

Australian firms grappling with “train-smash” of security legislation

While businesses should avoid going into checkbox compliance mode, the constant flux of regulations on cyber security and privacy has led to calls for more legislative coherence from regulators Continue Reading

By

• Beverley Head

Disaster planning: Expect the unexpected

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Mobiles top target of nation state surveillance

Nation states are targeting individual mobile users for intelligence gathering and disruption of rivals as security on mobile devices lags behind traditional computing, a report reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Huawei ‘galvanised’ by Trump ban

Huawei has found itself caught in the crossfire of the US president’s trade war with China, but chairman Liang Hua says the firm is rising to the challenge Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Former AWS engineer arrested for Capital One data breach

Capital One announces data breach affecting more than 100 million customers as US federal authorities arrest a Seattle woman formerly employed by Amazon Web Services Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

ICO selects first innovation Sandbox participants

UK privacy watchdog has chosen the first firms to take part in its Sandbox programme aimed at developing innovative and beneficial products and services that are privacy compliant Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Visa card vulnerabilities enable contactless limit bypass

Security researchers have discovered vulnerabilities on Visa cards that could be exploited to bypass contactless payment limits and result in huge losses Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Space – the new frontier in cyber security

50 years after the Moon landings, our growing reliance on satellite communications presents a new target for malicious cyber attacks Continue Reading

By

• Elliot Rose

WannaCry hero Marcus Hutchins spared jail

British security researcher who helped halt the global WannaCry ransomware attack that hit the NHS in 2017 has avoided jail in the US for creating other malware Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Think beyond tick-box compliance

A year on since GDPR, many organisations are yet to stop fretting over fines and focus instead on business value Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Cyber kill chain is outdated, says Carbon Black

The chief cyber security officer of Carbon Black calls for a new cognitive paradigm to fend off cyber adversaries that are now attacking in cycles Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Email security as important as ever, report shows

Cyber security professionals need to keep up to date with email-borne threats because they continue to evolve and have a major impact on business, research reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

86 million reasons to support No More Ransom

Anti-ransomware cross-industry initiative says it has prevented more than £86m in ransom payments as it marks its third anniversary, which coincides with a resurgence in ransomware in many parts of the world Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

F-Secure talks up threat-hunting to stay ahead of cyber attacks in APAC

Cyber security firm calls for organisations to double up on threat-hunting now that nearly all attack and reconnaissance traffic is automated Continue Reading

By

• Avanti Kumar

Mobile banking malware surges in 2019

Mobile banking malware surged in the first half of the year, email scams geared up and attacks on cloud increased, while illicit cryptocurrency miners declined, report reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Most SMEs severely underestimate cyber security vulnerabilities

Small businesses are the primary target for cyber attacks, yet most are unprepared and do not think they will be targeted, a survey reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Facebook shrugs off $5bn fine, reports strong quarter

Investors responded positively after social networking firm reported better-than-expected second-quarter results after budgeting for FTC fine, but the company faces a further antitrust investigation Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Why investment is needed in the cyber insurance market

The number of cyber insurance policies on offer is beginning to grow, but insurers still have a long way to go to develop policies that address market concerns Continue Reading

By

• Michael Aminzade, 6point6

Network teams spend more time than ever on network security issues

The workloads of network teams have evolved from their original objectives because of network security threats. Yet teams are still expected to maintain their initial goals. Continue Reading

By

• Michaela Goss, Senior Site Editor

Internet crime costs global economy £2.3m a minute

Cyber crime cost the global economy £2.3m every minute in 2018, reveals a report aimed at defining the scale of cyber attacks taking place over the internet Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Zuckerberg responsible for Facebook privacy compliance after $5bn FTC fine

Facebook pays record fine after breaching users’ privacy, following settlements with Federal Trade Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin and Sebastian Klovig Skelton

Global malware down but ransomware up, with UK hard hit

Despite a global decrease in the volume of malware in the past year, ransomware is surging once again, and the UK is one of the worst-hit countries, a report reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Controversial ‘immigration exemption’ used in 60% of cases

The UK government has used a controversial GDPR opt-out in response to the majority of its immigration-related data requests since the start of 2019, the High Court has heard Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

AI to advance Swedish military systems

Swedish report into use of artificial intelligence in military systems reveals opportunities and concerns Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Phishing attack highlights cyber security need at universities

UK university cyber security is once again under the spotlight after Lancaster University reveals that it has been targeted by a phishing attack used to send fake invoices Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Almost a third of European firms still not compliant with GDPR

Almost a third of European businesses admit they are still not compliant with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, but there are encouraging signs of increased maturity in data protection, with the new rules driving better, business-supporting practices Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Norsk Hydro cyber attack could cost up to $75m

