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Cisco have published the results of its 2012 Global Cloud Networking survey and has found data protection security is the toughest challenge IT Pros face during the cloud migration process. 72% of those asked said that data protection was their main concern, followed by reliability and availabilit ... 

Yesterday, we published the news, alongside many of the tech community, that Twitter had suffered an attack which led to more than 50,000 email addresses and passwords being posted to Pastebin, in a document spanning five pages. Following the story, new information has come to light which confirms ... 

The login details of more than 50,000 Twitter users have been posting in a document spanning five pages on Pastebin. However, Twitter, who are investigating the incident, say that many of the details appear to be duplicates and deny that the attack is as big as it first appears. Twitter also say ... 

The latest VIPRE threat report from GFI Labs found March 2012 saw a further increase in attacks on social media sites and popular brands and products. These not only included popular targets such as Facebook and Twitter, but were further extended to include Google, LinkedIn and Skype. The release ... 

A new strain of malware has emerged which locks users out of their computers unless they pay a fine for accessing copyright protected material. The malicious software uses the Blackhole exploit kit, a popular tool for cybercriminals, which is often used in banking trojans. The malware targets sec ... 

The annual threat report from Symantec shows that whilst email spam dropped last year when compared to 2010, malicious attacks and malware have surged. The take down of the Rustock botnet has had a direct impact on spam and this saw the incidence of pharmaceutical spam fall from 74% in 2010 to 40% ... 

The director-general of Privacy International has asked Scotland Yard to reopen the investigation into Google over its collection of data used in Street View. The search giants were fined $25,000 last month by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for collecting personal data from unsecured Wi ... 

The UK’s Digital Economy Act has been delayed again due to "legal challenges” and it’s now thought that the act won’t come into play until 2014. The hold-up is good news for ISPs who can now breathe easy for a little while longer, before being forced to send out warning letters to their customers, t ... 

UK web hosting provider UK2.net was hit by a large scale DDoS attack on Wednesday night and saw more than 10 million "apparently unique” IP addresses attack their DNS servers. The issue was resolved late last night but has taken longer than usual to put right as this is the largest attack of its kin ... 

Facebook have teamed up with five leading anti-virus vendors to create Facebook Antivirus Marketplace in an attempt to slow the spread of malware around the site. Microsoft, McAfee, TrendMicro, Sophos and Symantec are the security firms involved and the new page offers cut price and free antivirus s ... 

VMware have confirmed that source code posted online on 23rd April by hacker ‘Hardcore Charlie’ is VMware ESX source code from the 2003 to 2004 timeline. Whilst so far the hacker has only made one confirmed posting of the code, VMware has warned that there may be more to come and say they will keep ... 

A recent survey into the SSL security of the most popular websites has found that almost 52% of them are running compromised security protocols. The survey is the first in what will be an on-going project for the recently formed Trustworthy Internet Movement (TIM). The group are expected to eventua ... 

The FBI has warned that as many as half a million PC users could find themselves knocked offline on July 9th if they are still infected with the DNSChanger malware. Whilst the cyber-criminals responsible for distributing viruses which altered DNS last year, a replacement DNS service set up by the FB ... 

New figures released by German email security provider eleven has found that phishing email has seen a "significant” increase in the first quarter of 2012, with continued growth of country-specific malware and phishing campaigns. Malware emails increased by 83.7% by the end of March and phishing ... 

Analysts Goode Intelligence published a new report yesterday that found the incidence of mobile malware has increased significantly within organisations, with a quarter of those asked reporting they had been affected. The survey asked 130 IT managers and CEOs in a cross section of industries arou ... 

IT security has been considered a growing threat in all of its incarnations for some time now. Not only are there plenty of cybercriminals poised to snatch data and cash from inadequately secured businesses, there is also a growing trend of cyber espionage that sees governments developing tools to ... 

