Articles about Security

Healthcare organizations boost spending on cyber security

Faced with increased requirements to digitize their records, healthcare organizations around the world are boosting their cyber security budgets according to a new report.

The study from Thales e-Security finds 81 percent of US healthcare organizations and 76 percent of those globally will increase information security spending in 2017.

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Security breaches cost Yahoo dearly as Verizon reveals amended terms of acquisition

Yahoo's frankly terrible track record with security just cost the company $350 million. Having originally offered to buy the company for $4.83 billion, Verizon has now revealed that it is dropping its offer to $4.48 billion.

The announcement from Verizon comes just days after it was rumored that the company was thinking of lowering its offer by $250 million in the wake of security breaches suffered by Yahoo. The two companies have also agreed to share "certain legal and regulatory liabilities arising from certain data breaches."

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Sapho integrates its app platform with IBM Domino

Phone gears

There's increasing demand from companies to build apps that integrate with their existing enterprise systems.

Specialist in consumer-like micro apps Sapho is announcing new integration with the IBM Domino social business platform, that will simplify developer access to information and workflows used by employees.

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WhatsApp updates statuses with Snapchat-inspired functionality

Messaging apps are not just about chatting these days. Every player that counts wants to bring something extra to the table to keep users hooked and attract new ones in the process. WhatsApp is no different, as it is now rolling out an updated status feature that lets users share more than just basic messages.

"We are excited to announce that, coinciding with WhatsApp's eight birthday on February 24, we are reinventing the status feature", says WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum. The update gives users the option to also share photos and videos.

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New certification to verify cyber threat detection skills

security hand

Cyber security is an increasingly essential skill set, but it can be hard for businesses to verify that they're employing people with the right abilities.

The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is launching a new, vendor-neutral certification. CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CSA+) is the first of its kind to bring behavioral analytics to the forefront of assessing cyber threats.

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Google and Microsoft agree to demote search results for pirated movies, music and streaming sport

Users of Google and Bing will find it more difficult to track down illegal content via the search engines after Google and Microsoft signed up to a voluntary code of practice. The deal means that pirate search results will be demoted in results in the UK, making it less likely that searchers will click on them.

The two technology companies have been in talks with the entertainment industry to find a way to stem the flow of illegal content that's available online. As well as protecting the rights of copyright holders, it is hoped that the new arrangement will help to protect users, as websites that deal in pirated material often pose a security risk.

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Google publishes details of Windows bug after Microsoft misses 90-day Project Zero disclosure deadline

Google's Project Zero has proved controversial on several occasions already, with the search giant publicly revealing details of software bugs when companies fail to fix them. Now the project has unearthed a bug in Windows, and as Microsoft failed to patch it within 90 days of being notified, details of the flaw have been made available for everyone to see -- and exploit.

A problem with the Windows Graphics Component GDI library (gdi32.dll) means that a hacker could use EMF metafiles to access memory and wreak all sorts of havoc. While Microsoft has issued Security Bulletin MS16-074, Google's Mateusz Jurczyk says it failed to properly address the problem -- hence the public outing of the bug.

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Americans more concerned about online privacy and security than a year ago

Privacy key

New data released today shows that Americans are increasingly concerned about their online privacy and security, including apprehension about increased government surveillance in the new presidential administration.

The survey by secure access specialist AnchorFree of over 1,000 users of the company's Hotspot Shield personal VPN application reveals 84 percent say they are more concerned about their online privacy and security today than they were a year ago.

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Is ransomware in decline or just evolving?

Ransomware skull

According to a new report from the Microsoft Malware Protection Center, the volume of ransomware being encountered is reducing.

Data from Windows Defender Antivirus shows that after peaking in August, when 385,000 encounters were registered, ransomware encounters dropped almost 50 percent in September, and have continued to decline. But this doesn't mean we’re seeing the end of the menace.

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Yahoo notifies users about 'forged cookie' security breaches and it could cost the company millions

Yahoo sign logo building

Yahoo -- or, rather, its users -- have not been doing very well recently when it comes to security. Having already revealed details of a huge historic attack that led to the theft of details for millions of accounts, Yahoo is now notifying an unknown number of users that their accounts may have been breached by hackers using forged cookies.

At the same time, Bloomberg is suggesting that the impending deal with Verizon has been renegotiated. The latest revelations coupled with the previous security issues could have just cost Yahoo $250 million.

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Microsoft delays its February patches for a month

For the past several years, Microsoft has released security patches on the second Tuesday of the month -- the so-called Patch Tuesday.

However, Microsoft missed the date this month and now says the new patches won’t arrive until the middle of next month.

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Cyber attacks against the UK are increasing

Attack button

The number of cyber attacks launched against the UK has increased significantly with 188 high-level attacks occurring within just the last three months.

The news of the attacks came from Ciaran Martin, chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), who told the Sunday Times that a number of the attacks were sophisticated enough to threaten national security.

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UK tackles attacks with new National Cyber Security Center

Business security

The UK is getting a national center to combat cyber attacks, and it's the Queen who gets to open it. The National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) will reportedly be opened in central London by the Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh and Chancellor Philip Hammond.

The NCSC is part of intelligence agency GCHQ and has already tackled 188 attacks in the last three months. It will look for holes in sites belonging to the public sector, will tackle spoof emails and pull phishing sites down.

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89 percent of consumers don't pay for mobile malware protection

Mobile fear

A new survey reveals that a large majority of mobile users do not currently pay for malware protection. However, 61 percent say they do want, and are willing to pay for, protection services from their service provider.

The study from security solutions company Allot Communications shows that rather than independently seek out, evaluate and download security apps for each of their mobile devices, consumers would like a one-stop-shop for online protection for themselves and their families. This presents communication service providers (CSPs) with an opportunity to sell an extra service, which many of them are not taking advantage of.

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European businesses are not prepared to handle a cyber attack

Cyber attack

More than half of companies in the UK, US and Germany (53 percent) are not prepared to face a cyber-attack. This is according to a new report by specialist insurer Hiscox, which has polled more than 3,000 companies for the report.

The Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report 2017 looks at four areas -- strategy, resourcing, technology and process -- and ranks companies based on such criteria. Most companies score fairly well for technology, but less than a third (30 percent) reach the "expert" score in their overall cyber-readiness.

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