IT & Security News
X-Day February 15th – Prepare For GDPR
Network services provider EfficientIP has warned businesses that, in reality, February 15th is the last day that organisations can ensure their real-world compliance with GDPR. I Thought May 25th Was The Deadline? May 25th is the actual date that companies and organisations need to ensure that they are compliant with GDPR. However, the point that…
Cryptojacking Discovered On Government Websites
A UK security researcher has discovered that cyber criminals have been using public sector websites, including that of the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office for cryptojacking. What Is Cryptojacking? Typically, cryptojacking involves hackers / scammers installing ‘mining script’ code such as Coin Hive, into multiple web pages without the knowledge of the website owners. The compromised…
Adopt ‘HTTPS’ Or Face Being Penalised by Google
Google has announced that websites without ‘HTTPS’ in front of their domains will be labelled as ‘Not Secure’ in version 48 of Chrome, starting this July. What Is HTTPS and Why Does It Matter? HTTPS stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure. It is the secure version of HTTP, the protocol over which data is sent…
Bitcoin Battered
Cryptocurrency Bitcoin’s value has now dropped to $6,000, a fall of $13,000 since November 2017. What Is Bitcoin? Bitcoin is a digital web-based currency that operates without the need for central banks and uses highly secure encryption to regulate the currency units and to verify transfers of funds. Bitcoin, which was first produced in 2009,…
Facial Recognition Arrest Claims Via Twitter
South Wales Police have taken to social media to announce news of the latest arrests made using Automated Facial Recognition (AFR) technology. First Used At Champions League Finals Week The AFR system was first used by South Wales Police last June at the Champions League final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. AFR incorporates facial…
Firefox Users Advised To Update
Cisco’s security team has advised Firefox users to install Mozilla’s latest update for its web browser after a potentially serious security vulnerability was discovered. Malicious Code Danger According to Cisco’s researchers (and confirmed by Mozilla), the vulnerability has been caused by “insufficient sanitization of HTML fragments in chrome-privileged documents by the affected software”. This means…
Virgin Credit Cards : No To Crypto
Shortly after Lloyds Bank announced that it would be banning customers from buying crypto-currencies such as Bitcoin using their credit cards, Virgin Money is now adopting the same policy. Why? The volatility of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have led Lloyds, and now Virgin Money to try to protect their customers from running up large debts…
Technostress
The results of a survey by Microsoft indicate that constant contact with technology such as emails, messages and notifications in the workplace can reduce productivity, make workers less productive, and increase stress levels. It’s All Down To The Company’s ‘Digital Culture’ The survey, which involved the opinions of 20,000 workers from 21 European nations, found…
UK Most Targeted Region For Cyber Threats
The Malwarebytes annual State of Malware report has revealed that the UK is now the most targeted region in the world for cyber threats. Big Rises The UK has been elevated to the unenviable position at the top of the targets table after a huge 165% increase in UK bound ransomware was recorded, and after…
UK’s Digital Snooping Powers Illegal
A legal challenge by Labour MP Tom Watson against the UK government’s own digital mass surveillance legislation laws introduced in 2014 has led to a court deciding that the laws were illegal. Legislation The legislation that was successfully challenged in court was the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act (DRIPA), which was actually replaced at…
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