Privacy and data protection

Russia hacked ex-MI6 chief’s emails – what they reveal is more Dad’s Army than deep state

A Russian hacking group that published emails of ex-MI6 chief Richard Dearlove claimed to have uncovered a conspiracy, but it was more Dad’s Army than the ‘deep state’, Computer Weekly and Byline Times reveal Continue Reading

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• Sophie Hill

NCA director sacked after WhatsApp and email security breaches

Nikki Holland, former director of investigations at the NCA, was sacked for “misconduct” after sending sensitive NCA information over personal email and WhatsApp Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

UK government seeks public views on impacts of AI-generated porn

The government’s Pornography Review will look in part at the use of AI throughout the industry to generate sexually explicit content without people’s consent Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

SEC social media hack highlights value of MFA

The US SEC briefly appeared to approve new bitcoin trading rules after a social media account was targeted by troublemakers, proving the value of MFA once again Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Scotland ‘sleepwalking’ to mass surveillance with DPDI Bill

The independent checks and balances over biometrics and biometric-enabled surveillance must be strengthened to prevent Scotland from sliding into a surveillance state along with the rest of the UK Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Babuk Tortilla ransomware decryptor made available

A joint effort between Cisco Talos, Avast and the Dutch police will bring relief to many victims of a variant of the Babuk ransomware known as Tortilla Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Study reveals cyber risks to US elections

With the 2024 US presidential election cycle beginning, a study produced by Arctic Wolf has highlighted big gaps in preparedness and resourcing at government bodies across the US Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The future of CISOs in APAC

This is a guest post by Geoffrey Coley, regional chief technology officer for Asia-Pacific at Veritas Technologies The pace at which the cyber threat landscape is evolving with the use of malicious ... Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

British Library ransomware attack could cost up to £7m

The cost of recovering the British Library’s ransomware-stricken IT systems could be up to £7m, it has emerged Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Inside the Met Police’s investigation into EncroChat crime gangs

The Met’s senior investigating officer responsible for investigating criminals using the EncroChat encrypted phone network tells the inside story of the UK’s biggest organised crime bust in a BBC podcast series released this week Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Mind the gap: AI leaders pulling ahead as LLMs take off

Advice on how to implement large language models safely within an enterprise IT environment Continue Reading

By

• Oliver King-Smith

Fighting money laundering with AI

Mike Foster, CEO of SymphonyAI Sensa-NetReveal, talks up how AI can be used to fight financial crime and how the company’s technology can augment existing AML investments Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

China’s UNC4841 pivots to new Barracuda ESG zero-day

The Chinese state threat actor behind a series of cyber attacks on Barracuda Networks customers embarked on a campaign targeting the supplier’s email security products in the run-up to Christmas Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Top 10 India IT stories of 2023

We recap the year’s top 10 stories in India, including the country’s datacentre boom and innovations in space and agriculture technologies Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Top 10 AI regulation stories of 2023

From the UK government’s publication of its long-awaited AI whitepaper to its convening of the world’s first AI Safety Summit, here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 AI regulation stories of 2023 Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Top 10 technology and ethics stories of 2023

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 technology and ethics stories of 2023 Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Top 10 police technology stories of 2023

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 police technology stories of 2023 Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Top 10 government IT stories of 2023

In the year that gave life to four new government departments, Whitehall bosses have continued to fly the flag for technology, with mixed results and success. Here are the stories that made waves in 2023 Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

What is the CIA triad (confidentiality, integrity and availability)?

