Web application security

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ethical hackers flex their muscles in 2022

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

Microsoft fixes two zero-days in final Patch Tuesday of 2022

December’s Patch Tuesday is typically a light month for Microsoft, and this year proved no exception, but there are still several critical issues worth addressing, and two zero-days for defenders to pore over 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

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

When IT Meets Christmas: The Massacre of the Innocents Updated

But Joseph had installed  Anti-Spyware on Mary's phone, after she became pregnant and not by him. So they cashed in their bitcoin, dropped their mobiles down a well and departed for Egypt.  Continue Reading

Consumers to get new protections against dodgy apps

Government’s new code of practice will impose new privacy and security measures on app store operators and developers Continue Reading

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

Is Elon Musk’s Twitter still safe, and should you stop using the platform?

With a litany of security and compliance issues exposed and in many cases caused by Elon Musk’s takeover of social media platform Twitter, some may be asking if it’s still safe or appropriate to use. 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

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

Cyber criminals exploiting naked TikTok ‘challenge’

Malware operators lured targets by promising them they would be able to view nude videos of TikTok users Continue Reading

Plexal inducts six into cyber leadership scheme

Tech innovation hub Plexal is expanding its Cyber Runway programme with a new Ignite strand dedicated to supporting high-potential security leaders Continue Reading

Not-for-profit aims to encourage 1,300 girls into cyber careers

CyNam, a not-for-profit cyber security initiative, is collaborating with industry, education providers and government to encourage young women into cyber Continue Reading

Ducktail spins new tales to hijack Facebook Business accounts

The increasingly active Ducktail cyber crime operation is refining its operations, seeking new methods to compromise its victims’ Facebook Business accounts Continue Reading

Bug Bounty Calculator helps organisations fine-tune their payouts

Newly launched comparison tool will supposedly help operators of vulnerability disclosure or bug bounty programmes to ensure their payments match market rates and expectations, and attract the right sort of attention Continue Reading

Is Elon Musk’s Twitter safe, and should you stop using it?

With a litany of security and compliance issues exposed and in many cases caused by Elon Musk’s takeover of social media platform Twitter, some may be asking if it’s still safe or appropriate to use Continue Reading

How Google and Mandiant are forging synergies in cyber security

Google’s AI smarts and Mandiant’s intelligence on new and emerging threats could lay the foundation of proactive security Continue Reading

Microsoft serves smorgasbord of six zero-days

November’s Patch Tuesday fixes significantly fewer vulnerabilities of late, but includes six actively-exploited zero-days, three of them of critical severity Continue Reading

Microsoft: Nation-state cyber attacks became increasingly destructive in 2022

The willingness of nation-state actors to conduct destructive cyber attacks is a source of grave concern, as Microsoft’s latest annual Digital Defence Report lays bare Continue Reading

The Security Interviews: Building trust online

Consumer reviews website Trustpilot has built and scaled its IT security team and is now turning to agile methods and DevSecOps to further enhance its cyber capabilities Continue Reading

OpenSSL vulnerabilities ‘not as bad as feared’

As previously trailed, OpenSSL patched two buffer overflow vulnerabilities, neither of them as impactful as had been feared Continue Reading

Prepare today for potentially high-impact OpenSSL bug

OpenSSL trailed a critical vulnerability patch last week, which will be only the second such flaw ever found in the open source encryption project. Unfortunately, the first was Heartbleed Continue Reading

LinkedIn adds new features to safeguard user privacy, security

Social media platform is adding a number of features and systems designed to protect legitimate users from inauthentic profiles and activity Continue Reading

What do the US’s new software security rules mean for UK organisations?

The White House announced recently that all software supplied to the US government and its agencies needs to be secure, so what does this mean for the UK and EU security sectors? Continue Reading

Apache vulnerability a risk, but not as widespread as Log4Shell

A newly disclosed Apache Commons Text vulnerability may put many at risk, but does not appear to be as impactful or widespread as Log4Shell Continue Reading

Virtually all vulnerable open source downloads are avoidable

Some 96% of known vulnerable open source downloads could have been avoided altogether, according to a report Continue Reading

Malicious WhatsApp add-on highlights risks of third-party mods

Kaspersky researchers discovered a malicious version of a widely used WhatsApp messenger mod, highlighting the risks of using so-called mods Continue Reading

Office 365 email encryption flaw could pose risk to user privacy

A vulnerability in Microsoft Office 365 Message Encryption could leave the contents of emails dangerously exposed, but with no fix coming it’s up to users to decide how at risk they are Continue Reading

Gartner: Remote work, zero trust, cloud still driving cyber spend

Security leaders are eager to spend on categories including remote and hybrid cyber offerings, zero-trust network access, and cloud Continue Reading

Microsoft fixes lone zero-day on October Patch Tuesday

Microsoft patched a solitary zero-day vulnerability in its latest monthly drop, but fixes for two others disclosed in the past few weeks are nowhere to be seen Continue Reading

Reducing the cyber stack with API security

Budgets are tight, making it difficult to secure spend, but is there an argument for jettisoning fragmented approaches to securing APIs in favour of a dedicated end-to-end approach? Doubling down on API security could help businesses not just reduce risk, but also costs Continue Reading

Contractor left Toyota source code exposed for five years

Source code related to Toyota’s T-Connect service was left exposed on GitHub for over five years by a contractor Continue Reading

How Cloudflare is staying ahead of the curve

Cloudflare co-founder and CEO Matthew Prince talks up what has changed since the company’s first business plan was written in 2009 and how it keeps pace with the fast-moving network security landscape Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: Design security in to reap container benefits

Provided container security basics are built into your development and runtime environment from the start, containerised services and applications can provide rapid – and secure – achievement of business objectives Continue Reading

Failure of Russia’s cyber attacks on Ukraine is most important lesson for NCSC

Russia has so far failed in its attempts to destabilise Ukraine through cyber attacks due to strength of Ukrainian, security industry and international efforts Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: Three steps to a solid DevSecOps strategy

Read about how buyers can manage third-party risk when procuring applications, how to secure the software development process, and even how to affect cultural change among developers not used to thinking cyber first Continue Reading

Most hackers exfiltrate data within five hours of gaining access

Insights from more than 300 sanctioned adversaries, otherwise known as ‘ethical’ hackers, reveal that around two-thirds are able to collect and exfiltrate data within just five hours of gaining access Continue Reading

How Russian intelligence hacked the encrypted emails of former MI6 boss Richard Dearlove

Hack by Russian-linked ColdRiver group exposed former MI6 chief Richard Dearlove’s contacts and email communications with government, military, intelligence and political officials Continue Reading

More than 30 startups to join Plexal’s Cyber Runway accelerator

Now in its second year, the Cyber Runway accelerator has been designed to support firms at various stages of growth, as well as help the cyber security sector to improve on its diversity, inclusion and regional representation Continue Reading

It’s time for engineering teams to own DevSecOps

It may seem counterintuitive, but maybe organisations should consider delegating responsibility for DevSecOps to engineering teams, not security teams, argues Elastic’s Mandy Andress Continue Reading

Nordic private equity firms pursue cyber security acquisitions

Increasing interest in the security sector from Nordic private equity firms is a reflection of growing threats and increasing enterprise security budgets Continue Reading

15-year-old Python bug present in 350,000 open source projects

A Python tarfile vulnerability first disclosed in 2007 still persists to this day, according to analysis from Trellix Continue Reading

Uber suffers major cyber attack

Details are trickling out of an apparent ‘near total’ compromise of ride-sharing service Uber by an alleged teenage hacktivist Continue Reading

Microsoft patches 64 vulnerabilities on September Patch Tuesday

Microsoft drops fixes for five critical vulnerabilities and one zero-day in its latest monthly update Continue Reading

Cloud compromise a doddle for threat actors as victims attest

Two separate studies into the state of public cloud security reveal insight into the ease with which threat actors can compromise vast numbers of targets, and some of the challenges security teams are facing in the cloud Continue Reading

Users warned over Azure Active Directory authentication flaw

Secureworks researchers found what they say is a serious vulnerability in an Azure Active Directory authentication method, but Microsoft says it should not pose a serious risk to users Continue Reading

