Privacy and data protection

IT chiefs recognise the risks of artificial intelligence bias

Artificial intelligence promises to change the way businesses operate. IT leaders are now taking bias in AI algorithms seriously Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Some 29,000 UK web domains suspended for criminal activity

Domain suspensions for criminal activity over the past year has dropped for the first time since 2014 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Druva eyes data protection for IoT workloads

Cloud data protection software supplier Druva is looking at a comprehensive platform that will protect data generated by IoT workloads Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Labour pledges review of NCSC in UK security overhaul

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre may get expanded powers under a Labour government Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Stopping data leaks in the cloud

Misconfigured cloud environments are increasingly identified as the source of damaging data breaches and leaks, raising serious questions for enterprises. Where does responsibility for data security in the cloud lie, and how can security professionals best work with their teams and cloud providers to resolve the problem? Continue Reading

By

• Cath Goulding, Nominet

F-Secure’s Blackfin challenges perceptions of how AIs think

New research project aims to develop adaptive, autonomous and collaborative AI agents, and challenges the notion that machine intelligence should merely mimic human intelligence Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Senators raise questions over Facebook’s monitoring of phone users’ locations

After Facebook publishes a blog post with conflicting statements, two US senators ask for clarification on how the company collects location data from its users Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Mimecast blocked 99 billion suspicious emails in third quarter

Latest threat intelligence report reveals the scale of the threat posed by malicious emails, with the transport, legal and financial sectors hit hardest Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Massive increase in fraud attacks on TSB customers during IT meltdown

There was a massive spike in attempts by fraudsters to steal from TSB customers when the bank’s IT systems failed in 2018 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Conservatives slammed over social media trickery

The Conservative Party has been caught spreading online disinformation during the General Election campaign for a second time Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Public sector risks downplayed by senior IT leaders

Sophos reveals a significant cyber security perception gap between senior IT and security leaders in the public sector and their front-line teams Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Macy’s Magecart breach presages Christmas fraud spike

US retailer Macy’s admits some customer data was accessed by unknown actors during a week-long Magecart attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Anti-stalkerware coalition calls time on intrusive abusers

New coalition plans to tackle the scourge of stalkerware as a tool of domestic and other forms of abuse Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Businesses failing to wipe data from old endpoints

Organisations are not taking adequate precautions to sanitise data held on endpoints when refreshing their PC or mobile device estates Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Notorious hackers claim responsibility for Labour DDoS

Hackers claiming to represent Lizard Squad say they were behind a distributed denial of service attack on the UK’s Labour Party Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Home Office Brexit app contains multiple security flaws

The Home Office’s Brexit app may be putting EU citizens’ personal data at risk Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber criminals tool up for Christmas fraud season

Organised criminals are trying to cash in on the festive retail boom with both brand new and tried-and-tested techniques Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

What the EU’s decision on Facebook means for social media

Recent ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union will have global implications for social media companies and any organisations that host online content Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

11 new 5G hacks enable user device tracking and monitoring

Researchers at Purdue University and the University of Iowa publish details of several new 5G mobile network vulnerabilities Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Business leaders fibbing to cover up lax security posture

Nominet study finds evidence that many businesses tout the robustness of their security posture as a selling point even though their security teams lack confidence in themselves Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Attack on Labour shows need for DDoS defence but should alarm few

After being hit by two DDoS attacks in the space of 24 hours, many commentators are convinced the UK’s Labour Party is the victim of foreign interference in the General Election campaign. It probably isn’t Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Business must engage with consumers to boost AI

Artificial intelligence is set to become a core part of business, but to get the most from it, enterprises need to engage with consumers to focus personalisation Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Taking responsibility for security in the cloud

From accidental leaks to full-on data breaches, maintaining security across cloud services is becoming a headache for enterprises. What questions should organisations be asking of their cloud service provider and, ultimately, whose responsibility is cloud security anyway? Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

Cyber risk insurance is more than just insurance

Insurance companies such as Chubb are offering incident response services and security tools to help companies improve their cyber security posture and better cope with cyber attacks Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Nordic SMEs lack the money needed for cyber security

Businesses and governments in Denmark and Norway are working together to address a cyber security shortfall for SMEs in each country Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

‘Robust’ security foils cyber attack on Labour Party

Labour claims to have been the victim of a cyber attack, but says it is confident no data leaked Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Morrisons in new appeal over data breach fine

The Supreme Court has heard an appeal from retailer Morrisons as it attempts to overturn prior judgments holding it liable for a 2014 leak of employee data Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Base cloud security posture on your data footprint

Misconfigured cloud environments are increasingly identified as the source of damaging data breaches and leaks, raising serious questions for enterprises. Where does responsibility for data security in the cloud lie, and how can security professionals best work with their teams and cloud providers to resolve the problem? Continue Reading

