Privacy and data protection

Top lessons from cyber attacks

Cyber security experts weigh in on lessons learned from cyber attack experiences, underlining that recovery capability is as important as defence Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Huawei leak inquiry launched

Cabinet secretary Mark Sedwill has instituted an inquiry aimed at discovering who leaked confidential discussions about UK mobile operators’ use of Huawei in their future 5G networks to the press Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

GDPR cases drive bigger budgets for Nordic regulators

High-profile General Data Protection Regulation cases in Finland and Sweden have increased the workload for regulators, which are to receive an increase in funding Continue Reading

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• Gerard O'Dwyer

Public becoming more aware of privacy abuses and unethical tech

Widespread abuses of privacy, biometric information and artificial intelligence mean the internet is in poor health, but growing popular awareness of its problems gives some cause for hope, says the Mozilla Foundation Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK up for cyber challenge but work to be done, says minister

Lidington says National Cyber Security Strategy has “revolutionised the UK’s fight against cyber threats” Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NCSC and ICO pledge to support data breach victims

The UK’s cyber security agency and privacy watchdog have agreed to work together to improve support for data breach victims and enhance cyber guidance Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

European Union to create central biometrics database

New rules will see the introduction of a repository of personal data from hundreds of millions of citizens to support law enforcement across member states Continue Reading

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• Angelica Mari

No final decision taken on Huawei 5G ban, government claims

Culture secretary tells MPs that a final decision on use of Huawei in UK 5G networks has not been taken, and says government is taking the leak of confidential discussions at the National Security Council very seriously Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cabinet Office addresses 5G security issue

Cabinet Office uses NCSC conference to lay out government’s approach to the security of 5G networks, as controversy grows around using equipment from Chinese supplier Huawei Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NCSC looks to industry to scale Active Cyber Defence

The national cyber security agency is calling on wider government organisations as well as industry to help scale automated cyber attack blocking systems country-wide Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NCSC to scale up intelligence sharing, says GCHQ director

The GCHQ director has outlined the agency’s cyber security mission in the third decade of the internet age at CyberUK, promising to scale up the sharing of declassified cyber intelligence with industry Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

PM May approves Huawei for use in 5G networks despite opposition

The UK’s National Security Council has approved the use of Huawei’s networking equipment in parts of the country’s 5G mobile networks in spite of widespread opposition Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Global intelligence agencies share UK stage for first time

Representatives of intelligence agencies from the Five Eyes alliance are to share a public platform in the UK for the first time at this year’s NCSC CyberUK conference Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Casual collaboration comms pose security risk, survey shows

UK employees have a worryingly casual attitude to workplace communications, underling the need for employers to take steps to counter related cyber attack vulnerabilities Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

WannaCry hero pleads guilty, urges others to stay on ‘good side’

Briton hailed as WannaCry hero finally pleads guilty to charges of writing and distributing malware, but urges security researchers to stay away from the “dark side” Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

APAC set for blockchain boom

Led by China, spending on blockchain technology in Asia-Pacific excluding Japan will surpass $2bn by 2022 Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

NCSC urges better online security practices

UK cyber security agency is urging citizens to improve online safety and password security after research reveals most-hacked passwords and a survey exposes gaps in online security Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Facebook leaks: Zuckerberg turned data into dollars in ruthless battle with competitors

Facebook’s CEO ruthlessly exploited personal data shared by its users to turn Facebook into the biggest social network, but internal documents show that privacy appeared to be an afterthought for executives Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Sebastian Klovig Skelton and Duncan Campbell

20 firms join Tech Nation’s cyber security scale-up programme

Tech Nation scale-up programme is designed to boost the UK’s cyber sector, accelerate the growth of its top companies and build a robust, cross-industry network Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

State-sponsored hackers are hijacking DNS, researchers warn

A DNS-hijacking campaign targeting the Middle East and Africa may lead to actors more broadly attacking the global DNS system Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Nearly a quarter of tech firms do not security check products

