The ICO has fined the Conservative Party £10,000 for sending unlawful marketing emails to people who did not want to receive them. Breach The ICO has decided that after an investigation into emails sent from the Conservative Party, in the name of Rt Hon Boris......
A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) survey has found that half of UK businesses expect to reduce the size of their office space, and one-third expect to reduce it by 30 percent. Reduce Size of Real Estate Portfolio The Occupier Survey of 258 of the UK’s largest......
In this article, we take a brief look at what a VPN is, how it works, its advantages, plus its disadvantages. What Is A VPN? A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a service that allows you to create a secure connection to another network over......
It is easy to think that cyber-attacks are likely to come from outsiders unconnected to the business, but how much do you know about the security of your digital supply chain? Software Supply Chain Risks Businesses use many different third-party software tools as part of......
Police in Sandwell in the West Midlands recently discovered a warehouse that had been converted to an operation to illegally supply large quantities of electricity for Bitcoin mining. Same Heat & Electricity Profile as a Cannabis Farm The warehouse was raided by police after the......
After a recent high profile media story highlighted how poor router security led to a police raid of the home of an innocent family, we take a look at how Wi-Fi piggybacking attacks against home and domestic targets, and VoIP hacking of businesses worldwide are......
In this article we take a look at what bandwidth is, ways to improve bandwidth, and we look at how bandwidth ‘throttling’ is used. Bandwidth Bandwidth refers to the maximum amount of data that can be transferred from one point to another over an internet......
With many of us now owning tech items such as laptops, desktops, and printers, we look at the best ways to prepare tech hardware for a safe journey to a new home. Tech Owners An Aviva survey from 2020 showed that the average UK home......
As part of Google’s latest security updates to Chrome and Android, users will not only be alerted if any of the passwords in their Password manager are compromised but will also be given the opportunity to make a quick fix. Quick Fix – Change Password......
Google has announced the release of the first beta of Android 12 which has a range of new features including some security measures which Google hopes can match those of Apple. Design Change Announced recently at a developer conference, and on Google’s blog, the addition......
With Barclays Bank recently publishing the figures of refunds it made to customers who fell victim to authorised push payment (APP) fraud, there have been calls for greater transparency and reform to the current (voluntary) reimbursement code. Authorised Push Payment (APP) Fraud APP refers to......
In this article, we take a brief look at what a firewall is, what types there are, and the benefits and drawbacks of firewalls. Firewall A firewall is a network security system that can monitor and control incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined......
Drop-in audio conversation social network app ‘Clubhouse’ has launched its Android (beta) version for download in the UK. Clubhouse Android Launched In English-Speaking Countries San Francisco-based Clubhouse announced on May 9 that, starting in the U.S., and quickly following in other English-speaking countries, it was......
With AI recently in the spotlight in Europe over the need to regulate over some ‘unacceptable use’, some experts are warning of the threat of AI keystroke reading spy tools. Possibilities Companies like TypingDNA developing AI biometric verification (back in 2017) based on recognising the......
With Google recently committing to phasing out third-party cookies as Firefox and Safari have already done, we take a brief look at the possible alternatives and replacements for using cookies to track and understand user behaviour. Cookies Cookies are pieces of code/small text files used......
In this article, we take a brief look at the importance of patch management in maintaining security. Patches and Patch Management Patches are the software fixes for known security vulnerabilities in software such as operating systems, third-party applications, cloud-platforms, and embedded systems. Patch management is......
Why migrating to the cloud does come with risks that need to be addressed. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, digital transformation has become essential for enterprises forced to adapt to new working conditions. Many organizations had already started their digital journey at the......
Corporate leaders are increasingly elevating the importance of cybersecurity to their companies. But recent high-profile attacks show how much more needs to be done in the year ahead. Here are the five biggest cybersecurity challenges that must be overcome. The far-reaching cybersecurity breaches of 2020,......
The transition into permanent remote working is inescapable now. Countless articles, morning talk shows and widely-shared social media polls have all indicated this irreversible trajectory. There is simply no recourse to ‘un-ring that bell’. What may have started off as a necessity to adhere to social distancing regulations is......
Covid-19 changed the way of working. Most people, due to lockdown, were forced to move to remote working. It proved to be effective, even though there were some exceptions. The pandemic turned the whole world upside down. Many employers are sure that despite a number of errors,......
Let’s take a look ahead at the biggest technology trends set to shape 2021. In a recent McKinsey survey, executives said the share of digital products in their companies accelerated by seven years in just a few months. According to Shopify, there was 10 years’......
Looking back on a year of unprecedented uncertainty, countless lessons have been learned across the board for everyone, including cyber security leaders and experts. The overnight change in working patterns meant millions of employees suddenly had to work from home, putting huge strain on access......
