10 ‘must do’ cyber security activity checklist for 2019 11th January 2019 Ensuring that an organisation is protected from cyber crime can be a complex, time-consuming and costly process. Rather than publishing a set of predictions for 2019, we thought it would be more helpful to prepare a practical guide to what we believe are…
Multi-factor authentication delivers secure access 11th January 2019 Authentication is an essential component of access control systems used to manage the secure use of computers, networks and software applications. It is also an easy target for cyber criminals who exploit ‘weak’ user name and passwords obtained from brute force cyber attacks or illegally from stolen…
Cloud cyber security required by 70% of firms 4th January 2019 Cloud computing has transformed the way small to medium sized (SME) companies purchase and use IT services in the last five years. It is estimated that 70% of all firms in the US and Europe use at least one business-critical cloud application. The cloud…
Small firms use SOC to combat menace of cyber attack 21st December 2018 Many smaller companies are now outsourcing their cyber security to dedicated service providers who are using a security operations centre (SOC) and advanced managed detection and response (MDR) technology. What is a SOC and how does it protect against the constant and…
Cyber Essentials awareness low but importance high 20th December 2018 Four years after Cyber Essentials was first launched, only nine per cent of UK businesses are aware of the government’s flagship cyber security scheme. The Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2018 confirms that despite over four in ten firms experiencing a cyber breach, the awareness of…
Is Blockchain the future for cyber security? 14th December 2018 The IT industry has hailed Blockchain as a game changer in the development of ‘hyper-secure’ cyber security solutions for the future. What is Blockchain technology and why is this 10-year old transactions management system at the heart of a cyber security revolution? What is…
Emotet – rising star of next-gen cyber attacks 13th December 2018 Emotet has been named as one of the next-generation malware stars of 2018 in the Malwarebytes report, ‘Under the Radar – The Future of Undetected Malware’. Emotet has been terrorising systems worldwide for much of the year, with large campaigns reported in both Q1…
Wizard Cyber becomes a CiSP approved member 7th December 2018 Wizard Cyber is now an industry member of the UK Government Cyber Security Information Sharing Partnership (CiSP). Managed by the National Cyber Security Centre, CiSP is a joint industry and government initiative that aims to increase the situational awareness of cyber threats. It is also…
Marriott Hotels cyber attack affects 500 million guests 3rd December 2018 The giant Marriott Hotels chain has confirmed a data security incident that may have resulted in the loss of confidential information of up to 500 million guests. In a remarkably low-key news announcement, the company confirmed that the security breach of its Starwood reservation…
Cyber security audits require more than penetration tests 29th November 2018 Cyber security service providers will always recommend penetration testing to their new customers. While they are an essential part of a cyber security audit process, penetration tests are often misunderstood both by those who buy them and sometimes by those who deliver them. …
Patch management essential but still difficult to achieve 28th November 2018 Effective and well-managed patch management has always been an essential element of any cyber security programme. The Gartner report, ‘Focus on the Biggest Security Threats” estimated that 99.96 of all cyber threats in 2017 were based on known software vulnerabilities. Despite their importance, many…
Ransomware uses RDP attack for more targeted approach 23rd November 2018 Ransomware cyber attacks are moving on from their indiscriminate wide-scale deployment in the last two years to a more targeted approach in 2018. The NCSC Advisory Report: Ongoing threat to organisations from ransomware, confirms that this type of cyber attack was previously profitable because…
Can you trust free VPN services? 21st November 2018 Research by Metric Labs Top10VPN has confirmed that over 50% of the most popular free personal VPN (Virtual Private Network) services are run by secretive companies based in China. With unacceptable privacy policies and a lack of accountability, the report strongly advises individuals not to trust these…
Tesco Bank suffer the largest ever FCA fine for cyber attack 16th November 2018 Tesco Personal Finance plc (Tesco Bank) has been fined £16,400,000 by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for failing to exercise due skill, care and diligence in protecting its personal current account holders against a cyber attack in 2016. Deficient cyber…
DNS gives hackers global access to all internet devices 16th November 2018 The Domain Name System (DNS) has been an essential component of the functionality of the Internet since 1985. This remarkable technology enables internet services and the World Wide Web to be globally available to billions of users. DNS acts as the ‘internet phone…
Why is DDoS attack a major cyber threat? 8th November 2018 Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) cyber attacks remain a significant threat to any organisation that uses a web site or web application to deliver its services. The Arbor Networks 2018 Worldwide Infrastructure Security Report confirms that a total of 7.5 million DDoS attacks were executed in…