By

• Rob Clyde, Isaca

Security Think Tank: Cloud security is a shared responsibility

Misconfigured cloud environments are increasingly identified as the source of damaging data breaches and leaks, raising serious questions for enterprises. Where does responsibility for data security in the cloud lie, and how can security professionals best work with their teams and cloud providers to resolve the problem? Continue Reading

By

• Paddy Francis

Amazon Ring video doorbell flaw left users open to attack

A vulnerability in Amazon’s Ring video doorbells left the internet-of-things devices open to a variety of attacks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security in the supply chain – a post-GDPR approach

A year and a half after the introduction of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, Fieldfisher's James Walsh reviews the fundamentals of supply chain security Continue Reading

By

• James Walsh, Fieldfisher

Saudis recruited Twitter employees to spy on critics

Court documents reveal how the Saudi Arabian government targeted Twitter employees as part of a coordinated effort to gather information on known dissidents Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CW Benelux: Dutch banks fight money laundering

Dutch banks are sharing expertise and resources to help reduce money laundering through their accounts. Also read in this issue how companies could lose loyal IT staff because salary rises do not match those at rival employers, and why a Dutch province is pioneering a no-code software development platform. Continue Reading

Trend Micro insider breach exposes need for data-centric protection

Simple measures could have saved consumer security product supplier from insider breach Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How Facebook’s ‘Switcheroo’ plan concealed scheme to kill popular apps

Leaked documents reveal how Facebook used and abused app developers, cut off data to competitors, gave privileged access to its friends and used privacy as a cover story Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly
• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor
• Duncan Campbell , 2QQ Ltd, Sussex University

Professional cyber criminals command $75k per annum

An ill-advised career in cyber crime is potentially almost as well-paying as a job as a threat researcher in the industry, according to Tenable researchers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Lawmakers study leaked Facebook documents made public today

Computer Weekly publishes cache of leaked documents disclosed to Congress Continue Reading

By

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

What changes are needed to create a cyber-savvy culture?

PA Consulting's Cate Pye considers the people and process changes that are necessary to build a security aware business culture Continue Reading

By

• Cate Pye, PA Consulting

Huawei: 5G growth will be maintained with or without US tech supply

Huawei dismisses US tech sabre-rattling and claims it will continue robust business growth in 5G with or without US suppliers Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Security Think Tank: Adapt security posture to your cloud model

Misconfigured cloud environments are increasingly identified as the source of damaging data breaches and leaks, raising serious questions for enterprises. Where does responsibility for data security in the cloud lie, and how can security professionals best work with their teams and cloud providers to resolve the problem? Continue Reading

By

• Maxine Holt, Omdia

Ransomware authors seeking new ways to avoid being spotted

Sector analysis from Sophos has revealed some insight into how malware authors are adapting to thwart cyber security controls Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The benefits of API-first software development

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we find out how organisations are using an API-based approach to software development to boost digital initiatives. We examine the potential pitfalls in using cloud storage. And we talk to the Department for Work and Pensions about its four-year project to move from outsourced IT to the cloud. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

ICO launches data security campaign for UK General Election

Information commissioner Elizabeth Denham launches campaign to remind the public of their rights when personal data is used for political purposes Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Gartner: The time is right to make IT a boardroom issue

In many businesses, IT is regarded as an internal service provider and cost centre. Gartner says now is the best time for CIOs to make IT strategic Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

ICO says UK police must ‘slow down’ use of facial recognition

The Information Commissioner’s Office is calling for a statutory code of practice to govern how police in the UK deploy live facial recognition technology while controversy surrounding its use continues Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton , Senior reporter

Security Think Tank: In the cloud, the buck stops with you

Misconfigured cloud environments are increasingly identified as the source of damaging data breaches and leaks, raising serious questions for enterprises. Where does responsibility for data security in the cloud lie, and how can security professionals best work with their teams and cloud providers to resolve the problem? Continue Reading

By

• Mike Gillespie

Banks let customers down with mixed approaches to security

Treasury Committee report recommends new measures to tackle financial fraud Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Alibaba Cloud earns security credentials in automotive and healthcare sectors

Alibaba Cloud’s compliance with Tisax and GxP follows earlier efforts by major public cloud suppliers to win over enterprises with strict data protection and security rules Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

What will succeed the National Cyber Security Strategy?

