Privacy and data protection

How Mastercard is taking digital payments into a new era

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to Mastercard about how the credit card giant is using new technologies to take digital payments into a new era. After months of unprecedented uncertainty, we ask CIOs how they are planning for the next 12 months. And we examine how the growth in remote working will affect IT salaries. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

How Standard Chartered approaches cyber security

Bank uses security-by-design principles and conducts red-teaming exercises among other measures to fend off cyber breaches Continue Reading

Privacy advocates call for European probe into Palantir

Dutch group SOMI is trying to raise awareness of Palantir’s data privacy practices and how it works with European government agencies Continue Reading

Resident Evil studio Capcom confirms scale of Ragnar Locker breach

Videogame studio says the data of up to 350,000 people was likely to have been compromised in a Ragnar Locker ransomware attack Continue Reading

Human error blamed in Welsh Covid-19 patient data leak

Public Health Wales accepts recommendations of independent probe into data breach that saw PII on 18,105 coronavirus patients leaked Continue Reading

Hackney systems could be unavailable for months, says council

A month after a highly disruptive cyber attack on its systems, Hackney Council is still struggling to get back up and running Continue Reading

Ticketmaster fined £1.25m by ICO for failing to protect customer data

Ticket website’s customer data was exposed through an attack on a third-party chatbot Continue Reading

Humanitarian data collection practices put migrants at risk

United Nations report on smart borders warns that data collection about migrants and refugees by humanitarian organisations risks excluding them from essential basic services like access to food Continue Reading

Online kids’ game Animal Jam confirms large breach

Cyber criminals have stolen data on 46 million Animal Jam player accounts via a third-party attack Continue Reading

Company accused of spying on Assange acted for Ecuadorian Intelligence, says ex UC Global manager

Former operations chief of UC Global told Spanish Court the company accused of spying on Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London was acting on the orders of Ecuadorian Intelligence Continue Reading

Tim Berners-Lee startup releases decentralisation tech to enterprises

Roll-out of Inrupt’s decentralised privacy technology to four large organisations is helping the startup to develop explicit use cases, which it hopes will prove the tech and lead to faster adoption Continue Reading

Security pros coped admirably with remote working transition

Despite facing tight timescales at the onset of the pandemic, security professionals have come through the transition to remote working remarkably well, according to a report Continue Reading

Microsoft drops fix for serious zero-day among 112 Patch Tuesday updates

November’s Patch Tuesday contains fixes for 112 bugs, including a potentially serious zero-day exploit that malicious actors are already taking advantage of Continue Reading

EU aid funds used to train ‘unaccountable intelligence agencies’ in high-tech surveillance

Hundreds of documents obtained by campaign group Privacy International show how the EU is supporting surveillance programmes in the Balkans, the Middle East and Africa Continue Reading

Leaky AWS S3 bucket once again at centre of data breach

Prestige Software exposed millions of records after failing to pay attention to the security of its cloud instances Continue Reading

Zoom rapped over historic security practices

The US Federal Trade Commission rules that Zoom’s practices undermined the security of its users Continue Reading

Better data sharing needed to help children during pandemic

Closing gaps in data infrastructure will help the education sector respond better to children’s needs during the Covid-19 pandemic, says Open Data Institute Continue Reading

IT Priorities 2020: After Covid-19, security goes back to basics

This year’s transition to remote working highlighted big gaps in the fundamentals of security, as updated TechTarget/Computer Weekly data reveals Continue Reading

EU moves closer to encryption ban after Austria, France attacks

Draft resolution document setting up an EU-wide ban on end-to-end encryption is set to be waved through this week Continue Reading

Credential stuffing: When DDoS isn’t DDoS

Ten years ago, credential stuffing attacks posed a comparatively minor threat, but with an escalating number of data breaches, the threat posed has now increased. What are the solutions to this very human problem? Continue Reading

NHS warned over Ryuk spreading through Trickbot replacements

NHS Digital tells healthcare organisations to be mindful of a marked rise in usage of the Bazar and Buer loaders Continue Reading

