Hackers and cybercrime prevention

GitHub warns Desktop, Atom users after code-signing certificates pinched

Threat actors stole encrypted code-signing certificates for GitHub’s Desktop and Atom applications in December 2022, prompting warnings for users Continue Reading

Royal Mail recovers more International Tracked services

Royal Mail is making further progress in recovering IT systems hit by a ransomware attack, and has re-enabled another tranche of international export services Continue Reading

ATO renews major Macquarie deal

The contract renewal will enable the Australian Tax Office to tap Macquarie’s security operations centre, among other services, to secure its IT environment and protect sensitive data Continue Reading

Data of 10 million JD Sports customers accessed in cyber attack

Data on 10 million people who shopped online at JD Sports over a two-year period was accessed and potentially stolen in a cyber attack Continue Reading

Hive ransomware gang taken down after FBI hacks back

The FBI hacked into Hive’s servers, stole its decryption keys and then took down its servers in a major action that has successfully disrupted a prolific and dangerous ransomware operation Continue Reading

Royal Mail resumes some international parcel services from UK

Royal Mail has successfully stood up its International Tracked and Signed, and International Signed, services as it continues to recover from a ransomware attack Continue Reading

Zero-trust implementations remain work in progress

Just one in 10 large enterprises are expected to have mature and measurable zero-trust programmes in place by 2026, study finds Continue Reading

NCSC exposes Iranian, Russian spear-phishing campaign targeting UK

Spear-phishing campaigns likely linked to Iranian and Russian espionage activity are targeting persons of interest in the UK, warns the NCSC Continue Reading

Arnold Clark cyber attack claimed by Play ransomware gang

A cyber attack that struck car dealer Arnold Clark prior to Christmas has been claimed as the work of the Play ransomware cartel Continue Reading

Boards struggle to resolve cyber risk in digital supply chains

Accelerated digitisation of supply chains is introducing more cyber risk for which many organisations seem unprepared, according to the BSI’s annual report on supply chain risk Continue Reading

Japan researchers develop new data encryption method

Researchers from Tokyo University of Science have combined the best of homomorphic encryption and secret sharing in a new method to handle encrypted data Continue Reading

Chinese IoT suppliers expose UK businesses to espionage and data theft

Chinese companies supplying network components, known as IoT modules, post a greater long-term threat to UK security than the now banned 5G supplier Huawei, according to a study by a Chinese expert and former diplomat Continue Reading

UK insurers need to up their game on cyber gaps, says PRA

Gaps and limitations in how insurers respond to cyber risk need to be addressed, according to the Bank of England regulator, the Prudential Regulation Authority Continue Reading

SSRF attacks hit 100,000 businesses globally since November

There has been a dramatic increase in attacks exploiting the ProxyNotShell/OWASSRF exploit chains to target Microsoft Exchange servers Continue Reading

Fake online contest makes Yahoo! most phished brand of Q4 2022

Yahoo! was the most frequently phished brand during the last three months of 2022, according to a report Continue Reading

The rise of fraud in pop culture is impacting consumers’ digital trust

Shows such as The Tinder Swindler and Inventing Anna were big money-earners for Netflix in 2022, but Onfido’s Mike Tuchen says their popularity risks damaging consumer trust Continue Reading

NCSC warning over cyber risk to charity sector

Cash-strapped charities without the resource to tackle their resilience deficit are increasingly at risk from malicious actors, says the NCSC Continue Reading

Royal Mail making limited progress on ransomware recovery

Royal Mail asks customers to hold back from sending post overseas as some services get back on track, while a report warns that disruptive attacks on critical infrastructure are set to become more common Continue Reading

International post resumes thanks to Royal Mail ‘workarounds’

Royal Mail has resumed limited international services after putting in place operational workarounds to bypass the impact of a ransomware attack Continue Reading

KFC, Pizza Hut parent shuts UK restaurants after cyber attack

A ransomware attack on Yum! Brands, the parent organisation of restaurants including KFC and Pizza Hut, was forced to shut approximately 300 outlets in the UK following a ransomware attack by an unspecified group Continue Reading

