IT security

CIO interview: Helena Theakstone, head of digital, Oasis Fashion

Oasis Fashion’s head of digital talks about GDPR preparation, collaboration between digital and IT, and the importance of listening to customers Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

Most healthcare organisations have been breached, report shows

 Less than a third of global healthcare organisations remain untouched, as data breaches rise across the industry, a report reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Spring Break flaw shows cross-industry collaboration

A flaw that was discovered in Pivotal’s Spring Framework in September 2017 has only come to light now that users have had a chance to update Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

UK will need data protection agreement with EU as part of Brexit deal, says PM

Prime minister Theresa May's Brexit speech highlights need for data protection deal with EU, “advanced” border IT systems, and re-confirms UK won’t be part of the EU digital single market Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Cyber crime is a top threat to UK charities, says NCSC

Cyber crime poses the most serious threats to UK charities, the National Cyber Security Centre has warned Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber threat to industrial control systems highest yet

The cyber threat to industrial control systems has never been greater, according to a report analysing malicious activity aimed at such systems Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Equifax ups breach figure by a further 2.5 million

Credit rating agency Equifax has increased the number of US records believed to have been compromised in 2017 Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Memcached servers irresistible to DDoS attackers, expert warns

In the light of the biggest distributed denial of service attack to date against GitHub, organisations should ditch memcached servers or risk a blizzard of blistering attacks, says security researcher Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

New privacy fears as IT challenges delay surveillance oversight body by a year

IT challenges have delayed government plans for an independent body to authorise requests to access the public’s internet and phone records by nearly a year, raising new legal and privacy concerns Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

Imaging systems biggest security risk in healthcare

Imaging systems have been identified as the biggest cyber security risk in the healthcare sector, a report on internet of things security has revealed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Trust underpins innovation, says UK information commissioner

Underlining the relevance of data protection legislation to business, the UK information commissioner says consumer trust is key to innovation Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NHS to pilot ID verification platform this spring

NHS roadmap for digital services sets out plans for launching a joined-up NHS app, piloting its citizen ID platform and moving across to the new NHS.uk website Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

ICO head tops DataIQ data leader list

The UK’s information commissioner has been named at the top data leader for 2018 in the DataIQ 100 list of most influential data leaders Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

GDPR compliance is about risk management and governance, not technology

From 25 May this year, organisations across the ASEAN region will have to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which will apply to any company that collects the personal data ... Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Security fears delay roll-out of national e-voting system in Finland

Project enters problem-solving phase to identify advanced, effective and best practice solutions to develop a secure internet-based voting system Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

ANZ organisations grappling with cloud outages

A majority of organisations from Australia and New Zealand admitted in a survey that they had not fully evaluated the impact of cloud outages which were longer than they had expected Continue Reading

By

• Beverley Head

Affiliate marketing industry failing on privacy compliance

The affiliate marketing industry needs to clean up its act in terms of privacy law compliance, a review of more than 900 websites has revealed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Salary is not top way to attract cybersec pros, report reveals

Salary is not the highest priority for cyber security professionals, a report on hiring and retaining top cyber security talent shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Firms failing to learn from cyber attacks

Organisations are failing to learn from cyber attacks, and lax security practices are leaving organisations worldwide open to damaging cyber attacks, a report reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Government must rewrite illegal sections of Snoopers’ Charter, court told

A court has been asked to give ministers until July 2018 to rewrite powers to require phone and internet companies to retain data on the population. The government acknowledges parts of surveillance regime are unlawful Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

Businesses urged to patch Oracle WebLogic flaw

Security researchers are again urging businesses to patch an Oracle WebLogic flaw that continues to be exploited by cyber criminals to mine cryptocurrencies Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Understanding the cyber threat key to UK defence, says NCSC

Understanding cyber threats is key to defending the UK and ensuring it is a safe place to do business, says the National Cyber Security Centre Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK local councils under huge cyber attack pressure

Investigation underlines importance of security automation and employee awareness training Continue Reading

How IT is taking UPS to new heights

In this week's Computer Weekly, we talk to UPS CIO Juan Perez to find out how making his IT department “business intimate” is driving innovation at the parcel shipping giant. We look at how cloud management platforms can help ease the adoption of multiple public cloud services. And we examine how UK local councils are struggling to deal with cyber attacks and data breaches. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

GDPR will have positive ripple effect, says US consumer group

New EU data protection laws will have a positive ripple effect around the world, according to a US consumer group Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Singapore firms unprepared for GDPR

An EY study reveals that only 10% of organisations in Singapore are ready to comply with Europe’s new data protection regime Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

London councils set aside more than £1.2m for GDPR

London councils have spent over £1.2m in preparation for new EU data protection laws, a think tank report has revealed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