March 2019 ransomware attack could cost Norwegian aluminium giant up to $75m in the first half of the year, according to latest estimates Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Data breach costs on the rise, IBM study shows

Data breach costs have risen in the past decade, and the financial impact can be felt for years. Breaches posing a growing risk for small businesses, a study shows, underlining the importance of incident response Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

High Court to hear challenge to immigration exemption in DPA

The High Court is to hear a challenge by two human rights groups of a controversial clause in new UK data protection legislation they say is in conflict with the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights and undermines the General Data Protection Regulation Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

How Apollo 11 influenced modern computing

In this week’s Computer Weekly, on the 50th anniversary of the Moon landings we look at the influence Apollo 11 had on modern hardware and software. Our latest buyer’s guide examines data protection. And we find out how retailers with physical stores are using technology to respond to the rise of online shopping. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Government delays final decision on Huawei

Culture secretary says he cannot yet make specific decisions about Huawei’s involvement in the UK’s telecoms and mobile networks due to a lack of clarity from the US, effectively green-lighting its use Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft talks up benefits and pitfalls of machine learning in security

Software giant Microsoft uses machine learning models to detect emerging threats while keeping an eye on potential bias in security data points that could derail its analysis Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Analytics and GDPR compliance: How to achieve it

Mathieu Gorge, CEO of Vigitrust, looks at technologies such as pseudonymisation that can help organisations stay GDPR-compliant while gaining value from analytics on customer data Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Conduct cloud security training across the business

A well-educated staff is one of the best tools in the fight against security breaches. Consider these tips to prepare your employees for the risks in the cloud. Continue Reading

By

• Will Kelly

US fines Equifax $700m over 2017 breach

Global settlement with US authorities follows systems breach that saw more than 140 million customer records stolen Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Big tech firms back UK cyber security initiative

Big technology firms have pledged their support for UK investment in an initiative to “design out” of new tech the most damaging cyber security threats Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Latest investments in Atom Bank will support cloud platform project

Bank has raised £50m more finance, which will contribute to funding its project to migrate to the cloud Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

GDPR one year in

Until recently, no one assumed the ICO would issue large fines for GDPR non-compliance. But that has all changed now that it plans to fine BA Continue Reading

By

• Bob Tarzey

Latest ICO fine highlights privacy due diligence

A week after issuing the first serious GDPR fines, the ICO has further underlined the importance of data stewardship and due diligence regarding privacy practices Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Second CyberThreat Summit announced by NCSC and SANS Institute

CyberThreat 2019 aims to bring together a more diverse set of technical professionals in cyber security from the private and public sectors in the UK and abroad to encourage collaboration Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

MPs warn of data adequacy hole in no-deal Brexit

Transferring data to and from the EU will only be possible if an agreement is in place before the UK leaves. No deal means no data agreement Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Government launches digital identity consultation and new pilot scheme

DCMS is seeking views on the role of the government and private sector in developing digital identities, while a small-scale trial will open up passport data for companies to prove online IDs Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Warzone bulletproof hosts protecting Magecart group

Security researchers have discovered a Magecart group operating with impunity using bulletproof hosting services, including one in battle-scarred Ukraine Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

How IT pros are building resilience against email security threats

For most people, emails are an easy and harmless way to communicate in the workplace, but they could also be a security disaster waiting to happen Continue Reading

By

• Nicholas Fearn

Worries over impact of foreign talent on Australia’s tech jobs put to rest

Local tech industry welcomes a new report from the Committee for the Economic Development of Australia which found that migrants have not had a negative impact on wages or participation rates of Aussie workers Continue Reading

By

• Beverley Head

HID weighs in the glacial move towards digital ID

There are still concerns over data integrity, security and privacy of digital identities, but the convenience of the technology outweighs the risks, says a HID expert Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

AWS security tools embrace AI, but miss on multi-cloud

AWS has added AI-backed services, such as Amazon GuardDuty and Amazon Macie, to expand its security capabilities, but still hasn't addressed users' needs outside of its own platform. Continue Reading

AI security tech is making waves in incident response

Experts weigh in on the latest smart cybersecurity tools -- how they work, the implications for your IT security team and whether the investment is worth the expense. Continue Reading

How ASEAN firms are using AI to combat cyber threats

Artificial intelligence tools are becoming a vital part of the security arsenal for organisations and cyber criminals alike. Continue Reading

CW ASEAN: Trend Watch – Security

Artificial intelligence tools are becoming a vital part of the security arsenal for organizations and cyber criminals alike. In this handbook, Computer Weekly looks at how ASEAN firms are using AI to combat cyber threats and experts discuss the latest smart cyber security tools. Continue Reading