As the National Cyber Security Strategy nears the end of its working life, the government is considering what comes next, and is asking probing questions of its successes and failures Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Fancy Bear resumes Olympic hacks ahead of Tokyo games

Fancy Bear is back in action and once again targeting anti-doping bodies and sporting organisations, warns Microsoft Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

IR35 reforms – the difficult decisions facing IT contractors

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we examine the difficult choices facing UK IT contractors from the controversial IR35 tax reforms. Social engineering is a major source of cyber security attacks – we look at mitigation strategies. And the IT chief at Mercedes F1 explains what it takes to support a world championship team. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Endpoint security is a procurement issue, says HP, IDC study

Report warns that buyers are falling at the first hurdle on security by not including it in their endpoint RFPs and tenders Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

£4,000 bug bounty could have saved BA from record ICO fine

British Airways and others could have saved themselves millions of pounds’ worth of fines by having ethical hackers check their systems for simple vulnerabilities Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Gartner: Three Barriers to AI Adoption

CIOs are set to include artificial intelligence in their IT strategy. Technical, legislative and cultural challenges could influence their AI ambitions Continue Reading

By

• Brian Manusama, Gartner

Take responsibility for cyber security basics, urges NCSC CEO

At the launch of its third annual review, NCSC head Ciaran Martin appealed for individuals and businesses to address the fundamentals of cyber security hygiene to help lighten the load Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Banks move to contain impact of Samsung biometric flaw

NatWest and Nationwide have moved to lock down their mobile banking apps after Samsung warned of a biometric security flaw on its Galaxy and Note S10 devices Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NordVPN blames datacentre provider for server breach

VPN provider insists no user data was compromised in a March 2018 server breach, and says its datacentre provider failed to inform it of the issue Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Malware volumes decline, but risks are higher

More insidious and targeted strains of malware are going after high-quality targets, rather than a large volume of targets Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Over-30s tend to do better at cyber security than younger colleagues

Attitudes to workplace cyber security differ by age group, but not in the way one might imagine, according to a new study by NTT Security Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Equifax lawsuit offers more evidence against passwords

Equifax’s internal security policies were a mess and directly led to one of the largest recorded data breaches in history, according to a lawsuit, demonstrating fundamental insecurities inherent in the use of passwords Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Alleged state hackers adapting to cover their tracks, says NCSC

A group called Turla with suspected links to the Russian government stole Iranian tools and infrastructure to obscure the origins of attacks on multiple other countries, according to new evidence Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Huge rise in rogue banking apps driving fraud attacks

Fraud perpetrated through fake mobile apps purporting to be from legitimate banks has seen a statistically significant spike, says RSA Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Amazon consumer devices vulnerable to two-year-old exploit

Millions of older Amazon Echo and Kindle devices are still susceptible to a Wi-Fi vulnerability that was first disclosed in 2017 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

BEIS launches multimillion-pound security investment package

Government is making available more than £50m to support a range of new cyber security initiatives and collaborations, including the latest phase of its Digital Security by Design programme Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NHSX could transform NHS security capabilities

The health sector is increasingly confident that NHSX can deliver a streamlined, effective cyber security policy for the health service Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security threat landscape becomes more organised and business-like

Approaches to securing the enterprise need to change in the face of a rapidly maturing threat landscape Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Sweden’s first GDPR fine sets regulatory tone

Secondary school fined for breaching General Data Protection Regulation, signalling the attitude of Sweden’s Data Protection Authority Continue Reading

By

• Jane Hamrin

Security Think Tank: Embed security professionals in your risk strategy

How can security professionals help their organisations move from traditional governance, risk and compliance to integrated risk management that integrates risk activities from across an organisation to enable better strategic decision-making? Continue Reading

By

• Deshini Newman, (ISC)²

Attackers hunt iPhone jailbreakers in click fraud campaign

Research by Cisco’s Talos threat intel unit has identified a new click fraud campaign targeting people looking to jailbreak their iPhone devices Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Risk management must go beyond spreadsheets

How can security professionals help their organisations move from traditional governance, risk and compliance to integrated risk management that integrates risk activities from across an organisation to enable better strategic decision making? Continue Reading

By

• Richard Hunt, Turnkey Consulting

Securing the internet of things

In this week’s Computer Weekly, as security concerns prevent many organisations from adopting the internet of things, we examine mitigation strategies. Many firms are still struggling with GDPR policies – we assess if full compliance is ever possible. And we look at the technologies for delivering on-premise object storage. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Private equity swoops on Sophos

British cyber security star picked up by technology sector investors for $3.9bn Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Researchers reveal the cyber campaign that built China's new airliner

CrowdStrike has published details of a coordinated campaign of cyber espionage and hacking, forced technology transfer and physical theft as China seeks to gain an advantage in the commercial aviation industry Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

PCI DSS: Credit card data and what to expect from version 4.0

We preview October’s PCI Europe Community Meeting where attendees will discuss credit card payment data, with topics covered likely to include the cloud and point-to-point encryption Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

The Security Interviews: Applying AI to Lego, and security

Ann Johnson, Microsoft corporate vice-president of cyber security, is on a mission to prove that artificial intelligence holds great promise for the security sector, and she has the analogies to back it up Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Consider risk holistically, not just from an IT angle