GDPR gotchas and how to handle them

We look at common problems organisations encounter when dealing with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which comes into force on 25 May 2018 Continue Reading

By

• Corey Nachreiner, Watchguard Technologies

Cryptomining is top attack type, says Malwarebytes

Malicious cryptomining has been the top cyber criminal activity detected since September 2017, a report reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Surveillance watchdog investigates security risks of GCHQ IT contractors

The investigatory powers commissioner is reviewing the security arrangements for IT contractors that have access to live computer systems at GCHQ holding highly sensitive records on the UK population Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

Cyber criminals catching up with nation state attacks

The trickle-down effect of advanced “military-grade” tools is seeing the gap between cyber criminal and nation state attack capabilities closing, outpacing many organisations’ defence capabilities Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

2018 could be year of mobile malware, says McAfee 

Security firm announces several mobile industry partnerships as its latest mobile threat report shows mobile malware is becoming increasingly popular with cyber attackers Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Most UK small firms still not prepared for GDPR, FSB survey shows

Most small businesses are not prepared for new data regulations, according to research by the Federation of Small Businesses Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

GDPR is having positive impact on privacy profession, says IAPP

The EU’s new data protection rules are driving greater interest in the privacy profession, and provide an opportunity to develop new business plans, says privacy association Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Public education important in new data protection era, says ICO

UK information commissioner Elizabeth Denham tells Data Protection 2018 event of the tough requirements ahead in a new age of data regulation Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Is cyber security becoming a cost of doing business - to the detriment of our data?

Computer Weekly writes a lot about cyber security – it’s the easily most popular topic among our readers, and always rates as one of the top priorities in our annual survey of IT professionals. ... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Avast discovers Tempting Cedar Android spyware campaign

Security researchers have uncovered a three-year-old Android spyware campaign spread through social media and targeting people in the Middle East Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Unprotected Kubernetes consoles expose firms to cryptojacking

A number of big companies have been targeted by crytojacking attacks, where cyber criminals hijack computing power to mine cryptocurrencies, but some have unprotected Kubernetes consoles in common Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Where are security and data governance in IoT?

IoT Back to Basics, chapter 3: It’s no surprise that security and governance are important considerations when it comes to the IoT, but quite how incredibly important they are may not be ... Continue Reading

By

• Jason Stamper, Freeform Dynamics

Developers urged to submit apps to NHS Apps Library

NHS Digital and NHS England have further opened up the newly updated NHS Apps Library, and are asking developers to submit their apps for assessment Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Hitachi Vantara ups ante on industrial IoT

Potential internet of things powerhouse believes its deep expertise in operational technology will give it a leg up over traditional IT rivals Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

UK plans laws to protect company directors from ID theft

Legislation will make it easier for directors to remove their personal addresses from the company register Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Google calls out Microsoft for failing to fix reported flaw

Google’s Project Zero has gone public with a Windows 10 flaw that Microsoft claimed to have fixed in its February security update Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

CW Nordics: Nordics CIOs’ priorities in 2018

A select group of CIOs and analysts in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden give their views on the top IT priorities in 2018. As in 2017, digital transformation will continue to be a buzzword. Also read how Sweden is tightening up its cyber security defences as part of a wider national security strategy, and how Nordic banks cannot afford to slow their digital transformations as PSD2 comes into force. Continue Reading

Email attacks and incident detection top security challenges

Email inboxes are the weakest link in security perimeters, and companies struggle with detecting security incidents quickly and accurately, a report finds Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Hawaii missile alert: Why the wrong guy was fired

In January 2018, an employee at Hawaii’s emergency management agency sent out a false alarm of an imminent missile attack, and was subsequently fired – but perhaps poor system design is really to blame Continue Reading

By

• Jonny Corbett, Norman & Sons

UK organisations failing to take action against fraud

UK organisations are facing increasingly complex and costly incidents of fraud partly due to increasing cyber fraud, yet few are making use of the anti-fraud technologies available, a survey has revealed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

People worried about data security in public sector, survey finds

Majority of people are concerned with the security of the data they share with public sector organisations, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Security leaders investing in automation and AI, study shows

Automation and artificial Intelligence are being used to defend against cyber threats, says report, but experts warn that these tools and technologies can be exploited by attackers Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Economic impact of cyber crime is significant and rising

Cyber attacks are becoming easier to carry out while defences remain inadequate, study shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

AI a threat to cyber security, warns report

Artificial intelligence is being incorporated into a range of cyber security products, but the technology may also introduce new threats, a report warns Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Demand for cyber security skills outstrips internal supply, research finds