Fraudsters and cyber criminals stole more than £4bn in the UK through 2022

The amount of money stolen by fraudsters and cybercriminals in the UK saw a huge increase in 2022 Continue Reading

Mailchimp suffers third breach in 12 months

Email marketing service Mailchimp has suffered its third data breach in a year, but has been praised for being open about its latest attack Continue Reading

Ukraine CERT leaders touch down in London for talks

The UK’s NCSC has been hosting Ukrainian cyber security leaders for a round of bilateral talks on improving resilience Continue Reading

David Anderson KC to review UK surveillance laws

Home Office commissions independent review of the Investigatory Powers Act, known as the snoopers’ charter. It will include a review of bulk datasets and government access to internet connection records held by phone and internet companies Continue Reading

Oracle and CBI: companies cautious, selective in 2023 IT, business investment

Oracle and the CBI are seeing much the same picture of cautious technology investment of UK businesses in 2023, in the context of long Covid and the energy price inflation crisis Continue Reading

Ukraine cyber teams responded to more than 2,000 attacks in 2022

The Ukrainian authorities responded to more than 2,000 major cyber incidents during 2022, and are blocking thousands more potential attacks every day Continue Reading

Cloudflare urged to clamp down on pirates, counterfeiters

A whitepaper produced by brand protection specialist Corsearch calls on Cloudflare to do more to stop online content piracy and sales of counterfeit goods Continue Reading

Crest throws support behind CyberUp CMA reform campaign

Cyber accreditation association Crest International has lent its support to the CyberUp campaign for reform to the Computer Misuse Act of 1990 Continue Reading

Royal Mail promises ‘workarounds’ to restore services after ransomware attack

Royal Mail CEO Simon Thompson apologises to customers whose businesses are being disrupted by a ransomware attack and promises a ‘workaround’ will be in place in the near future Continue Reading

LockBit cartel suspected of Royal Mail cyber attack

The still-developing cyber incident at Royal Mail may be the work of the infamous LockBit ransomware operation Continue Reading

Companies warned to step up cyber security to become ‘insurable’

Investing in better IT security to protect against cyber crime will make businesses more resilient against other risks  Continue Reading

Chrome vulnerability could have led to widespread data theft

A dangerous vulnerability in Google Chrome and Chromium-based browsers could have put billions of users’ files at risk of being stolen Continue Reading

Guardian confirms Christmas 2022 cyber attack was ransomware

Guardian Media Group bosses confirm the 20 December cyber attack that left staff locked out of its London office and disrupted several key systems was an untargeted ransomware attack Continue Reading

Royal Mail services hit by major cyber attack

UK postal service Royal Mail is asking customers not to send any overseas letters or parcels while it deals with the impact of an ongoing cyber attack Continue Reading

Should we be worried about malicious use of AI language models?

WithSecure research into GPT-3 language models, used by the likes of ChatGPT, surfaces concerning findings about how easy it is to use large language models for malicious purposes. Should security teams be concerned? Continue Reading

Microsoft fixes EoP zero-day on January Patch Tuesday

On the first Patch Tuesday of 2023, Microsoft fixed an elevation of privilege vulnerability in Windows Advanced Local Procedure Call, which has been actively exploited in the wild and may be co-opted into ransomware campaigns Continue Reading

Davos 2023: Pervasive cyber crime and cyber security gaps pose severe risk to organisations

Governments and organisations face tough trade-offs as they balance immediate problems caused by economic recession, energy shortages and rising interest rates with longer-term risks, including the impact of global warming Continue Reading

New APT group targets ASEAN governments and militaries

The Dark Pink advanced persistent threat group used custom malware to exfiltrate data from high-profile targets through spear-phishing emails last year, according to Group-IB Continue Reading

Insurer Beazley introduces catastrophe bond to ease cyber risk

Insurance company Beazley says that its $45m cyber catastrophe bond will help to protect its balance sheet and enable it to offer more cyber insurance cover Continue Reading

