Whitehall departments are at growing risk of being hacked because anti-cyber attack defences are ‘lower’ than thought, an alarming report has found.
The inquiry by the National Audit Office (NAO) was branded a ‘wake-up call’ for officials to step-up defences against hostile actors.It identified a shortage of cyber skills within departments and risks posed by outdated IT systems. This means the UK is struggling to ‘catch up with the acute cyber threat’ and ‘get on top of this most pernicious threat’, according to the watchdog. More than two hundred antiquated IT systems were also in operation, with officials unable to say how vulnerable these were to attack.
Read more…
Source: MSN News
Related:
- UK: Council worker took tens of thousands of email addresses in massive data breach
February 19, 2024
A massive data breach by a worker at Stratford-on-Avon District Council saw tens of thousands of email addresses taken. The breach, which happened in November last year, was over a database of email addresses given by residents, the authority said. The probe found that around 79,000 email addresses from the garden waste collection database were affected. ...
- UK: Water group made loss in wake of cyber attack
February 19, 2024
The Walsall-headquartered integrated serviced group, which operates South Staffordshire Water and Cambridge Water, posted a pre-tax loss of £23.1 million for the year to the end of March from a £7.6m profit a year earlier. The losses was put down to the impact of rising costs including on energy and chemicals, higher than expected water production ...
- Dead Man’s Fingers maker cuts over 500 jobs and enters the red after cyber attack hits sales
February 16, 2024
The maker of Crabbie’s Ginger Beer and Dead Man’s Fingers spiced rum shed more than 500 jobs and entered the red after its sales were hit by a cyber attack, it has been revealed. Halewood Artisanal Spirts, whose brands also include Whitley Neill Gin, Liverpool Gin and Samuel Gelton’s Irish whiskey, has posted a turnover of ...
- UK: Contact details and national security numbers could have been stolen from Southern Water customers following cyber attack
February 12, 2024
The announcement, which went live on Southern Water’s website earlier today (February 12), confirms that ‘a limited part’ of the company’s server estate is at risk following an illegal intrusion earlier this year. Apologising for the breach, a spokesperson confirmed that the company is working with “expert technical advisers to confirm who is at risk,” and ...
- Deputy Prime Minister hosts first global conference targeting ‘hackers for hire’ and malicious use of commercial cyber tools
February 6, 2024
UK, and France, hosting 35 nations at inaugural conference to tackle proliferation and irresponsible use of commercial cyber intrusion tools and services. Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden will launch new international agreement, signed by participants, to take joint-action – the ‘Pall Mall Process’. States will be joined by big tech leaders, legal experts, and human rights defenders, ...
- UK: Thousands of EU citizens ‘wrongly fined for breaching Ulez rules’ in potential record data breach
January 26, 2024
Hundreds of thousands of EU citizens were wrongly fined for driving in London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez), amid claims of a record data breach. Several EU countries have accused Transport for London (TfL) of illegally obtaining the names and addresses of their citizens to issue the penalties, The Guardian reports. The paper said more than ...