October cyber security awareness month

LONDON: Britain on Thursday announced the formation of a National Cyber Force of government hackers to launch cyberattacks against criminals, terrorists and hostile states. It is part of a pledge by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to deliver the country's biggest military spending increase since the Cold War. WHAT WILL IT DO? The hacking unit, which has been operational since earlier this year, is made up of specialists from Britain's armed forces and GCHQ signals intelligence agency. The National Cyber Force "brings together intelligence and defence capabilities to transform the UK's ability to contest adversaries in cyber space", said GCHQ Director Jeremy Fleming. Officials declined to discuss specific targets or operations, but said the unit's work could include disrupting terrorist communication networks, taking down organised crime groups and disabling enemy weapons systems. HOW DOES BRITAIN COMPARE TO OTHER POWERS? The announcement formally confirms Britain's role … [Read more...] about What is Britain’s National Cyber Force?

REUTERS: Manchester United have conducted forensic investigations following a cyber attack on the Premier League club's systems and are working with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to assess the damage. United said last week they had experienced a cyber attack and had shut down affected systems to protect data, though club media channels, including the website and mobile app, were unaffected. "The NCSC is aware of an incident affecting Manchester United Football Club and we are working with the organisation and partners to understand impact," a spokesperson for the security agency was quoted as saying by British media. United said the attack had not impacted matchday operations. "Following the recent cyberattack on the club, our IT team and external experts secured our networks and have conducted forensic investigations," United said in a statement. "This attack was by nature disruptive, but we are not aware of any fan data being compromised. Critical systems … [Read more...] about Soccer-Man Utd working with cyber agency after ‘disruptive’ attack

WASHINGTON: The US government started the 2021 fiscal year with an October budget deficit of US$284 billion, a record for the month, as coronavirus-related outlays spiked sharply from a year earlier and revenues declined, the Treasury Department said on Thursday. The October deficit was 111 per cent higher than the October 2019 deficit of US$134 billion and 61 per cent higher than the previous October record of US$176 billion in 2009, during the financial crisis and recession. It follows a record full-year deficit of US$3.132 trillion for fiscal 2020, which ended Sep 30, that more than tripled the previous year's shortfall due to COVID-19 aid spending. Treasury officials said the 2020 deficit was held down partly by far lower outlays and stronger receipts in the early months of that fiscal year before the pandemic closed down large parts of the economy in March. Revenues for October fell 3 per cent to US$238 billion, largely due to lower receipts withheld from paychecks … [Read more...] about US starts fiscal 2021 with 111% jump in October deficit

SINGAPORE - The wave of digitalisation sweeping across businesses and impacting individuals alike amid the Covid-19 pandemic underscores the increasing importance of staying safe online. Against this backdrop, cyber safety concerns will be the focus of discussion in the upcoming webinar organised by The Straits Times, to be held from 12.30pm to 2pm on Dec 9. The Digitalisation and Cyber security webinar, free for all ST readers, is the third in the ST Reset 2021 webinar series that aims to put the pressing issues of the day in context for readers. Figures from the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) in November showed that cyber attacks have intensified in the first 10 months of this year. There were 61 ransomware attacks on businesses from January to last month (Oct), almost double the 35 cases for the whole of last year. Ransomware is malware that infects unprotected computers and locks them down with a note demanding ransom. Tellingly, the spike in the … [Read more...] about Find out how to stay safe in the digital age in ST webinar on Dec 9

SINGAPORE- Cyber attacks have intensified in the first 10 months of the year, with many more businesses in Singapore reporting being held to ransom by malware as working from home became a norm amid the pandemic. The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) received 61 reports of ransomware attacks from January to last month, almost twice the 35 cases reported for the whole of last year. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Get unlimited access to all stories at $0.99/month Latest headlines and exclusive stories In-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content Get access to all with our no-contract promotional package at only $0.99/month for the first 3 months* Subscribe now *Terms and conditions apply. … [Read more...] about More Singapore businesses hit by ransomware attacks