2011 suffered the highest incidence of data loss online since firms started keeping track in 2004, according to Verizon's 2011 security report. This was due mostly to weak passwords and more opportunist hackers such as Anonymous and LulzSec, despite increasingly sophisticated security systems bein ... 

New research from FishNet Security has found that 35% of IT security professionals believe mobile devices to be the biggest threat to their organisation's data. Of those surveyed, almost a third also said that they believed mobile devices will cause the majority of all data breaches in 2012. A qu ... 

The news last week that more than half a million Apple Macs had been infected with a botnet-building trojan known as Flashback had many PC users secretly sniggering into their computer screens. For decades now, Mac users have managed to remain pretty smug about the misconception that Macs were inc ... 

Estonian president Toomas Hendrik llves has told Ireland that they are more than likely subject to constant cyber-attacks, despite their neutrality, and that the country should consider an involvement with a Nato-sponsored cyber defence centre. In a recent visit, Ilves pointed out that any countr ... 

MEPs at the Civil Liberties Committee in the EU last week agreed to back plans to criminalise any form of cyber-attack within companies and make a nominated representative liable. The plans are intended to help in the drive to crack down on criminal organisations and online fraud. However, as ... 

The European Commission has proposed plans to create a European Cybercrime Centre within Europol to help fight online crime. The centre is intended to "become the Union's focal point in the fight against cybercrime” and will warn all EU countries of emerging threats. The plans were outlined i ... 

Over 400 enterprise IT and security managers were questioned in a March 2011 survey by cloud service provider Savvis.  Among those surveyed, security was overwhelmingly cited as their primary concern.  Chris Richter, V.P. of managed security services at Savvis, said, “We’ve seen hesitance ... 

Details of the new EU data protection law have been announced. The bill seeks to reform EU data regulations and save an estimated €2.3 billion in costs, implement pan-European regulation, and deliver a competitive edge to European companies.  Among the requirements of the new regulations is a ... 

Technology solution vendors and service providers in the UK, and other countries, continue to be watchful of the developments around the controversial anti-piracy legislation SOPA-PIPA, even as protests against it go viral. Two controversial anti-piracy legislations Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) an ... 

Symantec has announced the acquisition of LiveOffice, its erstwhile data archiving partner for cloud-based services. With this new product in their portfolio, Symantec will expand into data governance as well as eDiscovery compliance. Symantec’s Vice President, Brian Dye, while making the announcem ... 

Dell goes the HP-way, with acquisition of SecureWorks, a popular Managed Security product that has consistently performed well, with revenues exceeding $120 million while supporting 2,900 clients spread over 70 countries.   While HP, with acquiring Fortify software, ArcSight last year prepared ... 

US lawmakers, cutting across party lines, are urging analysis of social media traffic to track ‘current or emerging threats’ by the Department of Homeland Security. US lawmakers—Patrick Meehan and Jackie Speier—are part of a counter-terrorism subcommittee of leading Republicans and Democrats belong ... 

A recent research by analysts Freeform Dynamics, on preparedness of SMBs for Disaster Management in Germany and UK find a formal plan for disaster recovery absent. This  highlights a compelling need for SMB’s to adopt quality Disaster Recovery Plans. Freeform Dynamics’ an analyst/research group ... 

Even as trends of changes in IT security spending emerged from a recent Gartner Survey on budget outlays for 2012, it bust the story on PCI-conforming businesses, revealing close to 18% are non-compliant in real time. Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard 2011 (PCI DSS) is a hot-topic for en ... 

Companies are being urged to use data encryption methods to protect all of their data. According to a recent eWeek survey, 90 per cent of companies use encryption techniques for data security, although many organisations only encrypt certain data if legally required. The report also said enterprises ... 

The data security debate rumbles on as 71 per cent of merchants claim to have stored unencrypted card data in 2011. The figures, published following a survey by merchant data leader SecurityMetrics, highlight the need for firms to encrypt their data and continue the fight against hackers and thieves ... 