A majority of UK businesses are failing to adequately train their remote working employees to spot security threats, according to new research from iomart. The cloud services company based its Cyber Security Insights Report on the views of 1167 UK workers at C-level, director, manager and employee......
Although the pandemic forced employees around the world to adopt makeshift remote work setups, a growing proportion of the workforce already spent at least part of their week working from home, while some businesses had embraced a “work-from-anywhere” philosophy from their inception. But much as virtual events rapidly......
One of the unexpected silver linings to the global coronavirus crisis has been the rapid growth the cloud industry has enjoyed. The shift to remote working during the various lockdowns that have taken place over the course of 2020, was largely, if not entirely, facilitated......
The security challenges posed by remote working aren’t solved through technology alone It is now almost a cliché to suggest 2020 has been a year like no other. From full national lockdowns to widespread limitations on social interaction, it’s hard to imagine how anyone, anywhere......
Making conference calls on the go could soon be easier than ever thanks to a major upgrade to Microsoft Teams. According to a Microsoft blog post, the firm has streamlined the calling experience in Teams, bringing call history, voicemail, contacts and the dial pad together......
The world has seemed a better place lately, with improved optimism around an effective Covid vaccine. As one expert commented, we are not out of the woods yet but it seems like we are on the right path. What is becoming more apparent, though, is......
Square Enix shifting to permanent remote work makes the transition seem inevitable, but it needs to be embraced for the right reasons This week, Square Enix’s Japanese operations announced that the remote working arrangements put into place to cope with COVID-19 are being made permanent.......
As companies acclimate to remote working, it’s more important than ever to have functional, well-integrated software that can help co-workers connect with each other and share information — without needing to call a meeting. Enter Microsoft Teams. Like other workplace integration programs, such as Slack,......
The pandemic has changed so much about our lives, including how we work. COVID-19 forced companies to switch to remote working quickly, but as more and more people work from home for more extended periods, many believe it will become the new normal for the......
A hotel software provider has exposed the personal data of millions of guests around the world after misconfiguring an AWS bucket, according to a new report from Website Planet. The tech site’s security team discovered an exposed cloud database belonging to Spanish developer Prestige Software,......
Nearly three-quarters (73%) of security and IT executives are concerned about additional risks posed to their organization by a distributed workforce since COVID-19, according to the Skybox Security 2020 Cybersecurity in the New Normal: Securing the Distributed Workforce report. In the survey of 295 executives, the security firm reported......
Rising cybercrime and remote working have become a serious concern for cybersecurity professionals. Covid-19 has drastically changed the working environment in all corporate environments all over the globe. Working from home has become the new normal, creating a cybersecurity threat in the process. To know......
Microsoft Teams calls are about to get a whole lot bigger after the company confirmed that chats will soon accommodate up to 1,000 participants. With coronavirus restrictions being re-imposed in many countries, the ability to collaborate in larger groups could prove hugely useful to businesses.......
A new way to work and learn for a new digital age When the pandemic first instigated a global shift to remote work, videoconferencing emerged as an immediate solution to work-from-home restrictions. But as the initial era of “remote everything” has given way to durable, hybrid models of work and learning, we’ve entered a new digital age that is completely transforming how we work and learn—today and for the next decade. To connect, collaborate,......
Microsoft no longer provides support or bug fixes for Office 2010. What should you do if you’re stuck on the ten-year-old version of Office? Microsoft has officially curtailed support for Office 2010 as of Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020. That means the ageing version of Microsoft......
As the coronavirus pandemic shows no sign of abating, can teams remain productive? The last few months have been challenging for all businesses. As governments across the world took the step of enforcing lockdowns to confront the Covid-19 pandemic, most organisations went from gathering every......
A range of strategies and practices to address security in the cloud were outlined by Stuart Hirst, principal cloud security engineer at Just Eat during a session at the Infosecurity Online event. Hirst began by outlining the increasing importance of the cloud, stating that all companies are in......
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been chatting with people at four multi-national companies I work with who’ve seen productivity and revenue increase during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have been surprisingly consistent about why they’ve benefited from this New Normal. I’ve also been following......
The pandemic has accelerated the move to digital transformation, forcing IT and cybersecurity teams to evaluate how they work to ensure that organisations remain secure. In particular, challenges have included the widespread adoption of hardware packages but also guaranteeing that employees have 24/7 access to their organizations’ IT......
The fine against British Airways for GDPR failings has been reduced to £20m from the original £183m intent to fine issued last July. An ICO investigation found the airline was processing a significant amount of personal data without adequate security measures in place, leading to......
Ransomware was the most observed threat in 2020, according to a global corporate investigations and risk consulting firm based in New York City. Kroll‘s proprietary data on cyber incident response cases shows that ransomware attacks accounted for over one-third of all cases as of September......
