Hackers and cybercrime prevention

News 13 Jun 2024
Black Basta ransomware crew may be exploiting Microsoft zero-day

A Microsoft vulnerability that was addressed without fanfare in March may in fact have been exploited as a zero-day by the notorious Black Basta ransomware gang, threat hunters warn Continue Reading
News 12 Jun 2024
RCE flaw and DNS zero-day top list of Patch Tuesday bugs

An RCE vulnerability in a Microsoft messaging feature and a third-party flaw in a DNS authentication protocol are the most pressing issues to address in Microsoft’s latest Patch Tuesday Continue Reading

News 11 Jun 2024

Pure Storage hit by Snowflake credential hackers

Pure Storage emerges as the latest victim of a fast-spreading breach of Snowflake customers targeting users with lax credential security measures in place Continue Reading
News 11 Jun 2024

More than 160 Snowflake customers hit in targeted data theft spree

Mandiant reports that more than 160 Snowflake customers have been hit in a broad data theft and extortion campaign targeting organisations that have failed to pay proper attention to securing valuable credentials Continue Reading
News 10 Jun 2024

General election 2024: Liberal Democrats thread digital commitments throughout manifesto

The Lib Dems have promised a new industrial strategy and emphasised the importance of the digital sector, skills and regulating AI, as they lay out plans for the UK general election Continue Reading
News 10 Jun 2024

NHS blood stocks running low after ransomware attack

The NHS is appealing for people with O Positive and O Negative blood types to come forward to donate as hospitals in London struggle to keep critical services running after ransomware attack Continue Reading
News 07 Jun 2024

DDoS gang threatens to disrupt European elections

Russian hacktivists are threatening to disrupt the European Parliament elections, while the BBC reports on new deepfake threats to the UK’s electoral process Continue Reading
News 07 Jun 2024

Bitdefender makes MDR services free to NHS bodies hit by Qilin

Bitdefender offers NHS bodies affected by a major cyber incident free access to its product suite, as the health service continues to deal with the impact of the Qilin ransomware attack on partner Synnovis Continue Reading
News 07 Jun 2024

Sophos uncovers Chinese state-sponsored campaign in Southeast Asia

Sophos found three distinct clusters of activity targeted at a high-level government organisation that appeared to be tied to Chinese interests in the South China Sea Continue Reading
News 06 Jun 2024

FBI finds 7,000 LockBit decryption keys in blow to criminal gang

The US authorities say they now have more than 7,000 LockBit decryption keys in their possession and are urging victims of the prolific ransomware gang to come forward Continue Reading
News 05 Jun 2024

Qilin ransomware gang likely behind crippling NHS attack

Security experts investigating a major cyber attack on an NHS partner that has caused frontline services across South London to grind to a halt say the Qilin ransomware gang appears to be the culprit Continue Reading
News 04 Jun 2024

OAIC files civil penalty action against Medibank

The OAIC alleges that Medibank failed to take reasonable steps to protect the personal information of 9.7 million Australians in the October 2022 data breach Continue Reading
Opinion 04 Jun 2024

Security Think Tank: The cloud just got more complicated

This month, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank considers how CISOs and security practitioners should ensure that the business can make use of public cloud services safely and securely and avoid accidental or deliberate data leakage. Continue Reading
Opinion 04 Jun 2024

Building a more secure, and sustainable, open source ecosystem

In April 2024, the discovery of an intentionally-placed backdoor in the open source XZ Utils data compression caused concern. Sentry's Chad Whitacre says a more thoughtful approach is needed to balance the individual freedom and creativity of open source, with more rigorous security practice. Continue Reading
News 04 Jun 2024

NHS services at major London hospitals disrupted by cyber attack

A major cyber attack at NHS services provider Synnovis is disrupting frontline care at hospitals across London Continue Reading
News 04 Jun 2024

Russia used fake AI Tom Cruise in Olympic disinformation campaign

Microsoft threat researchers report a surge in Russian disinformation campaigns targeting the 2024 Summer Olympics, including AI-enhanced propaganda Continue Reading
News 03 Jun 2024