Businesses are increasingly looking for cyber security skills, but the gap between demand and supply is still prominent Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Businesses face unprecedented volume of cyber attacks

Organisations are facing the highest levels of cyber attacks in both number and sophistication as automated swarm attacks increase, a cyber threat report reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Strategic cyber criminals likely to capitalise on GDPR

As cyber criminals concentrate on targeted, strategic, money-making attacks, they are likely to use GDPR fines as leverage to extort money from organisations, a report warns Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK local councils under huge cyber attack pressure

Investigation underlines importance of security automation and employee awareness training Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

University of Cambridge to host ethical hacking challenge

Cambridge is hosting its 2018 hacking challenge, aiming to captivate students and address the cyber security skills shortage Continue Reading

By

• Zach Emmanuel, Computer Weekly

The road to hybrid cloud

Many organisations are already some way along their journey to cloud computing. No matter where you are on this journey - whether still thinking about it or well on the way - finding a source of ... Continue Reading

By

• Clive Longbottom

Botnets shift focus to credential abuse

Cyber criminals are increasingly using automated attacks that make use of stolen credentials, a security threat report warns Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Prepare for Y2K style Meltdown strategy

The days of fixing the date bug in legacy systems may be long gone, but IT now has as much of an effort mitigating the Spectre/Meltdown processor flaw Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Getting a handle on mobile security in your enterprise

Everyone now has a mobile device at work, so how can enterprises ensure they are secure? Continue Reading

By

• Rene Millman

Lauri Love can stay in UK: prosecutors will not appeal extradition ruling

Crown Prosecution Service gives undertaking to Lauri Love that it will not appeal against a court decision not to extradite him to the US – but prosecutors are seeking leave to appeal over part of the court ruling on extradition procedure Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

Antivirus tools: Are two programs better than one?

Antivirus software is crucial to your device's security. However, less is often more, especially when considering a secondary free antivirus program. Nick Lewis explains why. Continue Reading

By

• Nick Lewis

Google reveals Edge flaw after Microsoft fails to meet deadline

Google’s Project Zero has gone public with another Microsoft security vulnerability after the software giant failed to issue a fix within allotted time Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Chrome OS: Why it may be time to approach desktop IT in a different way

The managed desktop has been running for nearly 20 years. Surely there must be a better way? We investigate Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Tech industry signs cyber security charter

Nine technology organisations have signed a cyber security charter aimed at raising the level of cyber security internationally Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

A third of Brits plan to exercise right to be forgotten

After the General Data Protection Regulation compliance deadline, a third of Britons polled say they plan to exercise their right to be forgotten, but few fully understand the GDPR and how it will affect them Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

US sentences two Russians for huge data breaches

The US has sentenced two Russian cyber criminals who targeted major payment processors, retailers and financial institutions around the world, as the US joins the UK in condemning Russia for the 2017 NotPetya attacks Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Few organisations managing cyber risk, survey shows

Cyber risk management practices are not keeping up with rising cyber security concerns among senior executives around the world, a study shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Briton jailed for two years for product testing for hackers

A Briton has been jailed for two years for running a product-testing service for hackers Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

F-Secure warns against ‘evil maid’ attacks

Business people are being urged not to underestimate the importance of physical security for their laptops, which can be used as entry points by attackers if not adequately protected Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Atos investigates breach linked to Winter Olympics cyber attack

IT services firm Atos is investigating a potential security breach in response to reports that employee credentials were found in malware used to target the Winter Olympics Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK Foreign Office minister condemns Russia for NotPetya attacks

The UK has attributed to Russia the NotPetya malware that caused significant disruption globally, based on an assessment by the NCSC Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

How AI will underpin cyber security in the next few years

Cyber security risks are growing in complexity and volume, but artificial intelligence techniques can help businesses track and fight them in real time Continue Reading

By

• Nicholas Fearn

100 days to GDPR compliance deadline

As the clock ticks down to the deadline to comply with the EU’s new data protection regulations, some surveys indicate there is still some confusion, but the focus has shifted from the sanctions to the benefits Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyberthreat 2018 aimed at UK cyber security techies

Cyberthreat 2018 is aimed at growing the UK’s network of cyber defenders, filling a key gap in the UK cyber security conference calendar and bridging the public-private sector divide Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Blockchain to give global LGBT community a louder economic voice

Blockchain will underpin a global platform that aims to give the LGBT community a more powerful economic voice Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Telegram zero-day exploit is a warning

The discovery of an exploit of a zero-day vulnerability in the Telegram messaging app demonstrates that not all “secure” apps are automatically safe, security experts have warned Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Baited breadth - the rise of phishing