ICO sued over ‘failure’ to address ad industry practices

Privacy campaigner the Open Rights Group claims the advertising technology industry is systematically breaching the GDPR, and the ICO is doing nothing about it Continue Reading

Singapore government rolls out digital signature service

Individuals and businesses will soon be able to sign documents digitally using a new service on the Singapore government’s SingPass digital identity platform Continue Reading

EU to introduce data-sharing measures with US in weeks

The European Commission is to issue updated standard contractual clauses (SCCs) that will allow organisations in the EU to exchange data with the US, but they may arrive too late to incorporate into UK law Continue Reading

GDPR lawsuit against Oracle and Salesforce moves forward

Class action suit seeks claims worth more than £10bn over the processing of personal information Continue Reading

NHS weathers cyber crime storm during pandemic, says NCSC

The NCSC dealt with over 700 incidents in the 12 months to August 2020, with over 200 specifically related to Covid-19, and the NHS a critical area of focus Continue Reading

Maze ransomware shuts down with bizarre announcement

The operators of Maze announce they are shutting down, and claim their crime spree was merely intended to demonstrate lax security at their targets Continue Reading

Accidental heroes: How one scaleup pivoted to cyber

Simeon Quarrie designed his business using virtual reality and interactivity as a tool to tell stories that effect cultural change in enterprise environments – then a cyber criminal emptied his bank account Continue Reading

ICO slashes Marriott breach fine to £18.4m

Reduced fine reflects both improvements made to hotel group’s cyber security and impact of coronavirus on the travel and hospitality sector Continue Reading

Surge in Ryuk ransomware attacks has hospitals on alert

Russian cyber criminals are conducting a targeted campaign against hospitals with Ryuk ransomware Continue Reading

Zero-trust investment seen accelerating through pandemic

New analyst report details some of the main indicators for success in zero-trust implementation Continue Reading

Trump supporters targeted by cryptocurrency scammers

The successful breach of Donald Trump’s official website shows up lax security on his campaign team and is yet another timely warning that nobody is immune to cyber crime Continue Reading

British businesses need to be prepared for post-Brexit changes to our data protection laws

This is a guest blogpost by Ben Tomlinson, Personally Identifiable Information Security Officer and Marketing Manager at Atlas Cloud. Data is arguably now the most valuable resource on earth; the ... Continue Reading

Finnish therapy centre accused of covering up cyber attack

Private therapy practice Vastaamo faces questions over its security and business practices in the months leading up to one of the biggest data breaches in Finland’s history Continue Reading

Privacy and online safety are focus of new UKRI research funding

Online safety research centre of excellence will look into technology to boost privacy and tackle disinformation, fake news, conspiracies and other online harms Continue Reading

Commvault launches Metallic backup service in Europe

Backup giant adds backup as a service, with cloud-to-cloud backup and e-discovery functionality that can work across on-site datacentres and the AWS and Azure clouds Continue Reading

ICO slams Experian over ‘invisible’ data processing

Data processing practices used by Experian broke data protection law, says Information Commissioner’s Office Continue Reading

Calls for clarity over Amazon insider breach

Security experts call for more clarity from Amazon over an apparent leak of customer data Continue Reading

Pet project: How Pets at Home cares for customers with data analytics

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to the chief data officer of Pets at Home, about using data analytics to care for customers. British Airways had its GDPR fine reduced to just £20m – we ask what this means for data protection regulation. And we look at GPT3, the language prediction tool that could revolutionise AI. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

BA breach penalty sets new GDPR precedents

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Forrester: CIOs must prepare for Brexit data transfer

With the end of the Brexit transition period just weeks away, multi-national organisations will need to re-evaluate how intercompany data is transmitted Continue Reading

SonicWall patches 11 firewall vulnerabilities

SonicWall users are advised to download updates that fix 11 CVEs in the SonicOS operating system, uncovered by Positive Technologies Continue Reading