UK school payment service Wisepay has revealed that the card details of parents who made transactions on its site between October 2 and 5 have been compromised. This was after Wisepay’s website was hacked, resulting in an attacker harvesting payment details via a spoof page.......
More than one in five (21%) UK workers feel more vulnerable to cybercrime since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study by PwC. Stress or fatigue was the most common factor (35%) cited by those workers, followed by lack of skills and......
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) received over 521,582 malicious emails over the past three months. According to data obtained by think tank Parliament Street, an average of over 5000 spam, phishing and malware attacks were recorded by the organization in the three month period between June......
Around one in three (31%) people in the UK are not actively concerned about cybersecurity, according to a study by ESET. In a survey of 2000 UK citizens, which looked at their cybersecurity habits, more than half (57%) do not believe they’ve been hacked and 46%......
Ransomware gangs are performing wide-ranging internet scans to find vulnerable systems and then accelerating attacks to just minutes to capitalize on COVID-19, Microsoft has warned. Corporate VP of customer security and trust, Tom Burt, revealed the findings in a blog post introducing the firm’s Digital Defense......
A European fashion retailer has become the latest big-name brand to expose personal data on millions of its customers after misconfiguring a cloud database. Researchers at vpnMentor discovered the unencrypted Elasticsearch server on June 28 and parent company BrandBQ finally secured it around a month......
Most UK firms are set to increase digital adoption after admitting that the cloud saved their business from collapse during the early months of the COVID-19 crisis, but security remains a persistent challenge, according to new research. Identity management vendor Centrify surveyed 200 business decision-makers......
The way cybersecurity awareness training is conducted in organizations has a huge bearing on employees’ subsequent security outlook and behaviours, according to a new report from Osterman Research. The researchers discovered that users who found security training “very interesting” were over 13-times more likely to make......
Over a third of government and enterprise users have been given privileged access despite not needing it, potentially exposing their organization to greater cyber-risk, according to Forcepoint. The security vendor polled nearly 1900 privileged users in the UK and US to better understand the current......
The Covid-19 pandemic has forced a massive shift to remote work. It is clear that, going forward, a much larger percentage of workers will work remotely. Organisations that deployed quick, short-term solutions for remote workers must now consider what will serve business goals and employees......
The UK government has redoubled its efforts to get workers back in the office, even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. But most employees seem content remaining at home. Though large sections of the UK economy have re-opened, office workers in Britain continue to work from......
The COVID-19 pandemic – and the lockdowns that followed last spring – wrought changes across IT operations and strategy as businesses and employees adjusted to a new environment. But what changes were made, and which ones are likely to last? Spiceworks Ziff Davis, a B2B......
Over half (56%) of UK businesses plan to increase their digital skills training budgets for staff next year, suggesting changes to working practices as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic will be sustained. This is according to a survey of 200 senior business decision makers......
Global gaming hardware manufacturing company Razer leaked the personal information of around 100,000 customers by storing their data in an Elasticsearch cluster that was misconfigured to enable public access, security researcher Bob Diachenko has revealed. The personal information of around 100,000 Razer customers was stored......
Digital Infrastructure Minister Matt Warman today announced £500,000 in fresh government funding to help medical suppliers, primary care providers, and other businesses in the healthcare sector boost their cyber security. The fresh government funding comes in response to the National Cyber Security Centre’s assessment that......
Security researchers have discovered hundreds of vulnerabilities across major hotel and airline and travel booking websites, some of which have already suffered major breaches. UK-based consumer rights group Which? and tech consultancy 6point6 studied 98 travel sector companies, probing websites, subdomains, employee portals and other......
Millions of WordPress sites are being probed in automated attacks looking to exploit a recently discovered plugin vulnerability, according to security researchers. Wordfence, which itself produces a plugin for the platform, revealed news of the zero-day bug at the start of September. It affects File Manager which,......
The world’s largest webmaster form has been found wanting in terms of its cybersecurity posture after researchers discovered an unprotected database leaking data on nearly 900,000 users. Digital Point provides a platform for members to chat and buy and sell websites, domains and digital services.......
New research from Kaspersky has discovered that of the 32% of Brits provided with a corporate desktop computer, only 77% have adequate anti-virus or cybersecurity software installed, leaving 23% of company desktops significantly insecure and exposed to cyber-threats. This is also the case for company......
A family of Android apps is using the lure of free items to distribute a novel ad fraud botnet. Victims of the scam are told that they will receive a complimentary gift when they download an app from the Google Play Store. However, the only......
A vulnerability in the TeamViewer app could allow malicious actors to steal passwords. The high-severity flaw was discovered in the desktop version of the app for Windows before 15.8.3. By exploiting the weakness, authenticated threat actors operating remotely could execute code on victims’ systems or crack their TeamViewer......