97 FTSE 100 firms exposed to supply chain breaches

Between March 2023 and March 2024, 97 out of 100 companies on the UK’s FTSE 100 list were put at risk of compromise following supply chain breaches at third-party suppliers Continue Reading
News 03 Jun 2024

Major breaches allegedly caused by unsecured Snowflake accounts

Significant data breaches at Ticketmaster and Santander appear to have been orchestrated through careful targeting of the victims’ Snowflake cloud data management accounts Continue Reading
News 02 Jun 2024

Ticketek Australia hit by data breach

Customer names, dates of birth and email addresses of Ticketek Australia account holders reportedly impacted in latest data breach affecting event ticketing firm Continue Reading
News 30 May 2024

Europol sting operation smokes multiple botnets

Malware droppers including Bumblebee and Smokeloader were among those targeted in one of the largest ever joint operations against cyber criminal botnets Continue Reading
News 29 May 2024

Proofpoint exposes AFF scammers’ piano gambit

Ransomware and nation state actors dominate the headlines, but fraud and scams still net career cyber criminals thousands from unsuspecting members of the public. Proofpoint reports on a campaign targeting victims of a musical inclination Continue Reading
News 24 May 2024

Parliamentarians warn of UK election threat from Russia, China and North Korea

Joint parliamentary security committee chair Margaret Beckett writes to prime minister urging government to prepare for foreign states interfering with 4 July election Continue Reading
News 22 May 2024

Rockwell urges users to disconnect ICS equipment

ICS systems maker Rockwell Automation calls on users to take steps to secure their equipment, and reminds them there is no reason to ever have its hardware connected to the public internet, as it tracks an increase in global threat activity Continue Reading
News 22 May 2024

ORBs: Hacking groups’ new favourite way of keeping their attacks hidden

Beware the ORB: why attacks on your network could come from a home router down the street Continue Reading
News 21 May 2024

The Security Interviews: What is the real cyber threat from China?

Former NCSC boss Ciaran Martin talks about nation-state attacks, why the UK has become so exercised about cyber espionage, and how our leaders are in danger of misunderstanding their adversaries Continue Reading
Definition 20 May 2024

ATM jackpotting

ATM jackpotting is the exploitation of physical and software vulnerabilities in automated banking machines that result in the machines dispensing cash. Continue Reading
News 20 May 2024

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange granted appeal

Two high court judges granted WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange leave to appeal against extradition to the US after defence lawyers argued that the US had failed to give adequate assurances Continue Reading
News 17 May 2024

Why the UK needs to fix its broken IT security market

Ollie Whitehouse, CTO of GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre, says the market for secure software is broken. Are new laws required to make software companies liable for poor security? Continue Reading
News 15 May 2024

US authorities crack BreachForums for a second time

The BreachForums data leak website has been seized by the FBI and international partners again Continue Reading
News 15 May 2024

GCHQ to protect politicians and election candidates from cyber attacks

The National Cyber Security Centre, part of GCHQ, to protect election candidates from hostile state cyber attacks Continue Reading
News 15 May 2024

WikiLeaks founder’s extradition case labelled ‘institutional corruption’

Call for Julian Assange to be prosecuted in the US has been condemned as ‘institutional corruption on a judicial level’ with the WikiLeaks founder a ‘political prisoner’ Continue Reading
News 14 May 2024

China poses genuine and increasing cyber security risk to UK, says GCHQ director

GCHQ director Anne Keast-Butler uses her first major public speech to warn that China poses a significant cyber security threat to the UK Continue Reading
News 14 May 2024

CyberUK 24: UK insurance industry gets tough on ransomware

Three of the UK’s largest insurance associations have signed on to a new initiative spearheaded by the NCSC to try to bring down the number of ransomware payments being made Continue Reading
Definition 14 May 2024

bug bounty program

A bug bounty program, also called a vulnerability rewards program (VRP), is a crowdsourcing initiative that rewards individuals like ethical hackers and security researchers for discovering and reporting vulnerabilities and bugs in software. Continue Reading
Opinion 13 May 2024