Nearly a quarter of organisations polled do not run security checks on products, and nearly a third admitted to shipping products with known security vulnerabilities, a survey shows Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Politics, privacy and porn: the challenges of age-verification technology

The age-verification requirements of the Digital Economy Act are to come into force in July this year, but registering people’s personal details for accessing age-restricted content carries significant risks and challenges Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

Morrisons to launch fresh appeal against breach liability ruling

Supermarket chain Morrisons is to launch a second appeal against a High Court ruling that found it liable for a data leak by a former employee Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Wipro admits to potential breach to employee accounts by phishing attack

Indian IT services company Wipro is investigating a phishing attack, which hit some staff email accounts and launched attacks on customer environments Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Huawei cyber security chief John Suffolk: It’s not our culture to be aggressive

John Suffolk, global cyber security and privacy officer at China-based telecoms equipment supplier Huawei, tells Huawei Analyst Summit growth is the best answer to US criticism Continue Reading

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• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

How Palo Alto Networks fends off its cyber adversaries

Palo Alto Networks CIO Naveen Zutshi talks up the company’s approach in keeping threat actors at bay Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Zero trust is about more than products

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NCSC seeks new breed of cyber security startups

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

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

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

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• Paddy Francis

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

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

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

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

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• Mike Gillespie

Most organisations still lack incident response plans

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

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

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

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• Maxine Holt, Omdia

A quarter of phishing emails bypass Office 365 security

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Why cyber security needs to be prioritised at board level

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

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• Tom Kranz, Cyber Lab

Digital doppelgangers for sale to defeat anti-fraud tech

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK councils team up to boost cyber security

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Ransomware getting more targeted, warns Flashpoint

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

GDPR at a critical stage, says information commissioner

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

How APAC firms can tame the data beast

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

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

UK plans for online safety laws not enough, says BCS

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

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

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

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

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

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

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

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

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

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Third-party Facebook apps expose 540 million users’ details

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Fresh approach needed to reap cloud security benefits

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Government urges businesses and charities to up cyber security

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Employees lack awareness of corporate data-sharing policies

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

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Women now almost a quarter of cyber security workforce

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Four in 10 leading banks failing on email fraud protection

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Huawei reports record numbers despite tumultuous year

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

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Thales completes acquisition of Gemalto

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

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

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

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

By

• Ai Lei Tao

Rapidly multiplying IoT cyber attacks use well-known weaknesses

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Zuckerberg calls for new internet regulation

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Mind the Brexit gap in cyber security

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

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• Elliot Rose

Singapore government to review data security in public sector

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

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

ICO kicks off sandbox beta to support innovation

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Infosec pros slam government-mandated backdoors

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Huawei making no progress on addressing security concerns

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

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Encryption adoption driven by new tech and compliance

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK IoT research centre to tackle cyber risk

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Mind the overlap between GDPR and ePD, warns privacy lawyer

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Police make 61 arrests in global crackdown on dark web

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Europe passes controversial Copyright Directive

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

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

BT switches on quantum network link at Adastral Park

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

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Nominet urges SMEs to register .uk domains to thwart squatters

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

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Small businesses hit hardest by cyber crime costs

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Digital Darwinism unkind to those who wait, says Palo Alto

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK government at odds over Huawei threat

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

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Facebook security policy and practices unfit, say infosec pros

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

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

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

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

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Russian cyber espionage groups targeting EU governments

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Spike in cyber attacks targeting Cisco Webex

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

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK cyber experts to support global company boards

A consortium of UK cyber security experts and academics is to support multinational company boards to tackle online threats and protect against cyber crime Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK government organisations’ email security lagging

Email security in UK government organisations is lagging far behind that of central government, analysis reveals, with less than a third implementing standard protection Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Growing board focus on cyber risk challenges current thinking

As digital transformation continues to drive change in the business and risk landscape, business and cyber security leaders need to improve discussions around this topic Continue Reading