Australian firms warned to take action as data breaches show no sign of abating

Australia’s privacy watchdog recorded over 800 cases of data breaches, nearly one year into the country’s mandatory data breach notification regime. Continue Reading

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

Free tool reveals the true cost of ‘free’ online services

New data discovery portal developed by Finnish security firm F-Secure helps to uncover what Facebook, Amazon, Google and other tech giants know about consumers Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Australia’s Notifiable Data Breaches scheme drives compliance but issues remain

Australia’s data breach notification rules have largely been complied with, but some quarters are calling for more clarity on the reporting threshold and tougher action against errant firms. Continue Reading

CW ANZ: Trend Watch – Security

With regulations pushing data protection up the business agenda, we look at how Australia’s Notifiable Data Breaches scheme has been received and consider why a survey that found Australian firms are experiencing fewer cyber breach incidents appears to conflict with anecdotal evidence that suggests the opposite. Continue Reading

Digital minister Margot James quits after Brexit vote

James voted against the government in an attempt to stop the next Prime Minister from suspending Parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Security Think Tank: Engage business to address commercial risk

What strategies can infosec pros use to shift focus from GDPR fines to enabling business gains and success, changing the way data is used, and aligning data privacy with business purpose? Continue Reading

By

• Raef Meeuwisse

Parliamentary committee calls for halt to facial recognition trials

Issues with biometrics and forensics pose a significant risk to effective functioning of the criminal justice system, according to a report by the Science and Technology Committee Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK poor cyber security practice undermining controls

UK firms investing in the latest cyber security products and services risk this being undermined by poor security practices, a survey reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Lateral phishing used to attack organisations on global scale

Lateral phishing is a growing type of account takeover that has enabled attackers to target more than 100,000 people by hijacking just 154 email accounts Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Singapore shores up data protection capabilities

The Singapore government has developed a skills framework for data protection officers and is looking to certify organisations under a regional cross-border privacy rules system Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

The 5 network security basics you need to know

In this compilation, learn what network security is, as well as how it differs from cybersecurity, common -- and potentially confusing -- technologies, threats and more. Continue Reading

By

• Michaela Goss, Senior Site Editor

Most security pros still concerned about public cloud security

Despite accelerated adoption of public cloud services by companies keen to benefit from increased efficiency, scalability and agility, most security professionals have reservations Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Facebook accused of ‘breathtaking arrogance’ over Libra cryptocurrency plan

US senators grill Facebook’s David Marcus over social media giant’s plans to launch cryptocurrency Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Suspected malicious MS Office tool maker arrested

Dutch police have arrested a man suspected of producing and selling toolkits to create malicious Microsoft Office documents Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Vulnerable firmware in enterprise server supply chain

Researchers are warning of vulnerabilities in firmware from a third-party supplier that put some servers from Lenovo, Gigabyte and six other manufacturers at risk Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Translating GDPR compliance into business benefits

What strategies can information security professionals use to shift focus from General Data Protection Regulation fines to enabling business gains and success, changing the way data is used, and aligning data privacy with business purpose? Continue Reading

By

• Emma Bickerstaffe, Information Security Forum (ISF)

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 24

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Brian McKenna, Caroline Donnelly and Clare McDonald talk about using Alexa to search for medical advice, how a good cup of tea can solve most problems and whether more should be done to provide childcare at tech events Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

NCSC calls out Microsoft over Dmarc reports

The UK’s cyber security agency has called out Microsoft for seriously undermining global email security by failing to provide crucial reports from its email platforms Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Digital safety skills initiative launched against cyber crime

Security industry partners have launched an initiative aimed at raising individuals’ digital safety skills to enable them to protect themselves and their families from most common cyber attacks Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UN resolution ignores special rapporteur’s call for halt to spyware sales

UN’s Human Rights Council adopts resolution to explore the impact of new and emerging digital technologies on human rights, but the text ignores a damning report by the council’s own expert on freedom of expression Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

NCSC reports on second year of cyber defence at scale

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre releases a report on the second year of its Active Cyber Defence programme to demonstrate its effects in the public sector and wider UK cyber ecosystem Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Aligning data privacy with business objectives

What strategies can infosec pros use to shift focus from GDPR fines to enabling business gains and success, changing the way data is used, and aligning data privacy with business purpose? Continue Reading

By

• Sanjana  Mehta, (ISC)2

BA/Marriott GDPR fines: What they were for and how to avoid them

We talk to Mathieu Gorge, CEO of Vigitrust, about the BA and Marriott GDPR fines and what organisations can do to ensure they achieve compliance with GDPR and similar regulations Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

UK launches 5G security inquiry

The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy is to probe the UK government’s approach to telecoms technology as a national security issue Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Smartodds bets on Rubrik backup appliance with cloud archive

