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How to make your Google account more secure than ever before

Nobody welcomes the prospect of having our online accounts hacked. It's a pain in the neck resetting passwords, warning your contacts, and worrying about the prospect that your identity may be stolen. But for some of us, the consequences of having our Gmail account compromised by state-sponsored hackers could be even more catastrophic and even life...
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Hackers steal $60 million from Taiwanese bank using bespoke malware

Last week, a hacking gang abused the SWIFT banking network to steal $60 million after planting malware on a Taiwanese bank's servers. The Far Eastern International Bank has confirmed that malware had been found on it computer systems, affecting PCs and servers, as well as its SWIFT terminal. SWIFT (the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial...
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How a missing smiley foiled a $70,000 email fraud

When hackers broke into the email account of a New Zealand grape-grower with the intent of stealing NZD $90,000 (approximately US $70,000) their plan came so very close to fruition. As Stuff New Zealand reports, it was only because of the careful eye of Kathryn Walker, the general manager of Marlborough Vintners (who - notably - previously had a 12...
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Europol warns ransomware has taken cybercrime 'to another level'

Europol, the European Union's police agency, has warned of the significantly rising threat posed by ransomware. As Associated Press reports, delegates at an international conference were told by Europol Executive Director Rob Wainwright that ransomware had taken the cybercrime threat to "another level." An 80-page report published by the agency...
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Lessons to learn after hackers hijack HBO's Facebook and Twitter accounts

It's never a dull day if you're working in HBO's IT security team. One day you're dealing with the unauthorised leaking of upcoming episodes of "Game of Thrones", next you're facing multi-million dollar extortion demands from hackers who've broken into your network and stolen 1.5 terabytes data and the personal contact details of your celebrity cast...
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Amber Rudd tricked by email prankster who duped White House officials

British Home Secretary Amber Rudd has been duped into sharing her personal email address with a prankster who has previously embarrassed the likes of Bank of England governor Mark Carney and Barclays boss Jes Staley, as well as Donald Trump Jr and various White House officials. Rudd, who recently courted controversy in the security industry by...
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July 2017: The Month in Ransomware

July was relatively slow in terms of ransomware. Some crooks must have been on vacation spending ill-gotten money at deluxe resorts. Well, why not? They sure can afford it. The rest were busy releasing small shoddy strains and reanimating old ones. Here’s what the month looked like in the numbers: 42 new samples went live, 33 existing ones were fine...
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Are you looking at me? Welcome to the world of facial recognition

As new technologies develop, it's worth reminding ourselves that just because we can do something doesn't mean that we should. Often a new technology can bring plenty of new opportunities to do amazing things, but that doesn't mean that it cannot also be ripe for abuse. That's certainly the case with facial recognition technology, where some law...
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Security Risks to Consider When Deploying Containers on Docker

Docker – a platform for OS-level virtualization instances known as containers – has become a hugely popular infrastructure technology. Flexible containerization is completely changing the way we build and maintain applications at scale, with analyst group RedMonk identifying the large enterprise market as a key driving force. Towards the end of...
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Last month's malware outbreak cost this household company £100 million

Reckitt Benckiser, the household goods manufacturer of such famous products as Nurofen painkillers, Durex condoms, Dettol, and Harpic, has warned that it was hit hard by the June 27th global malware outbreak which struck power plants, airports, and government agencies in Ukraine before spreading to other multinational firms. In a sales warning for...
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8tracks Hacked: 18 Million User Account Details Stolen

There's bad news for internet music fans, as it has been revealed that the details of millions of users of the 8tracks internet radio service and music social network have been stolen by hackers. In a message posted on its corporate blog, 8tracks confirms it has suffered a security breach: "We received credible reports today that a copy of our user...