The CIA triad refers to confidentiality, integrity and availability, describing a model designed to guide policies for information security within an organization. Continue Reading

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• Cameron Hashemi-Pour, Former Site Editor
• Wesley Chai

Top 10 cyber crime stories of 2023

Ransomware gangs dominated the cyber criminal underworld in 2023, a year that will prove notable for significant evolutionary trends in their tactics Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Zero-trust principles: Your gateway to securing remote workers

Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward? Continue Reading

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• Michael Healey, Turnkey Consulting

What we learned in cyber in 2023, and what to look out for

PA Consulting's Rasika Somasiri looks back at a busy 12 months in the cyber security world, and highlights some key learnings from 2023 Continue Reading

By

• Rasika Somasiri

Top 10 cyber security stories of 2023

The past 12 months have seen the security agenda dominated by the usual round of vulnerabilities, concerns over supply chain security and more besides, but it was the chaotic state of global geopolitics that really made an impact Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How hybrid work patterns change end user computing

While some organisations have mandated that staff return to the office, many places still operate a hybrid policy – we look at the IT admin challenges Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Government plans to regulate to tackle datacentre threats

DSIT outlines a range of proposals designed to protect data storage facilities from cyber attacks, as well as physical threats and the effects of climate breakdown Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

ICO complaint seeks answers from prosecutors over deleted Assange emails

An Italian journalist has complained to the data protection watchdog after the Crown Prosecution Service gave conflicting explanations over its deletion of key emails on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

How ransomware gangs use the tech media against their victims

Ransomware gangs are increasingly media-savvy operators, and this means incident response plans now need to account for communications and PR strategies too Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Inside the Singapore government’s cloud journey

The Smart Nation Group’s chief digital technology officer outlines the government’s cloud journey, including its approach to cloud migration and how it came to host mission-critical workloads on AWS Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

MoD fined after breach of Afghan staffers’ data put lives at risk

The MoD has been fined £350,000 by the ICO after an email blunder exposed data on Afghan nationals who had worked with British forces and were at risk of Taliban reprisals Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Outdated data protection practice key factor in PSNI data breach

The August 2023 data breach at the Police Service of Northern Ireland arose chiefly from an outdated approach to data protection and compliance at the force, according to an independent review Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Top IT predictions in APAC in 2024

Generative AI will continue to leave its mark on many areas in business and IT, along with other trends such as sustainability, cyber security and smart factories that are expected to shape the region’s technology landscape in 2024 Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Nordic governments join forces to protect data transfers

Nordic countries deepen their cooperation over cyber security amid heightened threat from neighbouring Russia Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Fancy Bear targets Nato entities via critical Outlook flaw

A vulnerability patched in March has likely been exploited by the Russian state actor Fancy Bear, for over two years, according to the latest intelligence Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK names Russian FSB agents behind political hacking campaign

Russian hacking group, Star Blizzard, was part of a Russian intelligence operation aimed at interfering with UK politics and the democratic process, says government. Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

NCSC exposes Russian cyber attacks on UK political processes

The NCSC has firmly attributed a long-running campaign of cyber attacks targeting UK political processes to a group run out of Russia’s FSB intelligence agency, known as Star Blizzard Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Considerations for the security of evolving workspaces

Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward? Continue Reading

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• Simon Backwell

How Proofpoint is helping to mitigate AI security threats

Proofpoint is offering monitoring tools to prevent leakage of sensitive information in generative AI models and other capabilities to mitigate AI mediated attacks Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Operator of Sellafield nuclear facility denies hacking claims

The operator of the Sellafield nuclear site has denied allegations that senior managers covered up a series of cyber security lapses that enabled Chinese and Russian threat actors to compromise its networks Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Rhysida ransomware gang hits hospital holding royal family’s data

Ransomware gang boasts of having stolen data on the royal family in an attack on a private London hospital Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Human augmentation tech requires dual use oversight

Researchers investigating human augmentation technologies must acknowledge the potential military applications of their work, and military bodies cannot be allowed to dismiss ethical concerns in their pursuit of national security interests, says NGO Drone Wars UK Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Report reveals sorry state of cyber security at UK football clubs

Football clubs up and down the country are putting staff, players and fans alike at risk through outdated attitudes to cyber security, according to a report Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Four steps to secure remote workers

Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward? Continue Reading

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• Olivia Rofe

privacy policy

A privacy policy is a legal document that explains how an organization handles any customer, client or employee information gathered in its operations. Continue Reading