Protecting remote workers an opportunity to do security better

Securing the fully remote workforce has been a challenge for IT teams, but it presents an opportunity to commit to a higher standard of cyber security, according to a Cisco report Continue Reading

Data reveals lack of ethics in decision making systems

A recent survey from price comparison site, comparethemarket.com, has highlighted the subtext, which obscures a host of unfair assumptions made in the depths of computer systems. These assumptions ... Continue Reading

NSA’s top CVE list a timely reminder to patch

Many of the CVEs detailed on the NSA’s top 25 chart are golden oldies Continue Reading

Charities warned over ‘Robin Hood’ cyber criminals

Accepting donations from cyber criminal groups could be deemed as profiting from crime, money laundering or handling stolen goods – so don’t do it Continue Reading

Trump and Biden campaign apps easy targets for cyber criminals

You don’t need a stellar IQ to exploit the dangerous StrandHogg Android vulnerability, and users of both Donald Trump’s and Joe Biden’s mobile apps are at risk of falling victim to it Continue Reading

Customer loyalty accounts in danger from cyber criminals

Billions of credential stuffing attacks are harvesting valuable customer data for the dark web economy Continue Reading

Why securing the DNS layer is crucial to fight cyber crime

Domain name system security is often overlooked by organisations, but focusing on this layer could actually improve the effectiveness of cyber security strategies. We explore the latest DNS trends and best practice Continue Reading

Retailers get access to new security toolkit

The British Retail Consortium has worked with the NCSC to develop a new cyber security toolkit pitched at retailers Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: Essential tools to mitigate double extortion attacks

The threat of identity theft via a data breach is heightened with the rise of attacks where ransomware threat actors both encrypt and ransom, and exfiltrate and leak their victims’ data. How does this evolution in cyber crime heighten risk for the enterprise, and what steps can we take to safeguard the personal data we hold? Continue Reading

Hackney Council services to be disrupted ‘for some time’

Inability to make housing benefit payments is likely to sting some tenants as Hackney cyber attack drags on Continue Reading

Resilient Trickbot down but not yet knocked out

Global, Microsoft-led effort to disrupt the Trickbot botnet has seen some success, but new command and control servers continue to pop up Continue Reading

Police given access to self-isolation data

NHS Test and Trace self-isolation data will be made available to police after new guidance changes data-sharing rules Continue Reading

BA breach penalty sets new GDPR precedents

The 90% reduction in the fine levied on BA over a 2018 data breach has legal experts talking about the ramifications for the future of data protection Continue Reading

Podcast: Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Covid-19 and storage

We look at how organisations can use Cybersecurity Awareness Month as an opportunity to revisit their handling of data and compliance, especially with changes brought by Covid-19 and home working Continue Reading

Six Russians charged over NotPetya and other attacks

Six members of the APT group known as Sandworm have been charged in the US over a series of attacks including the destructive NotPetya incident Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: Safeguarding PII in the current threat landscape

The threat of identity theft via a data breach is heightened with the rise of attacks where ransomware threat actors both encrypt and ransom, and exfiltrate and leak their victims’ data. How does this evolution in cybercrime heighten risk for the enterprise, and what steps can we take to safeguard the personal data we hold? Continue Reading

BA argues ICO data breach fine down to £20m

Information Commissioner’s Office levies fine of £20m on British Airways for failing to protect the personal data of hundreds of thousands of passengers – a vast reduction on the initial £183m penalty Continue Reading

Spanish court to question witnesses over ‘illegal surveillance’ of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

The Spanish National Court in Madrid is to hear evidence from information security expert Andy Müller-Maguhn and two lawyers who were subject to ‘illegal surveillance’  of their meetings with Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London Continue Reading

Arrests and indictments made in cyber money laundering ring

The NCA has revealed six men were arrested in the UK as part of an international investigation into a money laundering network which handled transactions for some of the world’s most prolific cyber criminal groups Continue Reading

Cloud data protection keeps the Crick’s medical research Covid-secure

Cloud data management services from Rubrik gave the Francis Crick Institute a data protection edge and have helped keep its vital work going through the pandemic Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: Essential tools to mitigate data loss and identity theft