The UK may not have a choice on a ransomware payment ban

In the wake of renewed calls for lawmakers to consider enacting legal bans on ransomware payments, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank weighs in to share their thoughts on how to tackle the scourge for good. Continue Reading
News 10 May 2024

Major breach of customer information developing at Dell

Almost 50 million data records relating to Dell customers appear to have been compromised in a major cyber breach Continue Reading
News 09 May 2024

Cyber attack victims need to speak up, says ICO

The Information Commissioner’s Office is urging organisations to be transparent and learn from each other’s mistakes as it reveals most of the cyber attacks it responds to stem from the same core errors Continue Reading
News 09 May 2024

Wales gets UK’s first national SOC

The first national security operations centre of its kind in the UK has opened in the south of Wales to safeguard public sector bodies across the country Continue Reading
Definition 09 May 2024

threat actor

A threat actor, also called a malicious actor or bad actor, is an entity that is partially or wholly responsible for an incident that affects -- or has the potential to affect -- an organization's security. Continue Reading
Opinion 09 May 2024

Enhance identity controls before banning ransomware payments

In the wake of renewed calls for lawmakers to consider enacting legal bans on ransomware payments, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank weighs in to share their thoughts on how to tackle the scourge for good. Continue Reading
News 08 May 2024

Police accessed phone records of ‘trouble-making journalists’

The Police Service of Northern Ireland ran a rolling programme to monitor phone records of journalists to identify the source of police leaks, it was claimed today Continue Reading
News 08 May 2024

Germany: European Court of Justice ruling on EncroChat could lead to new legal challenges

A ruling by the European Court of Justice could prompt legal challenges in EncroChat prosecutions in Germany and other EU states Continue Reading
News 07 May 2024

Chinese APT suspected of Ministry of Defence hack

A cyber attack on the Ministry of Defence is suspected to be the work of threat actors working on behalf of Chinese intelligence Continue Reading
News 07 May 2024

NCA unmasks LockBitSupp cyber gangster who toyed with pursuers

The NCA and its partners have named the administrator of the LockBit ransomware gang, LockBitSupp, as Dmitry Khoroshev, who now faces sanctions and criminal charges Continue Reading
E-Zine 07 May 2024

Casting a critical eye on HMRC’s IR35 checker tool

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we investigate what has been going on with HMRC’s Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) tool. We also speak to the CIO of Danfoss about making datacentres greener and explore the issue of restoring data and system backups after a ransomware or cyber attack. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
Definition 06 May 2024

social engineering penetration testing

Social engineering penetration testing is the practice of deliberately conducting typical social engineering scams on employees to ascertain the organization's level of vulnerability to this type of exploit. Continue Reading
News 06 May 2024

Microsoft beefs up cyber initiative after hard-hitting US report

Microsoft is expanding its recently launched Secure Future Initiative in the wake of a hard-hitting US government report on recent nation state intrusions into its systems Continue Reading
News 03 May 2024

Adobe expands bug bounty programme to account for GenAI

Adobe has expanded the scope of its HackerOne-driven bug bounty scheme to incorporate flaws and risks arising from the development of generative artificial intelligence Continue Reading
News 03 May 2024

Patch GitLab vuln without delay, users warned

The addition of a serious vulnerability in the GitLab open source platform to CISA’s KEV catalogue prompts a flurry of concern Continue Reading
News 03 May 2024

EU calls out Fancy Bear over attacks on Czech, German governments

The European Union, alongside member states Czechia and Germany, have accused Russian government APT Fancy Bear of being behind a series of attacks on political parties and government bodies Continue Reading
Definition 02 May 2024

What is the dark web (darknet)?