How can security professionals help their organisations move from traditional governance, risk and compliance to integrated risk management that integrates risk activities from across an organisation to enable better strategic decision making? Continue Reading

By

• Paddy Francis

Zuckerberg’s mentor condemns Facebook’s business practices

Long-time Silicon Valley investor speaks out against surveillance capitalism and the lack of rules and regulations governing big tech’s behaviour Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

McAfee’s push for secure cloud adoption

Organisations must do more to secure their cloud environments as malicious actors increasingly focus their attention on exploiting cloud vulnerabilities, says McAfee Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton , Senior reporter

Data management strategies are evolving – so must enterprises

A growing number of data-driven initiatives, alongside heightened demand for security in governance, data management and compliance, has led to the rise of a more holistic approach – integrated risk management Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

US likely to concede on Huawei export ban

The US government may make some concessions over the future of Huawei before the end of the year Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: The operational approach to integrated risk management

How can security professionals help their organisations move from traditional governance, risk and compliance to integrated risk management that integrates risk activities from across an organisation to enable better strategic decision-making? Continue Reading

By

• Simon Persin, Turnkey Consulting

Security Think Tank: Get basic security policy right, and the rest will follow

Paying attention to basic aspects of cyber security such as policy and permission will give you a sold base to build from Continue Reading

By

• Petra Wenham

Security Think Tank: Risk is unavoidable in digital transformation

How can security professionals help their organisations move from traditional governance, risk and compliance to integrated risk management that integrates risk activities from across an organisation to enable better strategic decision-making? Continue Reading

By

• Maxine Holt, Omdia

Government departments sign up to web data-sharing plan

All but four Whitehall departments have so far agreed to share web analytics data to allow the government to monitor user behaviour across the Gov.uk domain Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

UK and US call on Facebook to walk back encryption plans

The US, Australian and UK governments have asked Facebook to ditch plans to deploy end-to-end encryption across Facebook Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

IT contractor charged over cyber attack on property valuation firm

Australian police charge 49-year-old man with stealing and posting more than 170,000 data records belonging to ASX-listed Landmark White on the dark web Continue Reading

By

• Beverley Head

Why data-driven applications need a governance framework

Data is the new oil – but without tight control, how can business determine that the data is valid? Data catalogues are back in vogue Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

LogRhythm touts unlimited data plan for SIEM systems

SIEM supplier introduces three-year, term-based pricing plan that lets enterprises ingest as much data as they want without breaking the bank Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Local authorities hit by 800 cyber attacks every hour

Local authorities and councils in the UK have reported being hit by more than 263 million cyber attacks in the first six months of this year Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

New threat group behind Airbus cyber attacks, claim researchers

Context Information Security’s threat intel and response teams says it has evidence that the recent supply chain attacks on Airbus are the work of a newly identified group called Avivore Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber war as big a threat as nuclear war, says ex-RSA head Coviello

Former RSA chairman Art Coviello has been speaking about the devastating potential of cyber weapons, and warned that humanity must learn from history in order to control them Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Five million DoorDash customers’ details lost in data breach

Takeaway delivery service was breached in May 2019, resulting in the data of millions of users and delivery drivers being stolen Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

GDPR compliance: Whose job is it and is it really possible?

Nobody seems to have a good handle on business GDPR compliance, how many businesses are compliant, or indeed what compliance really is, but according to security experts, it very much depends on who you talk to Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Attackers breached supplier systems to steal Airbus secrets

Airbus has been the subject of at least four major cyber attacks in the past 12 months, with contractors and suppliers targeted through their VPNs Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Overinvestment breeds overconfidence among security pros

CISOs have made an abundance of security investments in multiple suppliers, but this might not be the right approach Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Teen TalkTalk hacker accused of cryptocurrency fraud in US

Elliott Gunton, one of the teenage hackers who broke into TalkTalk’s systems in 2015, faces extradition to the US to face fraud charges Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Instagram and WhatsApp – the new tools of social media propaganda

Facebook and Twitter have been cast as the villains of the piece, but social media disinformation and propaganda are evolving in new and alarming directions, say Oxford University researchers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Latest Lorca cyber security challenge has IoT focus

Government-backed cyber security innovation centre Lorca has issued new challenges around connectivity for its next intake of scaleups Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Singapore payment card data compromised by JavaScript sniffers

Raw data of thousands of payment cards issued by Singapore banks stolen by the online equivalent of a traditional card sniffer Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

GandCrab ransomware writers still active despite ‘retirement’

Apparent links between an emerging ransomware family known as REvil and GandCrab suggests the GandCrab authors are keeping busy despite having “retired” in June Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor