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Cyber bytes - Issue 16

16 June 2020. Published by Richard Breavington, Partner and Christopher Ashton, Senior Associate and Rachel Ford, Senior Associate

Welcome to Cyber_Bytes, our bi-weekly roundup of key developments in cyber, tech and evolving risks.

Police Chief issues warning on discovering cyber-attacks when businesses go back to their offices

A Chief Policeman has cautioned businesses that during the COVID-19 pandemic offices and digital devices have been left untouched. It is anticipated that some businesses could return to find malware sitting on their systems. 

For full article, please click here.

Ransomware group begin auctioning their victim's sensitive data off online

The gang behind the 'REvil ransomware enterprise' has started to auction off data that they stole from companies through malicious software. Their tactics encourage victims to pay up or be publicly shamed. Experts have said that this is just a sign on these types of groups feeling the financial pressure during the COVID-19 crisis as they look for new ways to extract value from victims who are less able to pay their demands.

For the full article, please click here.

The UK government set to invest £10m in the development of cyber security solutions 

The UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has announced that it will invest £10m in the development of cyber security solutions designed to strengthen the security of digital devices and services. The investment, which will be spread over four years and involve grants awarded to nine firms, is aimed at helping the tech infrastructure of UK organisations and digital devices to become more resilient to cyber attacks.

For the full article, please click here.

Honda falls victim to a cyber attack

Honda was forced to suspend production facilities worldwide when they discovered a computer virus had infiltrated the company's servers. Factories were temporarily taken offline in locations across the world including Brazil, India and Japan. Most facilities affected were brought back online after one day, although some continued to remain closed.

For full article, please click here.

FBI issue warning that mobile banking users could face increased cyber attacks 

The FBI have advised that cyber attackers are embedding malicious apps inside third-party software. This comes after it was seen there was a 50% increase in the use of online banking since 2020.

For the full article, please click here.

Report illustrates cyber exposure in each country as we enter post COVID-19 world 

PasswordManagers.co has compiled data from five of the most significant types of end-point and cloud cyberattacks alongside the level of cybersecurity commitment across 108 countries to assess the exposure to cybercrime that each country faces.

For the full article, please click here.

Sweden to become world's first cashless society

Sweden is looking at introducing their own cryptocurrency, making them the world's first cashless society. Whilst the 'e-Krona' may be very effective for the country, it has been recognised that they could face the problem of all transactions being tracked, and people's personal lives being discovered. 

For full article, please click here.