By

• Marcus Alldrick

More than half of EU firms report cyber attack losses

More than half of European firms admit business disruption and data loss due to cyber attacks in the past 24 months, with UK firms among the most targeted, a survey shows Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Build in trust, experts advise cyber innovators

Trust will be increasingly important in the digital era, and is therefore a key component of new products and services, experts have told cyber security innovators Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

EU law enforcement agencies prepare for major cyber attacks

Law enforcement agencies across the European Union are preparing for major cross-border cyber attacks, says Europol Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

CyLon announces latest cyber security accelerator cohort

Swiss and Israeli cyber security startups join teams from the UK for CyLon’s ninth London accelerator cohort Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Businesses failing to grasp DevSecOps

UK and US businesses are being exposed to security risks by a failure to integrate security into DevOps programmes, research shows Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Brexit complicating already complex data protection

GDPR impact is yet to be felt and data protection is set to become increasingly complex, with Brexit adding even more complexity that could be overwhelming, warns head of international privacy association Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Why the web needs patching

Regulators want to curb the web giants, while World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee believes problems with the web's misuse can be fixed Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

National Cyber Security Programme at risk of missing targets

The National Audit Office has sharply criticised the Cabinet Office over failings in how it set up the National Cyber Security Programme that mean it may struggle to meet its goals Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Avoid infosec mistakes of the past, urges Robert Hannigan

Technology innovators need to avoid security mistakes of the past by building in integrity so that products and services can be used with trust and confidence, says former GCHQ director Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Met Police collaborated with US prosecutors in WikiLeaks investigation

The Metropolitan Police has confirmed it exchanged information on WikiLeaks staff in the UK with the US Department of Justice, which is conducting criminal investigations into the organisation Continue Reading

By

• BIll Goodwin & Niels Ladefoged

Security Think Tank: Map your own important risk metrics

What should be the key cyber security risk indicator for any business? Continue Reading

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• RV Raghu, ISACA

ICO pledges to support innovation

UK data privacy watchdog is increasingly gearing up to support innovation to ensure developers of tech and digital services do not lose society’s trust Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Financial loss as a key security risk indicator

What should be the key cyber security risk indicator for any business? Continue Reading

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• Mike Yeomans, Information Security Forum

Almost half UK firms hit by phishing attacks

Almost half of UK organisations have been compromised in the past two years using phishing attacks, despite high levels of cyber awareness and training, research shows Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber attackers favouring stealthier attacks, says Darktrace

Cyber attackers are moving away from ransomware to stealthier tactics, including banking Trojans and cryptojacking, an analysis of attack data reveals Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: No one key risk indicator is generic across all businesses

What should be the key cyber security risk indicator for any business? Continue Reading

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• Simon Persin, Turnkey Consulting

Many firms unaware of data exfiltration threat

Many firms are unaware that they are being targeted by cyber espionage and that data is being exfiltrated from their networks by overseas adversaries, a security firm warns Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Despite failings, exec appetite for secure collaboration growing

Top business decision makers are more reckless than ever with company data, but the appetite for secure collaboration tools is growing, survey reveals Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Key considerations for determining cyber risk

What should be the key cyber security risk indicator for any business? Continue Reading

By

• Petra Wenham

ICO data raises doubts over UK firms’ ability to manage breaches

Most ICO data breach reports late and incomplete prior to full GDPR implementation, FoI request data reveals, raising doubts about breach prevention, detection and response capabilities Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Growing awareness of mobile security risk

There is a growing awareness of mobile security risk among members of the information security community, but most admit accessing corporate data from personal devices or public Wi-Fi Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Equifax defends against scathing Senate report

Equifax chief says firm did take cyber security seriously in a response to a scathing Senate report on the credit rating agency’s 2017 data breach, which experts say highlights failings around open source software Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Five elements of a key cyber risk indicator

What should be the key cyber security risk indicator for any business? Continue Reading

By

• Mary-Jo de Leeuw, (ISC)2