The dark web is an encrypted portion of the internet not visible to the general public via a traditional search engine such as Google. Continue Reading
News 02 May 2024

NCSC updates warning over hacktivist threat to CNI

The NCSC and CISA have warned about the evolving threat from Russia-backed hacktivist threat actors targeting critical national infrastructure, after a number of American utilities were attacked Continue Reading
News 02 May 2024

Dropbox Sign user information accessed in data breach

Account data belonging to Dropbox Sign users was accessed by an unknown threat actor after they hacked into the organisation’s backend infrastructure Continue Reading
News 02 May 2024

Ukrainian national sentenced over REvil ransomware spree

A 24-year-old Ukrainian man has been sentenced to more than 13 years in prison after being convicted of his role in the REvil ransomware attacks Continue Reading
News 02 May 2024

How Okta is fending off identity-based attacks

Okta has been bolstering the security of its own infrastructure and building new tools to scan customer environments for vulnerable identities, among other efforts to fend off identity-based attacks Continue Reading
News 01 May 2024

EMEA CISOs must address human factors behind cyber incidents

The 17th annual Verizon report on data breaches makes for sobering reading for security pros, urging them to do more to address the human factors involved in cyber incidents, and highlighting ongoing issues with zero-day patching Continue Reading
Opinion 01 May 2024

Better hygiene may mitigate the need to ban ransomware payments

In the wake of renewed calls for lawmakers to consider enacting legal bans on ransomware payments, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank weighs in to share their thoughts on how to tackle the scourge for good. Continue Reading
News 30 Apr 2024

Keeper to help Williams F1 keep up with cyber challenges

Keeper Security signs up to support F1 team Williams Racing with credential management ahead of the 2024 Miami Grand Prix Continue Reading
News 30 Apr 2024

Bad bot traffic in Australia grew 23% in 2023

Traffic from bad bots that perform malicious tasks accounted for 30.2% of Australia’s internet traffic in 2023 Continue Reading
Opinion 29 Apr 2024

Ransomware payment bans need universal buy-in

In the wake of renewed calls for lawmakers to consider enacting legal bans on ransomware payments, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank weighs in to share their thoughts on how to tackle the scourge for good. Continue Reading
Opinion 26 Apr 2024

Security Think Tank: Maybe let's negotiate with terrorists

In the wake of renewed calls for lawmakers to consider enacting legal bans on ransomware payments, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank weighs in to share their thoughts on how to tackle the scourge for good. Continue Reading
News 25 Apr 2024

Zero trust is a strategy, not a technology

Zero-trust security should be seen as a strategy to protect high-value assets and is not tied to a specific technology or product, says the model’s creator John Kindervag Continue Reading
Opinion 23 Apr 2024

Security Think Tank: Cyber sector, you have failed this community

In the wake of renewed calls for lawmakers to consider enacting legal bans on ransomware payments, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank weighs in to share their thoughts on how to tackle the scourge for good. Continue Reading
News 23 Apr 2024

GooseEgg proves golden for Fancy Bear, says Microsoft

Microsoft’s threat researchers have uncovered GooseEgg, a never-before-seen tool being used by Forest Blizzard, or Fancy Bear, in conjunction with vulnerabilities in Windows Print Spooler Continue Reading
Opinion 23 Apr 2024

Questions for IT and cyber leaders from the CSRB Microsoft report

The US government's CSRB report on last year's state sponsored cyber attacks on Microsoft raises significant concerns for Redmond and its customers. Expert Owen Sayers outlines five key questions IT and cyber security leaders should now consider Continue Reading
News 22 Apr 2024

Fujifilm plans to ‘make tape easy’ with Kangaroo SME appliance

Fujifilm to add 100TB SME-focused Kangaroo tape infrastructure in a box to existing 1PB offer, as energy efficiency and security of tape make it alluring to customers Continue Reading
News 18 Apr 2024

International police operation infiltrates LabHost phishing website used by thousands of criminals

The Metropolitan Police working with international police forces have shut down LabHost, a phishing-as-a-service website that has claimed 70,000 victims in the UK Continue Reading
News 18 Apr 2024

CSA warns of emerging security risks with cloud and AI

Few users appreciate the security risks of cloud and have the expertise to implement the complex security controls, says CSA chief executive David Koh Continue Reading
Opinion 18 Apr 2024