JPMorgan ordered to face lawsuit over cyber attack on Ray-Ban maker

US banking giant JPMorgan forced to respond to accusations that it failed to inform a business customer about suspicious transactions Continue Reading

Vulnerable organisations to get free Cyber Essentials support

Charities and legal aid firms are among those to be offered free security checks and certifications from the National Cyber Security Centre Continue Reading

Proposed digital fraud refund rules risk excluding many victims

Proposals to establish a fraud refund mechanism in the UK risk excluding many victims of digitally enabled fraud, a major bank has warned Continue Reading

Russia’s Turla falls back on old malware C2 domains to avoid detection

Mandiant says it has observed the Russian APT UNC2410, also known as Turla, re-registering expired or sinkholed domains previously used by financially motivated cyber criminals Continue Reading

Vice Society cyber gang targeted multiple UK schools

The Vice Society ransomware gang has made a habit of attacking educational institutions, and now appears to have struck multiple schools, colleges and universities in the UK Continue Reading

Meta to appeal £345m fine for Facebook and Instagram privacy breaches

Social media company Meta is to appeal after the Irish Data Protection Commission fined the company for breaching GDPR Continue Reading

Cyber gang abused free trials to exploit public cloud CPU resources

A South Africa-based cyber crime gang exploited free trials and introductory offers to run cryptominers via public cloud services, then did a runner without paying Continue Reading

Warning over ransomware attacks spreading via Fortinet kit

Following the disclosure of a critical vulnerability in October 2022, Fortinet VPN devices were exploited in two known ransomware attacks, with access likely sold on the dark web Continue Reading

Fallout from Guardian cyber attack to last at least a month

The Guardian newspaper’s offices remained shut into the New Year following a supposed ransomware attack, with disruption likely to last some time Continue Reading

Cashless Denmark has no bank robberies in a year for first time

Denmark saw no bank robberies in a single year for the first time ever, but online fraud continues to increase Continue Reading

Securing low Earth orbit represents the new space race

The barriers to launching satellites into low Earth orbit are falling fast, and that brings new cyber security challenges Continue Reading

China and India governments among top targets for cyber attackers

Chinese and Indian governments targeted by hacktivists and ransomware groups out to make statement or expose flaws in their respective security postures Continue Reading

Cyber security professionals share their biggest lessons of 2022

In the run-up to 2023, cyber security professionals are taking the time to reflect on the past few months and share their biggest lessons of 2022 Continue Reading

How does red teaming test the ultimate limits of cyber security?

An expert ethical hacker reveals how he goes about carrying out a red team exercise Continue Reading

Why the current fraud model is broken, and how to fix it

Scammers and fraudsters are catching up with the good guys; a new technological approach is needed to fight skyrocketing volumes of digital fraud, says Darwinium founder Alisdair Faulkner Continue Reading

Complaints that NCA failed in duty of candour over EncroChat warrants ‘incredible’, court hears

NCA lawyers argue that a decision by an NCA intelligence officer to disclose notes of a key meeting after two-and-a-half years boosts her credibility as a witness Continue Reading

Top 10 ASEAN IT stories of 2022

Despite the challenges over the past year, ASEAN businesses have taken things in stride as they press on with digital transformation, whether it is empowering citizen developers or building cloud-native applications Continue Reading

Top 10 India IT stories of 2022

We recap the top 10 stories in India, including the digitisation work undertaken by global firms in the country and the progress made by local enterprises in harnessing technology Continue Reading

NCA ‘wrong-footed’ defence lawyers after agreeing to take expert evidence on EncroChat ‘as read’

The National Crime Agency argued at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal that expert evidence it agreed to ‘take as read’ is limited, flawed and often based on an incorrect interpretation of the law Continue Reading

Mitiga researchers disclose AWS Elastic IP hijacking vulnerability

Cloud incident response supplier Mitiga has said a new AWS feature has led to a vulnerability that could allow hackers to access and steal Elastic IP addresses and gain control over AWS accounts Continue Reading

Top 10 cyber security stories of 2022

The war in Ukraine loomed large over the cyber security news agenda, but 2022 also saw growing awareness of open source security, discussion around cyber insurance, and more besides Continue Reading

Top 10 crime, national security and law stories of 2022

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 crime, national security and law stories of 2022 Continue Reading

Top 10 cyber crime stories of 2022

Cyber crime continued to hit the headlines in 2022, with impactful cyber attacks abounding, digitally enabled fraud ever more widespread and plenty of ransomware incidents Continue Reading

Top 10 ANZ IT stories of 2022

We recap the top 10 stories in Australia and New Zealand, including the opportunities and challenges that organisations in the region have faced over the past year Continue Reading

A sticky story: How, and why, hackers love stickers on laptops

We’ve all seen laptops adorned with security stickers and in-jokes, but how did this cyber community trend get started, what does it signify, and what does it say about the humans behind the screens? Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: 2022 brought plenty of learning opportunities in cyber

At the end of another busy 12 months, Turnkey Consulting’s Andrew Morris sums up some of the most important takeaways for cyber pros Continue Reading

Defence lawyers claim NCA witness gave unreliable evidence on EncroChat hacking operation

National Crime Agency argues that the lawfulness of surveillance warrants issued to hack the EncroChat phone network should only be considered in the light of facts and assessments known at the time Continue Reading

UK unis implement new IP traffic policies to combat ransomware

Jisc will introduce new measures to protect UK universities and research institutions from ransomware attacks that exploit the Remote Desktop Protocol remote-access feature Continue Reading

Lego fixes dangerous API vulnerability in BrickLink service

The Lego Group has remediated two potentially serious API vulnerabilities in its BrickLink digital resale platform, just in time for Christmas Continue Reading

Cops dismantle 48 DDoS-for-hire websites

An operation combining law enforcement from the UK, US, Netherlands and Europol has disrupted 48 of the world’s most popular DDoS booter websites Continue Reading

NCA officer questioned in Investigatory Powers Tribunal over failure to disclose EncroChat notes

EncroChat hacking warrant was unlawful and in breach of human rights law, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal hears Continue Reading

Advanced Azov data wiper likely to become active threat

Check Point deep dives into an emergent data wiper strain known as Azov, which is making waves with hundreds of new samples being submitted to VirusTotal daily Continue Reading

Ethical hackers flex their muscles in 2022

Ethical hackers working through HackerOne programmes found 21% more vulnerabilities in 2022 than in 2021 Continue Reading

Crime Stoppers Tasmania debuts new reporting portal

Reporting tool will enable the public to share crime-related information with law enforcement agencies to support policing in Tasmania Continue Reading

Finnish government launches information security voucher scheme

Finland’s government is offering businesses financial support to help them improve their cyber security Continue Reading

More Uber data exposed in possible supply chain attack

A second incident affecting ride-sharing app Uber appears to have originated through a third party in a supply chain attack Continue Reading

Customer frustrations mount as Rackspace investigation proceeds

Rackspace says it is making progress on restoring services following a ransomware attack on its Hosted Exchange business, but customers are becoming frustrated with a lack of communication Continue Reading

Top IT predictions in APAC in 2023

Robotics, cross-cloud data mobility and cyber insurance are some of the key trends that will shape Asia-Pacific’s technology landscape in 2023 Continue Reading

How Zscaler is cracking APAC’s cloud security market

Zscaler’s head in Asia-Pacific and Japan talks up the company’s growth momentum in the region and what it is doing to address areas where it can do better Continue Reading

CIISec, DCMS to fund vocational cyber courses for A-level students

The Chartered Institute of Information Security and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport plan to fund vocational cyber qualifications for 300 teenagers Continue Reading

Iranian APT seen exploiting GitHub repository as C2 mechanism

A subgroup of the Iran-linked Cobalt Mirage APT group has been caught taking advantage of the GitHub open source project as a means to operate its latest custom malware Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: 2022 changed how we thought about resilience

Increasing cyber resilience is at the heart of the people-processes-technology triangle, and 2022 saw shifts in all three of these aspects, says PA Consulting’s Sharon Shochat Continue Reading

Too many secrets: What can today’s cyber teams learn from a 30-year-old film?

