Aerospace firm BAE Systems has launched a cyber security intelligence network.
The Intelligence Network is an industry forum and lobbying group which will address the increase in cyber-attacks.
The news comes off the back of a new report by BAE, Vodafone and other bodies which calls for more transparency in how businesses tackle cyber crime. The new group will lobby the government for better cyber security laws.
James Hatch, director of cyber services for BAE Applied Intelligence, says that companies are not sharing data efficiently enough.
BAE stated that “it’s time to stop victim-shaming” businesses that have suffered a security breach – and it’s hard to disagree with that assessment.
Timehop hack
The personal data of 21 million users of app Timehop may have been stolen.
The app works by flagging up past events from users’ social media feeds – meaning it has access to the likes of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The firm revealed the hack in a blog post and said it took two hours 19 minutes to close it down.
The data includes names and email addresses, while a fifth of users (4.7m) may also have had their phone number stolen.
Timehop says no information on social media posts was accessed.
William Hague slams unbreakable encryption
Former Foreign Secretary William Hague has said there can be no absolute right to privacy around technology.
Speaking at the Infosec 2016, he said: “If I was advising networks and technology companies offering unbreakable encryption – unbreakable by law enforcement authorities – I would give this advice: public opinion on this issue can turn around very quickly.
“It’s undoubtedly the case that criminal networks are highly sensitive to finding channels of communication they believe will be undetected. It makes all the difference between them going to jail or not.
“Each case that comes to light in tax evasion, gang brutality, modern slavery, terrorist attack, is cumulatively damaging to the case for unbreakable encryption.”
Messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Apple iMessages are delivered with end-to-end encryption, meaning the message cannot be intercepted and decrypted by a third party.
UK and France to collaborate on security
The UK and France will together hold a conference around fast-moving technologies like artificial intelligence and cyber security.
Before the announcement of his move to become Health Secretary in the troubled Conservative Government, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Matt Hancock announced the event alongside French counterpart Françoise Nyssen.
The UK’s Alan Turing Institute will also work on research and funding initiatives with its counterpart in France the DATAIA, with a strong commitment to net neutrality.
Julian David, CEO of techUK, said: “This event is a significant step towards greater collaboration between the British and French tech sectors. Both countries share similar opportunities and challenges as we build our leading digital economies through technologies like artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and cyber security.”
Shattering the illusions of ‘identity experts’
Busy companies which believe identity and cyber security tasks are straightforward have been warned that their illusions will soon be ‘shattered’.
Eugenio Pace is the co-founder of Identity as a Service firm Auth0, which helps businesses verify that people are who they claim to be when logging into systems.
He says identity management is a universal problem while Seattle-based Auth0 claims to have securely authenticated more than 1.5 billion monthly logins and prevented more than 1.3m malicious logins.
“Companies that have large teams of developers want to retain the rights to their proprietary technology and avoid outsourcing, in an attempt to save time and money,” he told BusinessCloud.
“What they soon find out, however, is that they are not identity experts – and the notion of this being a simple task is soon shattered.
“Hours are wasted, and more importantly, product innovation is displaced.”
Cyber-attacks ‘inevitable’
A survey of CEOs from across the UK found that four in 10 believe becoming a victim of a cyber-attack is now a case of ‘when’ and not ‘if’ for their business.
KPMG polled 150 UK leaders and a further 1,150 chief executive officers from across the world about their future investment plans and the challenges and opportunities facing them.
With reports of cyber-attacks and breaches almost daily, 39 percent of UK CEOs surveyed believe they will be targeted by a cyber-attack.
The view was relatively optimistic when compared to their global counterparts, where 49 per cent said they envisioned a cyber-attack on their business.