Security Think Tank: Approaches to ransomware need a course correction

In the wake of renewed calls for lawmakers to consider enacting legal bans on ransomware payments, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank weighs in to share their thoughts on how to tackle the scourge for good. Continue Reading
News 17 Apr 2024

Mandiant formally pins Sandworm cyber attacks on APT44 group

Mandiant has formally attributed a long-running campaign of cyber attacks by a Russian state actor known as Sandworm to a newly designated advanced persistent threat group to be called APT44 Continue Reading
News 16 Apr 2024

US provides assurances over extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

Extradition of the WikiLeaks founder moves a step closer after the US government gives diplomatic assurances over his treatment in the US. Assange supporters accuse the US of ‘weasel words’ Continue Reading
News 16 Apr 2024

CISOs not yet convinced to invest in AI

CISOs say their eyes are fixed firmly on threats like ransomware and supply chain attacks, and while AI is becoming a threat that needs to be dealt with, it’s not yet an immediate spending priority Continue Reading
News 16 Apr 2024

CW Innovation Awards: Balancing security and user experience

The National University of Singapore’s Safe initiative has strengthened the security of IT systems and end-user devices while prioritising user experience through passwordless access Continue Reading
Opinion 16 Apr 2024

2024 election security: Confronting disinformation and deepfakes

Although disinformation and deepfakes are a threat to electoral integrity, we already have ways to counter emerging threats and there is an opportunity is to adapt and scale these approaches to counter the challenge to democracy, writes Saj Huq. Continue Reading
News 16 Apr 2024

Recognising APAC’s trailblazers in digital transformation

DBS Bank and NUS were among the top industry innovators that were lauded for various transformational initiatives at the Computer Weekly Innovation Awards APAC 2024 Continue Reading
News 15 Apr 2024

More social engineering attacks on open source projects observed

In the wake of the recent XZ Utils scare, maintainers of another open source project have come forward to say they may have experienced similar social engineering attacks Continue Reading
Opinion 15 Apr 2024

Threat actors look to stolen credentials

In 2023, threat actors wrought havoc on corporate networks by logging in through valid accounts, and as bad actors begin investing in AI to help them identify priority targets, this problem is only expected to worsen in the future Continue Reading
News 12 Apr 2024

Apple iPhone security alert renews spyware concerns

An Apple security alert received by users in 92 countries raises fresh fears over ongoing campaigns by users of mercenary spyware products Continue Reading
News 10 Apr 2024

Cyber crooks poison GitHub search to fool developers

Researchers share data on new technique whereby malicious actors are manipulating GitHub’s search function and using cleverly crafted repositories to distribute malware Continue Reading
News 10 Apr 2024

Biden considering whether to end prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

US president Joe Biden says he is considering requests by Australia to end the prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange under espionage and computer fraud charges Continue Reading
News 09 Apr 2024

UK plc failing on multiple cyber measures

Government report shows 50% of businesses and 32% of charities reported a cyber attack or breach in the past 12 months and organisations across the UK are failing on multiple cyber measures Continue Reading
News 09 Apr 2024

Is a cyber arms control treaty out of reach?

The world needs cyber arms control more than ever, but the challenges facing a multilateral agreement will be hard to surmount, according to researchers at Germany’s Digital Society Institute Continue Reading
News 08 Apr 2024

UK vet network CVS hit by cyber attack

Operations at UK-based veterinary network CVS have been disrupted by a cyber incident of an as-yet undisclosed nature Continue Reading
News 05 Apr 2024

China ramps up use of AI misinformation

Microsoft researchers have identified a growing pattern of AI-laced misinformation and political interference coming from Chinese threat actors Continue Reading
News 05 Apr 2024

Europol offers law enforcement agencies data on Europe’s most threatening crime networks

Europol has collected and analysed data from over 40 countries to identify 800 most threatening criminal networks operating in Europe in what it describes as a unique dataset for law enforcemnt Continue Reading
News 05 Apr 2024