The threat of identity theft via a data breach is heightened with the rise of attacks where ransomware threat actors both encrypt and ransom, and exfiltrate and leak their victims’ data. How does this evolution in cybercrime heighten risk for the enterprise, and what steps can we take to safeguard the personal data we hold? Continue Reading

Hackney services still offline in ongoing cyber attack

Services remain disrupted two days after council was hit by a serious incident, as residents are warned to be on their guard Continue Reading

CW APAC: Trend Watch – storage

Many organisations turn to cloud to cut storage bills, but the options available and potential costs are many and varied. In this handbook, Computer Weekly takes a peek at future storage technologies, such as helium and DNA, and offers some valuable tips on how to keep cloud storage costs under control. Continue Reading

Public sector security failings leave UK at risk, says think tank

Reform report urges adoption of new policies in the next version of the UK’s National Cyber Security Strategy Continue Reading

US Elections: Malicious internet domains spike as campaigns heat up

Internet domains related to the US presidential election are 56% more likely to be malicious than regular ones Continue Reading

Public data should not be held by US tech giants

One-off evidence sessions to follow up on the recommendations of the House of Lords AI Committee revisit the data and ethics debate Continue Reading

Fintech ‘unicorn’ Klarna probed over data misuse

Online bank blames misuse of user data on human error as Information Commissioner’s Office weighs in Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: Adapting defences to evolving ransomware and cyber crime

The threat of identity theft via a data breach is heightened with the rise of attacks where ransomware threat actors both encrypt and ransom, and exfiltrate and leak their victims’ data. How does this evolution in cyber crime heighten risk for the enterprise, and what steps can we take to safeguard the personal data we hold? Continue Reading

EU’s top court questions legality of UK phone and internet data surveillance

European Court of Justice rules that the UK and EU member states must comply with EU privacy laws when harvesting people’s sensitive communications data from telecoms and internet companies Continue Reading

The future of storage

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we examine emerging technologies in storage such as helium disks and DNA. Ransomware is becoming more sophisticated and the attackers more tactical. And as the EU’s top court challenges the UK over surveillance, we ask what this means for data privacy after Brexit. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Hackney Council services offline after ‘serious’ cyber attack

Services to residents of the London borough of Hackney are being disrupted by a cyber attack Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: What you need to know about addressing the doxing threat

The threat of identity theft via a data breach is heightened with the rise of attacks where ransomware threat actors both encrypt and ransom, and exfiltrate and leak their victims’ data. How does this evolution in cybercrime heighten risk for the enterprise, and what steps can we take to safeguard the personal data we hold? Continue Reading

Five Eyes spy group again demands access to private messages

Spooks are once again calling for the tech industry to break end-to-end encryption in messaging platforms Continue Reading

Cyber security skills ad branded ‘crass’ by minister

Security skills campaign advert depicting a ballet dancer comes in for criticism as the arts sector struggles in the pandemic Continue Reading

Software AG caught in double extortion ransomware hit

Data stolen from prominent German software company by Clop ransomware gang appears on the dark web Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: Tighten data and access controls to stop identity theft

The threat of identity theft via a data breach is heightened with the rise of attacks where ransomware threat actors both encrypt and ransom, and exfiltrate and leak their victims’ data. How does this evolution in cyber crime heighten risk for the enterprise, and what steps can we take to safeguard the personal data we hold? Continue Reading

Magecart strikes website of school payments service Wisepay

Magecart credit card skimmer harvested financial data of users of Wisepay’s platform over a two-day period Continue Reading

NCSC relaunches SME security guide with home working focus

The NCSC is issuing an updated version of its guide to security for SMEs, reflecting the long-lasting changes to the world of work seen in 2020 Continue Reading

Emotet rated September’s ‘most popular’ malware

The current resurgence of Emotet is attracting attention as governments issue new warnings and cyber criminals rush to exploit the chaotic US election Continue Reading