Betting intelligence analytics firm Smartodds replaced its old tape backup infrastructure with Rubrik appliances to cut management time and database restores from hours to minutes Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Billion-dollar privacy penalties put CEOs on notice

Facebook’s potential $5bn settlement with the FTC follows notifications of planned GDPR fines for British Airways and Marriott International, underlining the importance of data stewardship Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

No technical grounds to ban Huawei, DCMS told

Science and Technology Committee tells Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport that there are no technical grounds for it to exclude Huawei Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Organisations turn to AI in race against cyber attackers

Businesses are racing to automate their defences as hackers and nation states launch increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

UK public sector needs to prioritise mobile device security

Only 10% of public service stolen and lost mobile are recovered, underlining the need for mobile-centric, zero-trust model to reduce the risk, says MobileIron Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK boards ignoring £30bn cyber risk

Despite the danger posed by cyber attacks to mid-sized companies, boards are not prepared to manage the risk and firms are over-confident in their cyber capabilities, report finds Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

How Apollo 11 influenced modern computer software and hardware

On 16 July 1969, Apollo 11 began its historic journey to send man to the Moon. We look at the pioneering computer technology developed by Nasa Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Security Think Tank: Don’t dismiss the business benefits of GDPR

What strategies can infosec pros use to shift focus from GDPR fines to enabling business gains and success, changing the way data is used, and aligning data privacy with business purpose? Continue Reading

By

• Richard Hunt, Turnkey Consulting

New FinSpy versions extend surveillance capabilities

New versions of the FinSpy malware for iOS and Android smartphones have extended targeted surveillance capabilities, warn security researchers Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Windows 10 to enable passwordless sign-in

Windows 10 users will soon be able to sign in to devices without using a password to encourage the use of two-factor authentication methods to improve security Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

APAC IoT adoption improves amid challenges

More enterprises across the region are using the internet of things to track fleet vehicles and improve operations, but technology integration and security concerns are still holding back widespread adoption Continue Reading

By

• Edwin Yapp

We shouldn't need to debate online identity again, but it's right that we do

The latest select committee report by MPs into the progress of digital government in the UK has resurrected a question that has reared its head on several occasions in the past – do we need a ... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Securing your mobile estate – best practice for CIOs

The prevalence of mobile devices in every part of daily life is shaping how enterprises make choices about software and network infrastructure, but how do businesses go about securing these vast new endpoint estates? Continue Reading

By

• Christian Annesley

Attacks against AI systems are a growing concern

European research group says attacks against AI systems are already occurring, difficult to identify, and could be far more common than currently understood Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

RiskIQ uncovers new Magecart campaign

A fresh Magecart campaign is breaching websites on a massive scale using indiscriminate attacks exploiting misconfigured Amazon S3 buckets, say researchers Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Align compliance objectives with business goals

What strategies can information security professionals use to shift focus from GDPR fines to enabling business gains and success, changing the way data is used, and aligning data privacy with business purpose? Continue Reading

By

• Maxine Holt, Omdia

Dutch privacy watchdog tells banks not to use customer payment data for marketing

Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens tells banks to respect client privacy and not to market products based on spending data Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Max Schrems not calling for SCCs to be invalidated

The privacy activist at the centre of legal battle against Facebook is not calling for all standard contractual clauses to be invalidated, according to his non-profit privacy organisation Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Agent Smith mobile malware hits millions of devices

New mobile malware that exploits Android vulnerabilities has infected millions of devices, security researchers have discovered Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Changing the GDPR focus to business benefit

What strategies can information security professionals use to shift focus from General Data Protection Regulation fines to enabling business gains and success, changing the way data is used, and aligning data privacy with business purpose? Continue Reading

By

• Paddy Francis

Demand for ICO help escalates in GDPR's first year

The past year has seen increased demand across all support services offered by the UK’s privacy watchdog as new data protection laws went into force Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Marriott International facing £99m GDPR fine

Hotel group Marriott International is the second major company to be fined by the UK privacy watchdog for infringements of the GDPR Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

ICO issues warning about using facial recognition technology

The UK privacy watchdog has ruled that any police force or private organisation using live facial recognition technology is processing personal data and needs to pay attention to data protection laws Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Data protection: How privacy can be a benefit, not a burden

With the growing number of data breaches, consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about how their data is used. Organisations can take advantage of this trend by treating data protection and user privacy as product features Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

Security Think Tank: Benefits of GDPR compliance

What strategies can information security professionals use to shift focus from General Data Protection Regulation fines to enabling business gains and success, changing the way data is used, and aligning data privacy with business purpose? Continue Reading

By

• Petra Wenham