UKtech50 2024 – help us find the most influential people in UK IT

Computer Weekly’s annual search for the 50 most influential people in UK IT is on – let us know who you would like to nominate for this year's list Continue Reading
News 05 Apr 2024

How Oracle Red Bull Racing guards against cyber threats

The F1 team is tapping managed security services, conducting penetration tests and improving security awareness among employees to fend off cyber threats such as phishing and ransomware Continue Reading
News 04 Apr 2024

Changes needed for SOCs and CSIRTs, claims Dutch research institute

Cyber security specialists need a game-changer to keep up with their adversaries, who increasingly use automation and AI for their attacks Continue Reading
News 04 Apr 2024

Obituary: Professor Ross Anderson, pioneer in security engineering and campaigner

Ross Anderson, a titan in the field of security engineering and campaigner for privacy and security, has passed away Continue Reading
Opinion 03 Apr 2024

Security Think Tank: Banning ransomware payments is not so straightforward

In the wake of renewed calls for lawmakers to consider enacting legal bans on ransomware payments, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank weighs in to share their thoughts on how to tackle the scourge for good. Continue Reading
News 03 Apr 2024

RDP abused in over 90% of cyber attacks, Sophos finds

Threat actors continue to see great success using simple, tried and tested methods, and many defenders are failing to do the basics Continue Reading
News 03 Apr 2024

Ransomware kill switch may save 99% of files from encryption

MDR specialist Adlumin says its new features will help customers stop in-progress ransomware attacks before they can cause significant damage Continue Reading
Opinion 02 Apr 2024

Security Think Tank: How to tackle the scourge of ransomware?

In the wake of renewed calls for lawmakers to consider enacting legal bans on ransomware payments, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank weighs in to share their thoughts on how to tackle the scourge for good. Continue Reading
News 01 Apr 2024

Open source alert over intentionally placed backdoor

A backdoor in the open source XZ Utils data compression library could have led to widespread compromise across the Linux ecosystem - and the community is on the trail of a developer who seems to be behind it Continue Reading
Opinion 01 Apr 2024

Security Think Tank: Ransomware lessons from the armed forces

In the wake of renewed calls for lawmakers to consider enacting legal bans on ransomware payments, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank weighs in to share their thoughts on how to tackle the scourge for good. Continue Reading
News 29 Mar 2024

Organisations getting better at spotting identity fraud

As the barriers to committing identity fraud continue to drop, organisations should consider more sophisticated technical measures to successfully up their game, according to a report Continue Reading
News 28 Mar 2024

Sellafield to be prosecuted over alleged cyber compliance failure

Sellafield Ltd, the organisation responsible for cleaning up and decommissioning the UK's largest nuclear waste site, is to be prosecuted over alleged cyber security failings dating back to 2019 Continue Reading
News 27 Mar 2024

Ransomware gang leaks data stolen from Scottish NHS board

Data stolen from an earlier attack on NHS Dumfries and Galloway has been leaked by a ransomware gang that claims to be in possession of much more content Continue Reading
News 27 Mar 2024

Cyber spies, not cyber criminals, behind most zero-day exploitation

Analysis from Google has found that zero-day vulnerabilities are much more heavily exploited for espionage purposes than for financially motivated cyber crime Continue Reading
News 26 Mar 2024

Qilin ransomware gang claims cyber attack on the Big Issue

A ransomware attack on the systems of publisher and social enterprise Big Issue Group has been claimed by the Qilin gang Continue Reading
News 26 Mar 2024

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange given temporary reprieve over extradition

Court seeks assurances from the US that Assange will be given First Amendment Rights, will not prejudiced at trial because of his nationality, and will not be subject to the death penalty Continue Reading
News 26 Mar 2024

NCSC reaffirms guidance for those at risk of Chinese state hacking

As the UK and US governments announce sanctions and indictments of a Chinese state threat actor, the NCSC has reiterated its security advice for individuals at risk of being targeted for espionage purposes Continue Reading