Reviews of organisational security can be viewed in many positive ways, but all too often with trepidation or resignation. The rise of phishing, where spoof, but increasingly credible, messages try ... Continue Reading

By

• Rob Bamforth, Timefort

Why police forces need to be honest about mass mobile phone surveillance

Police forces across the UK are covering up their use of sophisticated mass surveillance devices, known as IMSI-catchers - the Bristol Cable and Liberty are campaigning for proper transparency Continue Reading

By

• Alon Aviram, The Bristol Cable

Home Office fights terrorist content online with detection tool

The Home Office has partnered ASI Data Science to create a tool which automatically detects terrorist content on online platforms Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Industrial cyber security improving, but needs work

Cyber attacks on industrial and critical infrastructure systems are increasing in number and sophistication, but more attention is being paid to security, says Honeywell at it opens new Dubai facility Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

The National Museum of Computing launches crowd-funding effort for Turing Bombe gallery

The National Museum of Computing is looking for funding to support its efforts to develop a gallery for a working model of the Turing-Welchman Bombe Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

What the EU’s new data protection regime means for ASEAN

A large proportion of businesses in the regional economic grouping will be affected by Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation, but awareness of the new rules remains low, even in countries with existing data protection laws Continue Reading

Personal data of 46.2 million Malaysia mobile subscribers leaked

The massive data breach is yet another example of a ‘low and slow’ attack that stays dormant inside networks for years, without anyone noticing Continue Reading

CW ASEAN: European data law – be aware and prepare

Organisations across the ASEAN region will soon have to comply with another piece of data protec-tion legislation - the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that will apply to any company that collects the personal data of Europeans. In this month's edition of CW ASEAN, we look at how ASEAN is gearing up for the GDPR, the current state of compliance and the law's impact on businesses. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Australian organisations unprepared for GDPR

Faced with the double whammy of complying with Australia’s upcoming data breach notification requirement and Europe’s new data protection regime, Australian firms are behind where they need to be in their compliance efforts Continue Reading

Australian broadcaster hit by data breach

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation is the latest organisation to fall prey to misconfigured Amazon S3 storage buckets, exposing database backups and sensitive data such as login credentials Continue Reading

CW ANZ: Prepare for EU data law

Faced with the double whammy of complying with Australia’s upcoming data breach notification requirement and Europe’s new data protection regime, Australian firms are behind where they need to be in their compliance efforts. In this month’s edition of CW ANZ, find out how Australian organisations are getting ready for the GDPR, the challenges they are facing in meeting two new laws at the same time, as well as what they need to do to achieve their compliance goals. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

On the path to diversity in tech

In this week's Computer Weekly, after the UK celebrated 100 years of women's suffrage, we look at what more needs to be done to encourage greater diversity in IT to help tackle the on-going skills shortage, and we hear from female industry leaders. We examine how mobile app developers can improve security. And we look at the role of containers in storage architecture. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Cyber security awareness top priority in financial sector

Information security chiefs in the financial sector say cyber security awareness needs to be a top priority Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

FS-ISAC enables safer financial data sharing with API

The global financial industry's body for cyber and physical threat intelligence analysis and sharing has published an API to facilitate safer sharing of consumer financial information Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Moscow puts municipal vehicles online to save fuel

The city of Moscow has deployed a unified IoT platform to monitor and control all of its municipal vehicles Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Smart security: Go beyond the basics with biometrics

With smartphone makers offering new features such as biometrics, there are lots of options available to businesses when putting mobile security into practice Continue Reading

By

• Zach Emmanuel, Computer Weekly

Criminals hijack government sites to mine cryptocurrency used to hide wealth

Europol says criminals are hiding billions in cryptocurrencies, as thousands of government and other websites have reportedly been used to hijack computers to mine more Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

PyeongChang Winter Games hit by cyber attack

Although critical operations were not affected by the incident, event organisers at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics had to shut down servers and the official games website to prevent further damage Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Belgian police share Cryakl ransomware keys

The Belgian police have released free decryption keys for the Cryakl ransomware through the No More Ransom project Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Video: Lauri Love – why we need volunteers to fight malware

Lauri Love talks to Computer Weekly about plans to collaborate with others to tackle malware and use cryptocurrencies to create new ways for businesses to work Continue Reading

By

• Julia Gregory

Can we trust Intel Inside to mean secure computing?

Intel has just released an updated patch after its previous update failed spectacularly. Now its CEO is promising security assurance Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Europe in the firing line of evolving DDoS attacks

The Europe, Middle East and Africa region accounts for more than half the world’s distributed denial of service attacks, a report from F5 Labs reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Malaysian regulator and firm sued over data breach

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and a local company have been caught in a civil lawsuit over a massive data breach reported last year Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget