Editor's News

New figures from the FCA show that reported data hacking attacks against financial services companies have quadrupled in the last year. The new statistics, contained in a freedom of information response to audit, tax and consulting firm RSM, show that reported incidents of loss of data resulting from hacking have risen from 4 in 2016 to 17 in 2017. There were also two separate incidents of ‘data leakage’ reported to the FCA. The figures also...

A new report by Capgemini’s Digital Transformation Institute highlights an urgent and growing cybersecurity talent gap, calling for new recruitment and retention strategies to help organisations contain cyber risks and build competitive advantage. The report, Cybersecurity Talent: The Big Gap in Cyber Protection, demonstrates that of all the digital skills necessary for organisations with aspirations of digital leadership, cybersecurity represents the biggest gap between demand for those skills and internal supply. The report surveyed over 1,200...

Over the last few years, we’ve noticed a significant rise in the use of blockchain within the industry. Blockchain this. Blockchain that. It seems to be the talk of the cyber town. However, there seems to be an air of uncertainty that surrounds blockchain, and I’m sure there are many out there that share the same opinion. With $8.1 billion expected to be spent on blockchain services by 2021, this is the perfect time to...

By Roman Sannikov, Director of European Research and Analysis, Flashpoint   The tumultuous state of global politics that defined 2017 continues to shape the motivations and schemes of a wide range of adversaries. In October, CNBC reported two Czech election websites were hacked and that, after Catalonia’s independence referendum was ruled illegal, the website for Spain’s Constitutional Court was taken down by a DDoS attack. These are just two of many examples that align with...

The Positive Technologies experts discovered vulnerabilities in WhatsUp Gold by Ipswitch. This software allows automatic detection of network resources and their interaction, defining network status and availability, and for managing configuration. "Use of the vulnerable version of WhatsUp Gold in a manufacturing company may cause cyberincidents and even disrupt the technological process," says Head of ICS Security at Positive Technologies Vladimir Nazarov. "Such products might have access to a significant part of network equipment, including...

Over 130 competitors from 18 of the UK’s leading cyber security universities will pit their skills against one another in a two-day cyber security competition organised by the University of Cambridge. Now in its third year, the Inter-ACE is supported by GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre to attract the best young minds into careers in the sector. Up for grabs is £10,000 in cash prizes and the opportunity to compete against the best of the...

Attacks like WannaCry and NotPetya were highly destructive on a scale never seen before. The disruption has still left some organisations suffering from the financial repercussions. The reach of the attacks shocked many within the cyber industry and just this month, Ciaran Martin, the head of the National Cyber Security Centre, warned UK organisations to fear ‘reckless’ cyber attacks – like the WannaCry ransomware virus – where the perpetrator seemed to lose control. WannaCry is...

The number of Microsoft vulnerabilities have more than doubled in the last five years, according to the fifth annual Microsoft Vulnerabilities Report from Avecto.   The global security software company’s analysis of all disclosed Microsoft vulnerabilities in 2017 revealed 685 vulnerabilities, highlighting a significant increase compared to the number disclosed in 2013 (325).   Despite being widely regarded as the most secure Windows operating system, the number of Critical vulnerabilities in Windows 10 rose by...

Security and risk management leaders must take a pragmatic and risk-based approach to the ongoing threats posed by an entirely new class of vulnerabilities, according to Gartner, Inc. "Spectre" and "Meltdown" are the code names given to different strains of a new class of attacks that target an underlying exploitable design implementation inside the majority of computer chips manufactured over the last 20 years.   Security researchers revealed three major variants of attacks in January...

RiskIQ, the leader in digital threat management, today announced the release of its 2018 CISO Survey, revealing that 89.1 percent of all information security leaders are concerned about the rise of digital threats they are experiencing across web, social and mobile channels.   Some 1,691 U.S. and U.K information security leaders across multiple verticals, including enterprise, consulting, government and education, provided insights into their cyber risk concerns and plans for 2018.   Overall, the survey...