Documentation has been released explaining how to write a virus for Linux ELF programs. The move dispels the myth that the Linux operating system cannot get viruses. Linux Journal, in its January issue, made the admission, but refused to publish any code as they didn’t want to contribute to the ongo ... 

The hacking community is hoping to launch its own communications satellite so that it can stay connected during economic and natural disasters. The desire to create a modular terrestrial base station and receiver unit for the purposes of hacking shows how far cyber criminals are willing to go to com ... 

Tech giants Google and Apple are working on cloud security technology that will make the humble password redundant. The firms are set to introduce devices that will use facial recognition as a means of unlocking them, which could bolster the security of work-issued mobile phones.The move is, in part ... 

FIRMS who fail to encrypt their data are being put at risk by clumsy employees who lose storage devices containing company intelligence, a survey says. The research, carried out by iStorage, revealed that almost a third of IT professionals admitted to losing portable media devices such as USB sticks ... 

Businesses need to put data security at the heart of their IT operations - even if they are adopting cloud computing solutions and expecting their service provider to deal with the technicalities. According to Mark Dampster, an associate at the Centre for Cyber Security, no one is sure of the true c ... 

Cyber attacks by hacking groups were a rapidly growing problem in 2011 and the trend looks set to continue unless service providers and end users step up their cloud security. According to industry expert Harry Sverdlove, 2011 was the "year of the hack", reports eWeek.Mr Sverdlove said that this yea ... 

Businesses need to be acutely aware of the need for cloud security as the proliferation of mobile devices in the workplace means there are many more unique access points to police. According to Phil Codd, managing director and chief markets officer at Software Quality Systems, the huge benefits of t ... 

More small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) will adopt security as a service (SaaS) solutions in the coming year as businesses demand more adaptability. According to IT research specialist Canalys, SaaS - not to be confused with software as a service - will begin to attract more customers because ... 

Data encryption software is likely to become ubiquitous as information - including intellectual property and financial data - becomes a more valuable commodity, according to IT security expert Jeff Hudson. The chief executive officer of Venafi, which specialises in enterprise encryption and software ... 

The EU has approved new data encryption equipment designed by a Swedish firm, which bosses believe will put the country on the map as a hub for advanced security systems. Business Security has revealed that its SecuriVPN Arana - which has been developed alongside the Swedish Armed Forces and the Swe ... 

Gartner has found that almost a fifth of firms are not compliant with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards (DSS). The research specialist believes that the gap is hugely surprising considering the importance placed on PCI DSS compliance by tech firms.Lawrence Pingree, research dir ... 

Most organisations are unaware of what information they have stored in the cloud and where it actually is, and this 'hide your head in the sand' attitude poses a major threat to cloud security, it has been claimed. What's more, a new study by SearchCompliance.com has shown that just a third of cloud ... 

Data encryption is essential for businesses adopting mobile working strategies, particularly if firms allow employees to use their own devices, Cisco has claimed. The firm believes that companies should stand firm and make sure their staff adhere to mobile security best practice.Cisco said that curr ... 

Members of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) Virtualization Special Interest Group - which includes Cisco, VMware and Trend Micro - have published a new reference guide for businesses that wish to ensure their cloud-based architecture complies with PCI DSS 2.0.The guidance i ... 

The lack of financial data encryption in the retail industry may force the security industry to refocus its efforts. According to SecurityMetrics, 71 per cent of sellers stored their customers' credit card and debit card information in an unencrypted format this year.This represents an eight per cen ... 

The US government looks set to adopt a standard set of cloud security rules for service providers - a move that is expected to boost domestic cloud-based infrastructure uptake. The government's Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) would allow government bodies to effectively a ... 

The British government is set to boost cyber security during the 2012 Olympic Games to "unprecedented levels", the country's top security adviser Sir Peter Ricketts has said. A specialist security unit will be set up and it will receive the support of British intelligence agency GCHQ.Speaking to the ... 