CISOs should spend on critical apps, cloud, zero-trust, in 2023

Faced with a global recession next year, security buyers should try to direct investment towards technology that protects customer-facing and revenue-generating workloads, say analysts Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: Adding trust to AppSec and DevSecOps

When building in trust and assurance into app development through standards, it is critically important not to stifle innovation Continue Reading

Dutch cyber security organisations to join forces

Cyber security organisations in the Netherlands are going to merge into a single central expertise centre and information hub, which all organisations in the country will soon be able to tap into Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: Creating a DevSecOps-friendly cyber strategy

When slowing down is not an option, you need to find a security strategy that is DevSecOps friendly, says Airbus Protect’s Olivier Allaire Continue Reading

August ’22 a bumper month for high-impact vulnerabilities

Bugs in products from Apple, Google, Microsoft and VMware dominated the threat landscape in August, says Recorded Future Continue Reading

Prince’s Trust teams with threat management specialist in skills push

Prince’s Trust hopes to address shortfall in cyber professionals and improve diversity in the industry Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: The many dimensions of DevSecOps

It is imperative to make our colleagues and customers know that when we talk DevSecOps, we are facing a multiphase challenge that starts at the very beginning of DevOps, and one that never ends Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: Good procurement practices pave the way to app security

Application security is as much a question of good procurement practice as it is good development practice, says Petra Wenham of the BCS Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: Shift left, shift right. What about shift everywhere?

The concepts of shift left and shift right are highly effective in securing the development process, but for those who want to take things that step further there is shift everywhere Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: Effective DevSecOps requires collaboration

Application security and effective DevSecOps can only be achieved through collaboration with the business – the ultimate goal is to make it safer to do business, which requires considering integrated risk management and identity and access management alongside cyber security and application security Continue Reading

Google debuts open source bug bounty programme

Google is calling on hackers to take pot-shots at its open source projects for the first time through a new vulnerability research programme Continue Reading

LastPass breach limited in scale and well-managed, say experts

A breach of LastPass’s developer environment does not seem to have affected users of the password management service, but it may still be time for a credential reset Continue Reading

Millions of Plex users may be at risk in password breach

Up to half of Plex’s 30 million users may have had their personal data stolen by an unknown threat actor Continue Reading

DevSecOps: Software developers lack sufficient security focus

GitLab survey shows developers want to produce high-quality code, but ‘shifting’ security left is hard to achieve Continue Reading

Cozy Bear targets MS 365 environments with new tactics

Cozy Bear, or APT29, is trying out new tricks as it seeks access to its targets’ Microsoft 365 environments Continue Reading

Apple patches two zero-days in macOs, iOS

Mac users should urgently apply new patches addressing vulnerabilities in its desktop and mobile operating systems Continue Reading

Growing MFA use spurs ‘pass-the-cookie’ attacks

The exploitation of stolen session cookies by cyber criminals is once again back on the agenda, thanks to the growing popularity of multifactor authentication tools Continue Reading

Microsoft doles out $13.7m in bug bounties

Microsoft’s Bug Bounty programme has paid a total of $13.7m to more than 300 researchers in almost 50 countries Continue Reading

NHS may take a month to recover from supply chain attack

Ransomware attack victim Advanced warns its NHS customers they could be waiting until early September to fully recover their operations Continue Reading

GitHub targets vulnerable open source components

There are thousands of vulnerabilities in open source code – GitHub aims to help developers see if their projects are impacted Continue Reading

Microsoft fixes two-year-old MSDT vulnerability in August update

August’s Patch Tuesday drop fixes more than 120 CVEs, including another MSDT RCE zero-day that is being actively exploited. Continue Reading

The dangers of the UK’s illogical war on encryption

The unintended consequences of the Online Safety Bill will have a dramatic effect on our ability to communicate securely, including in Ukraine, where it is needed most Continue Reading

Spyware activity particularly impactful in July

After a quiet June, vulnerability exploitation ramped up in July, with intrusions linked to spyware seeing unusually high volumes of activity, according to a report Continue Reading

NCSC startups scheme turns focus to operational technology, SME security

NCSC for Startups initiative turns its focus to supporting innovation around securing operational technology and addressing the challenges facing small businesses Continue Reading