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• Gavin Wright

Government’s Online Fraud Charter welcomed

The government has corralled 11 of the largest tech platforms in the world to commit to its Online Fraud Charter, designed to tackle online scams, fake adverts, and more Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Rhysida gang stole hundreds of gigabytes of British Library data

The Rhysida ransomware gang behind the cyber attack on the British Library has published almost 600GB of stolen data to its dark web leak site Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Meta faces GDPR complaint over processing personal data without 'free consent'

Paid-for service means data protection is only available to those who can afford it, privacy group argues in data protection complaint Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

DORA raises the stakes for cloud use in financial services

The EU's DORA regulations will raise the stakes for cloud in financial services but resilience is more than just a tech issue, says NetApp's Steve Rackham Continue Reading

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• Steve Rackham

UK police plan national roll-out of facial-recognition phone app

UK police chiefs plan to expand use of facial-recognition technology through a nationwide roll-out of mobile-based tools and increases in retrospective facial-recognition, but oversight problems persist Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Was the devil's greatest trick making you think tech CEOs are just people?

It’s been one of those weeks where tech makes headlines for all the wrong reasons. (Sadly, the wrong reasons are often the only reasons tech makes national headlines, but anyway…) There was much ... Continue Reading

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• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Navigating the DPDI Bill: A transformative shift ahead

The Data Protection and Digital Information (No. 2) Bill, or DPDI, is set to reshape the UK’s data protection framework. Louise Brooks of DQM GRC considers the implications Continue Reading

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• Louise Brooks, DQM GRC

Australia ups ante on cyber security

Australia’s new cyber security strategy will focus on building threat-blocking capabilities, protecting critical infrastructure and improving the cyber workforce, among other priorities Continue Reading

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• Stephen Withers

Palantir awarded NHS FDP data contract

NHS England has awarded a £330m, seven-year contract to US data specialist Palantir, prompting concerns from data privacy practitioners Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Internal documents leaked as Rhysida claims responsibility for British Library ransomware attack

Ransomware group Rhysida threatens to sell documents stolen from the British Library to the highest bidder Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Kingfisher develops AI-agnostic platform to power DIY assistant

The platform provides a framework for security and compliance and enables developers to test different large language models Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Cubbit DS3 Composer brings DIY cloud to object storage pool

Cubbit customers can now build and configure S3-compatible clouds from unused capacity and offer MSP-grade services with high levels of resilience, security and data sovereignty Continue Reading

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• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

IT not ready for AI, Pure Storage survey finds

Storage, compute and networking hardware won’t cope without upgrades, and that often means total IT infrastructure overhaul Continue Reading

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• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Defence lawyers seek appeal of tribunal ruling on police EncroChat cryptophone hack

Defence lawyers are seeking leave to appeal against a tribunal ruling that found the National Crime Agency had lawfully obtained warrants to access messages from 9,000 cryptophones used in the UK Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Walmart’s enterprise software: A Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast

We speak to Walmart’s David Glick about the build/buy debate and how the retailer works with large language models Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Outgoing police tech watchdog warns of declining oversight

The outgoing biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner for England and Wales discusses police deployment of powerful new surveillance technologies, and the declining state of oversight in this area Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Ransomware gang grasses up uncooperative victim to US regulator

The ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware gang has added a new tactic to its playbook, going to ever more extreme lengths in search of a pay-off Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

British Library’s Halloween cyber scare was ransomware

The British Library has provided an update on an ongoing cyber incident affecting its systems, confirming it to be the result of a ransomware attack Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

BlackCat affiliate seen using malvertising to spread ransomware

Researchers at eSentire identified a wave activity from an ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware affiliate which has adopted a somewhat unusual approach to delivering its locker Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Russian cyber criminal pleads guilty to running IPStorm botnet