One of the major security advantages of desktop virtualization is that it allows firms to keep their employees' mobile devices free of sensitive company data, according to Citrix. The firm is already using its own products to bolster cloud security as its staff turn to mobile devices to boost produc ... 

Businesses across the UK - including leading retailers and banks - are increasingly focusing on the threat of hacking and online security breaches. As a result, the data protection market is growing as firms try and limit the risks associated with and the damage caused by hackers.Particular focus is ... 

New legislation could ensure businesses take cloud security more seriously as European ministers plan to fine firms five per cent of their turnover for data breaches, according to new documents published by the Financial Times.The European Commission is intent on tackling the data security problems ... 

The United Nations has mounted an investigation into claims that hackers have stolen the email addresses and login details of members of the organisation's Development Programme. A hacking group known as Team Poison have claimed responsibility for an attack that has allegedly compromised the online ... 

A single set of cloud security guidelines for businesses in the UK is unlikely to be created and instead an accreditation process is likely to be put in place for firms offering the IT infrastructure solution. According to the National Technical Authority for Information Assurance - also known as th ... 

Overcoming cybercrime will be an epic challenge that will require international cooperation between governments and industry. According to Anthony O'Mara, senior vice president for Trend Micro Europe, the Middle East and Africa, domestic cyber security initiatives like those proposed by the UK are w ... 

Kaspersky Lab has scooped the highly-acclaimed Best Security Provider award in the Business Software category at the V3.co.uk Technology Awards 2011. The firm said that the reason it won the accolade was because of its dedication to tackling security threats such as malware and hacktivism. Dr John M ... 

Businesses deem cyber security to be a major consideration but at the same time are willing to accept high levels of risk - taking a hands-off approach to the problem. New research from Chatham House has shown that cyber security should no longer be seen as an ICT department problem, as complacency ... 

The vast majority of companies are unaware they have a data security problem, according to the Centre for Cyber Security. Associate at the organisation Mark Dempster believes too many corporations lose data through phishing attacks without even realising it. He suggested firms may notice the securit ... 

A new platform aimed at boosting the security of virtual private network (VPN) resources and cloud networks has been launched by SecureAuth. Bosses at the firm have suggested the SecureAuth IEP 6.2 boosts the protection of professional networks when being accessed by devices such as smartphones. Co- ... 

Too many businesses are putting consumers' confidential information at risk because they are struggling to comply with the Payment Card Industry's (PCI) data security standards. A recent audit conducted by Verizon showed that just 21 per cent of 100 organisations met the necessary PCI criteria. Acco ... 

The amount of malware affecting Google's Android mobile operating system has increased more than fourfold during the third quarter of 2011. The rise could have a hugely negative impact on businesses that have adopted Android devices to boost their mobile working capabilities without considering the ... 

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which promotes internet accessibility and security, has published the first draft of its recommended online privacy standards. The guidelines encompass best practice when it comes to online tracking by browser vendors, content providers and advertisers. W3C's gui ... 

Internet security specialist McAfee is warning businesses about the dangers of malicious apps as a pre-emptive measure to tackle the threat - despite the fact that mobile malware incidents remain relatively uncommon. The firm claims that end-users - whether they are business-based mobile workers or ... 

The amount of mobile malware affecting smartphones and tablet computers has increased by 800 per cent in the last four months, according to new research from Get Safe Online. The security expert claims that many smartphone users are being hit with huge phone bills for messages they did not send than ... 

Cloud security has undoubtedly become a pressing issue as more businesses adopt the new technology but, according to PerspecSys, the clamour for adequate security can result in vendor lock-in and reduced flexibility. The firm's chief executive officer David Canellos noted that businesses often focus ... 

An online attack by the Anonymous hacking group, which forced the resignation of a Finnish parliamentary aide, has highlighted the importance of adequate cloud security. The collective took responsibility for a security breach affecting a neo-Nazi website. Hacktivists compromised the site's sec ... 