Cyber criminals pivot away from macros as Microsoft changes bite

As Microsoft resumes blocking macros by default in its Office application suite, reversing a temporary reversal, analysis from Proofpoint suggests the action has had a remarkable effect Continue Reading

Retail software firm PrestaShop warns users about SQL injection attacks

Open source e-commerce platform PrestaShop warns thousands of small retailers that their customers’ credit card details may be at risk of compromise Continue Reading

Ducktail infostealer targets Facebook Business users

Newly uncovered Ducktail operation targets individuals with access to Facebook Business service and tries to steal their accounts Continue Reading

Inside Russia’s Ukraine information operations

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we get the inside track on Russia’s disinformation operations attempting to spread propaganda and cyber threats about the invasion of Ukraine. Our new buyer’s guide looks at customer and employee experience management. And we assess 10 top Kubernetes backup suppliers. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Latest Atlassian Confluence vulnerability raises concerns

CVE-2022-26138 is the second major vulnerability disclosure made for Atlassian’s Confluence collaboration platform in recent months Continue Reading

LinkedIn most impersonated brand in phishing attacks

Social network LinkedIn, along with Microsoft and DHL, are just some of the brands that are most frequently imitated by cyber criminals conducting phishing attacks Continue Reading

Buy ‘plug-n-play’ malware for the price of a pint of beer

Three-quarters of malwares and almost 90% of exploits retail on the dark web for about £8.40 or less, according to a report Continue Reading

(ISC)² expands entry-level cyber programme after UK success

Flush with success from a UK certification programme, reaching 100k in the UK, (ISC)² now wants to provide free security certification to a million people worldwide Continue Reading

Cato aims to bust cyber myths as it extends network protections

Cato Networks is beefing up its platform’s security features with ransomware and data loss protections, and the firm’s security strategy lead Etay Maor is using the occasion – and his unique access to billions of data points from the firm’s network – to explode some cyber myths Continue Reading

Log4Shell on its way to becoming ‘endemic’

US government report concludes that, like Covid, Log4Shell will be with us for a long time to come Continue Reading

Slippery phish wriggles around MFA protections, says Microsoft

Microsoft’s threat researchers share details of a phishing campaign that hit 10,000 organisations, against which standard multifactor authentication provides little defence Continue Reading

Digital break-up kit to help women get out of bad relationships safely

Domestic abuse charity Refuge teams up with Avast to equip women with the knowledge to effectively and safely end a relationship digitally Continue Reading

July Patch Tuesday brings more than 80 fixes, one zero-day

While some admins can put their feet up and let Windows Autopatch do the hard work of updating their Microsoft estates, for the rest of us, the Patch Tuesday bandwagon keeps on keeping on Continue Reading

Microsoft Windows Autopatch now generally available

Microsoft customers with Windows Enterprise E3 and E5 licences can now take full advantage of its new automated patching service Continue Reading

Microsoft VBA macro block will return

Microsoft provides more details about its sudden decision to rollback a landmark security policy, and reassures users it is a temporary measure Continue Reading

Microsoft appears to reverse VBA macro-blocking

Microsoft quietly reverses VBA macro-blocking across its Office portfolio in a move that has left security experts puzzled Continue Reading

The evolution of threat modelling as a DevSecOps practice

Threat modelling is becoming ever more integrated into software architecture design. Here, Stephen de Vries of IriusRisk looks at the evolution of the process Continue Reading

Plexal seeks new scaleups for next phase of Cyber Runway

Established security startups looking to grow and scale their operations are being invited to join the next phase of Plexal’s Cyber Runway programme Continue Reading

How to get the right level of cyber insurance

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we look at how the market for cyber insurance is evolving and how to avoid buying the wrong level of cover. We find out what role hydrogen technologies could play in reducing datacentre carbon emissions. And we hear how a 125-year-old bicycle maker is embracing digital innovation. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Romance scammers exploit Ukraine war in cynical campaign

Romance scammers can make easy money exploiting people looking for love, but in this newly observed campaign linked to the Ukraine war they are playing on deeper emotions Continue Reading