Sergey Manikin faces years in jail after his illicit proxy botnet service was taken down by US law enforcement Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Rogue state-aligned actors are most critical cyber threat to UK

The prospect of rogue nation-state-aligned attackers bringing down the UK’s critical infrastructure is keeping the NCSC up at night Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Encrypted mail service Tuta says it was wrongly accused of being a front for intelligence services

German encrypted email service Tuta, formerly known as Tutanota, has denied claims by a former Canadian police intelligence officer accused of passing secrets to criminals that it was compromised by intelligence services Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

ICO alerted after technical ‘issue’ exposed college files to student barristers

A training college for barristers has reported a data breach that left sensitive data on hundreds of current and former students accessible to other trainees Continue Reading

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• Tommy Greene

NCSC makes annual Black Friday plea to consumers

Ahead of the annual festival of retail avarice, the NCSC is once again asking consumers to do the bare minimum to avoid falling victim to scams Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK government does not see need for specific AI legislation

The UK government does not currently see the need for new artificial intelligence legislation, as many regulators are already dealing effectively with AI-related harms Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Data-sharing management gap highlights cyber risk, says report

Organisations are struggling to secure their use of communications tools to share data with third-party partners and suppliers, and in the process are exposing themselves to heightened levels of risk, according to a report Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Iconic Singapore hotel caught up in major data breach

The Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore uncovered a data breach of its guest loyalty programme last month Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

King’s Speech misses the mark on cyber law reform, says campaign

A group of activists who want to reform the UK’s computer misuse laws to protect bona fide cyber pros from prosecution have been left disappointed by a lack of legislative progress Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Unesco unveils seven-point anti-disinformation plan

United Nations body outlines seven proposals for civil society, governments, regulators and tech platforms to adopt to combat the source of disinformation Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How ExxonMobil is leading with data

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to the leader of ExxonMobil’s data organisation, about the energy giant’s strategy to establish enterprise-wide principles for the use of data. As the UK’s Online Safety Act comes into force, we examine the tech sector’s concerns over the laws around end-to-end encryption. And we look at the software tools available to HR teams to help improve staff retention. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Tech firms flag risk to end-to-end encryption as Online Safety Bill gets royal assent

Technology organisations remain concerned that the newly implemented Online Safety Act could undermine end-to-end encryption, despite government reassurances that it will ensure online safety. Continue Reading

UK workers exhibit poor security behaviours, report reveals

Report by KnowBe4 has found that four in five UK workers do not make security-conscious choices, whether in-office, remote or hybrid working Continue Reading

By

• Scarlet Charles

Use existing structures to build your incident response plan

What goes into a good incident response plan, and what steps should security professionals take to ensure they are appropriately prepared for the almost inevitable attack, and secure buy-in from organisational leadership? Continue Reading

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• Sam Lascelles

How the UK crime agency repurposed Amazon cloud platform to analyse EncroChat cryptophone data

UK crime agency repurposed AWS-based analytics platform to triage EncroChat data and identify threats to life in messages sent on encrypted phone network Continue Reading

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

EU digital ID reforms should be ‘actively resisted’, say experts

Over 300 cyber security experts have called for the EU to rethink its proposals for eIDAS digital identity reforms, saying some of the provisions risk damaging user privacy and security Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Darktrace CEO Poppy Gustafsson on her AI Safety Summit goals

As the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park takes place, Computer Weekly caught up with Darktrace CEO Poppy Gustafsson to find out what one of the UK’s most prominent AI advocates wants from proceedings Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Biden’s AI plans focus on US workers’ protection

The US president has issued an Executive Order that sets out his administration’s strategy for AI safety and security Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

supercookie

A supercookie is a type of tracking cookie inserted into an HTTP header to collect data about a user's internet browsing history and habits. Continue Reading

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• Rahul Awati
• Madelyn Bacon, TechTarget

Frontier AI Taskforce starts recruitment drive

The second progress report from the Frontier AI Taskforce reveals new hires plus vacancy posts for software and research engineers Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Reported major cyberattacks are falling – but watch out for the massive threats posed by gen AI

