Each week, IRM gathers up (what we think) are the most interesting and important reads from the cybersecurity industry. The weekly roundup will include good and bad examples of cybersecurity practice and thought pieces from across the globe – all summarised in one handy place for your regular news top-up.
World Wide Web inventor unveils plan for the “new internet”
The inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has publicly launched “Inrupt”, a start-up to help bring his new internet mission to life. The new open-source project “Solid” aims to create a “personal online data store” where people can store messages, contacts, music and other personal information.
The digital initiative is designed to provide users with control over their own data, rather than in the hands of giants like Facebook, Google and Amazon.
Berners-Lee says: “It gives every user a choice about where data is stored, which specific people and groups can access select elements, and which apps you use. It allows you, your family and colleagues, to link and share data with anyone. It allows people to look at the same data with different apps at the same time.”
You can read the full article here.
GRU accused of cyber-strikes in the West
The Russian military intelligence services, the GRU, has been pinpointed as responsible for cyber-attacks in the West. The organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons (OPCW) said two methods were used to carry out cyber-attacks – close access and spear phishing.
Events including the Malaysian Airlines flight crash, the hacking of the Democratic National Committee, the release of confidential medical files from the World Anti-Doping Agency and the Salisbury poison attack, have all lead to GRU being accused.
You can read the full article here.
Facebook users in the dark about cyber-attack
After posting our roundup last week, Facebook shortly afterwards announced that they had been victim to a cyber-attack.
With very little information being released since the attack, all that the public do know is that at least 50 million users were affected. Facebook users have since been encouraged to change their passwords to ensure the security of their accounts and 40 million accounts were automatically logged out.
With Facebook being based in Ireland, the Irish Data Protection Commission has begun an investigation to decide whether they should be fined.
You can read the full article here.
Claims that China planted chips in Apple and Amazon servers
On Thursday, it was announced that a Chinese military unit has been inserting microchips into computer servers used by companies including Apple and Amazon. The microchips implanted on motherboards provided China with backdoor access, meaning they could potentially access data and alter operations.
Despite being supposedly discovered in 2015 by US intelligence services, Amazon, Apple and Super Micro have all denied the findings of the Bloomberg report exposing the claims.
Apple said: “On this we can be very clear: Apple has never found malicious chips, ‘hardware manipulations’ or vulnerabilities purposely planted in any server.” Similarly, the Chinese Government has also denied the claims.
You can read the full article here.
‘Cyber-racism’ during Black History Month
Hackers were able to bring down the Black History Month website twice in 24 hours in what was thought to be “cyber-racism”. This is due to Black History Month editors believing that the cyber-attacker aimed to ensure the content was not accessible or available to the public at a time when the content is most in demand.
With the attack being tracked to Doncaster, South Yorkshire, the IT team were able to get the website up and running again after working through the night.
You can read the full article here.
National Cybersecurity Awareness Month kicks off
Every year, October is recognised as “National Cybersecurity Awareness Month”. It’s a time for individuals and businesses to get to grips with the importance of cybersecurity. Each week during National Cybersecurity Awareness Month has a different theme. This first week’s theme (1st – 7th October) is “Make your home a haven for online safety”. IRM have put together six of the most important tips to remember when considering cyber safety in your home which you can read here.
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