Despite being 30 years old, Sneakers remains a classic hacker film. The technology may have dated, but the underlying themes remain relevant and remind us about the threats lurking online Continue Reading

Apple to tap third party for physical security keys

Apple is launching a number of new security protections, including the addition of third-party-provided hardware security keys Continue Reading

CW Europe: Finland prepares for drone technology take-off

Finland is preparing for a future where it could rely on flying drone technology. Read about its plans in this issue. Also find out how a PhD student in the Netherlands is helping to detect hidden messages on the internet by using steganography. Continue Reading

Cyber threats to Europe’s grid: Utilities rethink strategy

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Australia to develop new cyber security strategy

New strategy to be developed by top cyber security experts aims to turn Australia into a global cyber leader, among other goals Continue Reading

Rackspace email outage confirmed as ransomware attack

An ongoing outage affecting Rackspace email customers is the result of a ransomware attack Continue Reading

Google, MS, Oracle vulnerabilities make November ’22 a big month for patching

Vulnerabilities affecting the likes of Google, Microsoft and Oracle proved particularly troublesome in November Continue Reading

Industrial IoT focus of next NCSC startup challenge

The NCSC for Startups programme is looking for innovative ideas to encrypt and secure the industrial internet of things Continue Reading

Don’t become an unwitting tool in Russia’s cyber war

Researchers have turned up evidence that enterprise networks are being co-opted by Russian threat actors to launch attacks against targets in Ukraine. How can you avoid becoming an unwitting tool in a state-backed attack? Continue Reading

AWS mutes trash talk at Re:Invent – Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast

The team chats through the AWS Re:Invent conference, as well as an initiative for getting young women into cyber security, and how SAP Build travelled from Vegas to SAP users in Birmingham Continue Reading

Is Twitter still safe, and should you stop using the platform?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, with a litany of security and compliance issues caused by Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, we ask if it’s still safe for enterprises. Our latest buyer’s guide examines the technologies and best practices behind data visualisation. And we look at the emerging devices for accessing the metaverse. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Fake investment ads persist on Meta’s social networks

Online adverts for investment scams relating to property and crypto assets are still getting past measures designed to stop them Continue Reading

Cohesity doubles down on cyber-defence failings via backup

Datahawk service and Data Security Alliance bring clean data restores, ransomware artefact detection, data vaulting and data audit for a clearer understanding of attack impact Continue Reading

French cyber consultancy Hackuity sets up UK operation

Risk-based vulnerability management company is to establish a UK base of operations in the hope of expanding its enterprise client base Continue Reading

Twitter ‘replacement’ Hive Social shuts off service in privacy alert

Hive Social, a recently established social media network, has temporarily closed its servers to address deep structural privacy issues identified by ethical hackers Continue Reading

MI6 chief’s hacked emails attacked MI5 and betrayed British spy operations in China

Former UK spy boss Richard Dearlove leaked names of MI6 secret agent recruiters in China to back an aggressive right-wing US campaign against tech company Huawei. His emails were hacked and then leaked – probably by Russian intelligence Continue Reading

LastPass probes new cyber incident related to August attack

The August 2022 cyber attack on LastPass seems to have begat another incident, according to company CEO Karim Toubba Continue Reading

Ransomware: Is there hope beyond the overhyped?

Up-and-coming cyber concepts attack surface management and security mesh architectures seem to hold some promise in tackling ransomware, but they are a little way off maturity Continue Reading

South Staffs Water customer data leaked after ransomware attack

Personal data of water utility’s direct debit customers exposed on the dark web following a Clop ransomware attack Continue Reading