IT risk management strategies are going to become a big area of expenditure for businesses, particularly those in the financial services sector, as information security becomes a top liability, according to IDC. The research specialist claims the market will be worth $74 billion (£46 billion) ... 

Businesses should make sure that they consider security when shifting to a mobile workforce and adopting mobile applications. According to Jack Cullen, president of Modis, securing data is paramount for companies that deliver data wirelessly to portable devices. Speaking to PC World, Mr Cullen said: ... 

Prime minster David Cameron has announced that tackling cybercrime is a top priority in the UK as hackers and scammers cost the country £27 billion a year. Mr Cameron said the only way the country was going to overcome the problem, however, was by working with other nations, businesses and security ... 

A trusted cloud provider can often offer better security than that found on in-house infrastructure, according to a leading cloud security expert. Speaking to the Financial Times, Rupert Chapman, a security specialist at PA Consulting, said that the big players - like Amazon and Google - already off ... 

Industrial espionage appears to be the reason for a recent spate of cloud security attacks against major chemical manufacturing firms, according to Symantec. The security software provider claims that a total of 29 companies in the industry have been targeted by hackers. Symantec also notes that a f ... 

Juniper Networks has adapted its SSL VPN software for use with the Android operating system (OS), bolstering security for Samsung smartphone and tablet users. The firm has ported its VPN solution to three Samsung Electronics devices - the Galaxy Tab 10.1, the Galaxy Note and the Galaxy SII. Business ... 

Trojans are still the most significant cloud security threat and smartphones are increasingly being targeted by hackers and cybercriminals. The AhnLab Security Emergency Response Center (ASEC) published the results of a new report on the use of malicious code in the third quarter of this year and fo ... 

Cloud security should be seen by businesses and governments as the most pressing issue when it comes to IT infrastructure and applications outsourcing, according security specialist AEP Networks. According to the firm's chief technology officer Mark Darvill, many companies are struggling to cope wit ... 

Director of the US's National Security Agency (NSA) general Keith Alexander has claimed that despite the security pitfalls of cloud computing, the technology could actually help boost end-to-end visibility of networks and ensure government organisations better safeguard sensitive information. His co ... 

The public's confidence in private sector data security is in jeopardy as the number of breaches taking place increases. According to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), there is growing concern about the security of personal information provided to private companies - especially in ... 

The UK's economic future is dependent on the widespread adoption of high-quality IT security solutions - particularly secure online transaction technology. According to Owen Pengelly, deputy director of policy at the Office for Cyber Security and Information Assurance in the Cabinet Office, people n ... 

IT security needs a complete overhaul if it is to deal with current and future threats effectively, according to Intel's software and services chief Renee James. Speaking to a crowd of McAfee internet security channel partners, James claimed that software developers and hardware manufacturers wi ... 

Getting cyber risk insurance to cover the liabilities associated with cloud computing is not a "panacea", according to two esteemed Gartner researchers. Vice president of research Drue Reeves and research fellow Daryl Plummer have said that one of the major drawbacks of cloud computing lia ... 

Internet security specialist SPAMfighter has won a commendation from MSExchange.org for its efforts to tackle spam and phishing scams. The company's Exchange Module has been given a gold award for enhancing spam protection using a policy-based email processing tool. The filter has been engineer ... 

AuthenTec has launched the first smartphone security and identity management solution that combines fingerprint recognition with virtual private network (VPN) technology. The firm claims its QuickSec Mobile VPN Client 2.0 is faster and more reliable than the native Android VPN solution. The securit ... 

Gaming industry giant Sony has succumbed to another cloud security breach and has locked down 93,000 user accounts to help stem the attack. The firm claimed that hackers had temporarily gained access to 60,000 user accounts on the PlayStation Network and Sony Entertainment Network - as well as a fur ... 

US president Barack Obama's administration, which has pushed ahead with plans to get federal departments to migrate to the cloud, needs to be wary of unintended security consequences. According to lawmakers in the US, the wholesale adoption of cloud computing has the potential to cause a number ... 