Coronavirus face mask spammer fined by ICO

The director of software company Studios MG spammed members of the public at the height of the pandemic as one of its directors tried to shift a job lot of face masks Continue Reading

Crown Prosecution Service suffers 1,600 data breaches in 12 months

CPS sees a spike in data security incidents, many of them serious enough to be reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office Continue Reading

Threat of GDPR fines increasingly driving security buying decisions

Scaring the people who hold the purse strings may be the best option for CISOs who need a little extra budget Continue Reading

CW Middle East: Egypt’s datacentre plans take a step forward

While it builds an IT services industry, Egypt is also investing in infrastructure and now plans to develop a datacentre industry. Read in this issue how, as part of this plan, Egypt’s parliament has passed a data protection law. Also read how the Europe, Middle East and Africa region has seen traditional IT outsourcing deals reduce in value by 21%, while the business process outsourcing market fell by 9%. Continue Reading

5G regulation failures are a threat to UK’s national security

Defence Committee report on the security of 5G brands existing regulations outdated and unsatisfactory Continue Reading

Department for Education failed to protect data on millions of children, says ICO

The Department for Education’s National Pupil Database, which contains millions of items of data on the UK’s schoolchildren, was found to be non-compliant with data protection regulations across the board Continue Reading

ICO wraps up Cambridge Analytica investigation

Information Commissioner’s Office concludes its investigation into Cambridge Analytica, saying no additional evidence has come to light that would change its previous assessments Continue Reading

Southeast Asia remains hotspot for cyber attacks

Geopolitics and Covid-19 have been fodder for cyber criminals to advance their motives in Southeast Asia in 2020 Continue Reading

EU’s top court questions legality of UK phone and internet data surveillance

European Court of Justice rules that the UK and EU member states must comply with EU privacy laws when harvesting people’s sensitive communications data from telecoms and internet companies Continue Reading

The privacy and compliance challenges organisations face in 2021

Privacy and compliance teams have a lot on their plate as 2021 approaches. What are the key issues to consider? Continue Reading

Scotland digital identity prototype pilot successful

Digital Identity Scotland’s 10-week test of its digital identity prototype finds that users understand the concept of two-factor authentication and using the same credentials across services Continue Reading

Ransomware attacks go through the roof

The volume of ransomware attacks has jumped 50% in the past three months, according to data produced at Check Point Continue Reading

The Most Influential Women in UK Technology 2020

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we announce our annual list of the Most Influential Women in UK Technology, and talk to this year’s winner, Stemettes CEO and diversity campaigner, Anne-Marie Imafidon. Meet our five Rising Stars and the latest entrants to our women in tech Hall of Fame. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Fake news tops list of online concerns worldwide

Receiving false information is a greater worry than other online risks such as cyber bullying and fraud, says the Lloyd’s Register Foundation Continue Reading

HMRC warns locked-down freshers of ‘wave’ of tax scams

New university intake may be being targeted by cyber criminals amid Covid-19 confusion Continue Reading

FBI seized ‘legally privileged’ material from Ecuador Embassy, claims Julian Assange’s lawyer

The US struck a secret deal with Ecuador to seize WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s property from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London days before his arrest. The haul included legally privileged documents, says his solicitor Continue Reading

WikiLeaks led the way for newsrooms to use encryption to protect sources, says Italian journalist

Stefania Maurizi says in written evidence that Julian Assange pioneered the use of encryption by journalists to protect sources. Her work shows that the US put pressure on Italy to stop the extradition and prosecution of CIA officers responsible for the extrajudicial kidnapping and torture of an Egyptian cleric Continue Reading

Honesty is the best policy: Forging a security culture in the NHS

Clinician and technologist Sam Shah helped set up NHSX in 2019. Now he’s helping advance digital transformation in healthcare from the outside, and a big part of that is addressing security in the sector Continue Reading

Security pros face sanctions if they help ransomware victims pay

New advisory from the US government warns cyber insurance and incident response specialists that they could be skating on thin ice if they help ransomware victims pay their attackers off Continue Reading