 The number of reported major cyberattacks is falling. Are we just getting used to them? Continue Reading

By

• Jim Tiller

Greek data watchdog to rule on AI systems in refugee camps

A forthcoming decision on the compliance of surveillance and security systems in Greek refugee camps could set a precedent for how AI and biometric systems are deployed for ‘migration management’ in Europe Continue Reading

By

• Lydia Emmanouilidou

Tech firms cite risk to end-to-end encryption as Online Safety Bill gets royal assent

Tech firms continue to be concerned that the Online Safety Bill could undermine end-to-end encryption despite government reassurances Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Domestic abuse charities surface fresh worries over NHS data sharing

With new NHS data access options coming into effect at the end of October, a group of campaigners including womens' charities and the BMA have warned that the revived GP-patient data sharing scheme risks putting vulnerable people at risk Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How Elastic manages cyber security threats

Mandy Andress, CISO at Elastic, highlights the company’s approach to tackling evolving cyber threats through the use of AI tools and enhanced security measures while strengthening the capabilities of its security offerings Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Germany: European Court opinion kicks questions over EncroChat back to national courts

Germany lawfully obtained data on German EncroChat users from France, but whether the evidence is legally admissible is a matter for national courts Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Sunak sets scene for upcoming AI Safety Summit

Prime minister Rishi Sunak has outlined how the UK will approach making AI safe, but experts say there is still too big a focus on catastrophic but speculative risks over real harms the technology is already causing Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Boardrooms losing control in generative AI takeover, says Kaspersky

C-suite executives are increasingly fretful about what they perceive as a ‘silent infiltration’ of generative AI tools across their organisations Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK Finance paints mixed picture of fraud as losses top £500m

UK losses to fraud in the first six months of the year topped £500m, but a slight decline in overall crime rates was observed, according to UK Finance’s latest data Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

1Password caught up in Okta support breach

After breaches at BeyondTrust and Cloudflare, 1Password, a third customer of Okta operating in the same space, has revealed that it too was impacted in a breach of the IAM house’s support systems Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The new data landscape: how will the new UK-US data bridge affect businesses?

With the UK-US data bridge coming into effect on 12 October 2023, find out what steps your organisation can take to take advantage of, and remain compliant with, the new framework Continue Reading

By

• Charlie Bromley-Griffiths

Kaspersky opens up over spyware campaign targeting its staffers

Kaspersky has shared more details of the TriangleDB spyware that was used against its own workforce by an unknown APT group Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How Ensign is leading the charge in cyber security

Lee Fook Sun, chairman of Ensign InfoSecurity, traces the company’s journey and how it is leading the charge in cyber security by doing things differently, investing in R&D and engaging with the wider ecosystem Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Computer Weekly contributor named Godfather of UK Security

Advent IM founder Mike Gillespie was among those honoured at the eighth annual Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Five Eyes chiefs warn of Chinese spying campaign to steal high-tech secrets

Intelligence chiefs warn high-tech companies and universities they may be the target of attempts by the Chinese Communist Party to steal technology secrets Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Fears grow over extent of Cisco IOS XE zero-day

Researchers have identified spiking numbers of victims of a recently disclosed Cisco zero-day, as users of the networking supplier’s IOS XE software are urged to take defensive measures Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Sellafield local authority unsure if data was stolen six years on from North Korea ransomware attack

Senior managers at an ‘Achilles heel’ local authority for Europe’s biggest nuclear site ‘still don’t know what was lost’ in a 2017 cyber attack, according to a council source Continue Reading

By

• Tommy Greene

DORA: Moving into a new era of digital resilience

The EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act will come into force in just over a year, the majority of risk management professionals are only at the beginning of their planning journey. Kate Needham-Bennett of Fusion Risk Management explains how to get things moving Continue Reading

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• Kate Needham-Bennett