A vast majority of business managers are "in the dark" when it comes to their firms' cloud security provision. According to new research released by internet security specialist McAfee, just 22 per cent of the data centre managers it polled claimed that their managers were aware of the full extent o ... 

Many smartphone users believe that mobile security - including protection against malware - is the sole responsibility of network operators. New research from AdaptiveMobile shows that people tend to take mobile security for granted, but at the same time deem it to be more important than call qualit ... 

Mobile working can add to a business's cloud security concerns - particularly if employees are carrying around devices that contain sensitive data. According to Ian Kilpatrick, chairman of IP security specialist the Wick Hill Group, users must remember that losing a smartphone is like misplacing ... 

A second LulzSec hacker could be arrested if they are traced using a British virtual private network (VPN) proxy service. The decision to pursue the hacker known as Neuron, would follow hot on the heels of a similar arrest made last week. Following the detainment of Cody Krestinger by the Federal B ... 

The Liberal Democrats want to create a new government body that oversees the regulation of the cloud computing industry in the UK. Delegates at the recent Lib Dem conference backed a new technology paper entitled Preparing the Ground: Stimulating Growth in the Digital Economy. The paper looks at th ... 

Businesses planning to utilise software-as-a-service (SaaS) should ensure they set up strong security systems to protect their data, according to a former Hewlett Packard IT services engineer. Writing for Information Week, Kurt Marko warned that firms running their enterprise on the internet are vul ... 

Firms implementing systems to enable employees to work remotely using their own computers and smartphones have been advised to implement a minimum of two-factor authentication to ensure their company data is secure. Ian Kilpatrick, chairman of IT specialist Wick Hill Group, observed that there ... 

For the majority of businesses, the benefits of migrating to the cloud "wildly outweigh the potential risks", according to an expert in the sector. Joe Drumgoole, founder of business app deployment and management firm FeedHenry, asserted that the concerns decision-makers have about cloud ... 

Cloud security provisions may be significantly better than the protective measures companies can put in place by themselves, according to an expert in the sector. Stuart Hibbert, chief executive of icomplete.com, asserted that the majority of organisations would not put in all the required security ... 

The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) has launched a new scheme to encourage cloud computing providers to be more transparent about their security practices, a development that may benefit firms considering migrating to the cloud. With the Security, Trust & Assurance Registry, cloud computing firms ... 

Imperva has warned that hackers are using Google to formulate a "map of hackable targets on the web" and has urged businesses to take steps such as using a web application firewall to protect themselves against attacks. Companies may want to review their cloud security in light of the fir ... 

IT security firm Sophos has revealed that it hopes to extend its channel reach in the small and medium-sized business (SMB) market through a new distribution deal. Matt Fogelgren, director of North American channel sales at Sophos said the channel partner agreement with D&H Distributing would h ... 

The introduction of a new enterprise and commercial deal registration programme by IT security firm McAfee could result in greater investment by channel partners and improved sales figures from their "people on the street", it has been claimed. Under the new scheme, channel partners can r ... 

Businesses are more concerned about cloud security than they were in the past thanks to the exploits of 'hacktivist' groups like LulzSec. According to new research from nCircle, a leading authority in IT security auditing, 89 per cent of firms surveyed said that they now consider cloud secu ... 

Hacking collective Anonymous has claimed to have breached the system of ManTech - a contractor used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) - and acquired 400MB of confidential data. ManTech may be reviewing its cloud security provisions after the group asserted that it had obtained Nato docum ... 

The Sun newspaper may be taking steps to improve its cloud security provisions after hackers from the group LulzSec infiltrated its website and posted false stories on the online portal. On its Twitter feed, the group claimed to have accessed the emails of News International executives such as Rebe ... 

Apple may be reviewing its cloud security arrangements in light of a threat to its systems from hacker group Anonymous, which revealed on Twitter that it has already broken into a server the firm used for technical online surveys. The collective has been working alongside disbanded group LulzSec, ...