The head of UK spy agency GCHQ has warned 5G will increase threats of digital terrorism due to its expected use in critical infrastructure.
Jeremy Fleming, Head of UK spy agency GCHQ, wrote in the Sunday Times to raise his concerns about the next generation of mobile networks.
5G is expected to expand beyond its current primary use for mobile broadband to connect...
The dramatic increase in internet-connected devices has created a significant attack surface for hackers and cybercriminals. Applications for the Internet of Things (IoT) are growing. As a result, the related challenges associated with IoT data security and privacy will increase with time.
Whether their motive is simply mischief, theft, or some other goal, the impact of IoT-related criminal activities can be far-reaching and very costly. Vendors of cybersecurity software and services will, therefore,...
Hutchison-owned Three has decided against its existing 3G/4G network partners in favour of Huawei for its future 5G rollout.
Three uses equipment from Nokia for its 3G network, and Samsung for 4G. The operator decided to once again switch things up for its 5G rollout over the belief Huawei’s technology is far more attractive.
Many rival operators around the world often choose to stick with the one vendor to ease the upgrade process and keep costs down. Ericsson is one vendor which has gone on record to...
According to Homeland Security officials, state-sponsored Russian hackers compromised US utility networks in a campaign affecting ‘hundreds’ of victims.
The Wall Street Journal cites officials from the DHS (Department of Homeland Security) claiming that hackers reached the point they ‘could have thrown switches’ to cause significant disruption.
Officials linked the...
An oversight board set up in the UK to monitor the use of Huawei’s equipment in critical telecoms infrastructure has identified ‘new risks’ to security.
While countries like the US and Australia have taken hardline stances against the use of Chinese telecoms equipment from the likes of Huawei in critical infrastructure, the UK has been more accommodating.
Chinese telecoms equipment...
In the evolving landscape of mobile networks, we are beginning to see new vulnerabilities open up through 3G and 4G networks, and it is more than likely that 5G will follow this same fate. Protecting only this Gi Interface is no longer enough for service provider security.
Until recently, the Gi-LAN connecting the EPC (Evolved Packet Core) to the internet was considered to be the most vulnerable part of the service provider network and was protected via Gi-Firewal and anti DDoS systems. The rest of the EPC...
Congressional lawmakers want the pending Sprint–T-Mobile merger examined over the former's possible Chinese government links.
According to a report from Bloomberg, the lawmakers are concerned that Sprint is majority-owned by Japan’s SoftBank… and SoftBank has worked with Huawei, which the US government has deemed a national security threat.
It’s a rather tenuous link, but it seems the...
Trump’s administration continues to be wary of Chinese telecoms firms as it asks the FCC not to grant a license to China Mobile.
Citing national security concerns, the U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) recommended the FCC deny China Mobile Ltd’s application to offer telecommunications services from within the United States.
State-owned China Mobile is the world’s largest phone carrier by subscribers, with over 902 million users as of June 2018. The...
WiFi devices have used the WPA2 protocol for over a decade, but that will start to change as the WiFi Alliance begins WPA3 certification.
WPA2 was launched in 2004 so, 14 years later, it’s ripe for replacement.
The latest protocol adds several new protections. One of the major improvements aims to prevent hackers cracking the password by repetitively making guesses.
So-called ‘dictionary attacks’ using infamous cracking apps such as Cain and Abel,
Huawei appears to be cutting research funding in Australia as it continues to face problems in the country over national security fears.
The company’s Australian financial reports show a drop in research spending from $81,000 in 2016 to zero last year. For comparison, back in 2015, the company spent $8.3 million – and $10.1 million the year before that.
The company denies any reduction in research spending.
A spokesman for Huawei said it’s provided more than $1 million of IoT equipment...
Cybersecurity firm Symantec has exposed Chinese hacking of satellite communications and telecoms in the United States and Southeast Asia.
The company’s AI-based Targeted Attack Analytics (TAA) system helped researchers expose a hacking campaign from a group called Thrip.
On the surface, Symantec said the activity looked innocuous. TAA alerted Symantec’s investigation team and set them on the path to discovering the attack from a group the company has been monitoring since 2013.
“This is...
Australian Labor MP Michael Danby has become the latest politician to call for a ban on buying 5G network equipment from Chinese firms claiming they are ‘controlled’ by the government.
Speaking to parliament last night, Danby requested Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull take a similar stance as in his tenure as communications minister when he barred Huawei from bidding for the National Broadband Network (NBN).
Mr Danby said:
“Now he [Malcolm Turnbull] and his government must...
The online security market is expanding globally, and for good reason. The dramatic increase in connected devices has created a huge attack surface for cyber criminals. Whether their motive is mischief, or theft, the impacts can be far-reaching and very costly.
As an example, the downtime cost on Amazon’s North American sales operations as a result of the 2016 'Dyn' cyberattack - ~211 minutes of service disruption - resulted in a loss of $32 million.
Most companies don't have the...
GCHQ’s Jeremy Fleming has used his first public speech as director to reveal the intelligence agency carried out a major cyber offensive against ISIS.
"The outcomes of these operations are wide-ranging," he told the Cyber UK conference in Manchester. "In 2017 there were times when Daesh found it almost impossible to spread their hate online, to use their normal channels to spread their rhetoric, or trust their publications."
Beyond causing disruption to the group’s spread of...
Internet of Things (IoT) technology deployments have increased across the globe, as more CIOs and CTOs explore new commercial applications. However, many organizations continue to seek IoT solutions that include comprehensive data protection capabilities.
Security continues to be a major concern for IT professionals when deploying IoT projects within their organizations, according to the latest worldwide market study by 451 Research.
When asked to rank which technologies or processes their organizations...
While previously believed, the National Security Agency (NSA) now states it has sufficient evidence to declare North Korea as responsible for the devastating WannaCry cyber attack.
The cyber attack used ransomware to lock many users around...
Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach has warned the UK must boost its naval forces to counter the Russian threat to underwater cables.
Russia’s modernised navy has often been spotted near to underwater communications cables in the Atlantic. The economic reliance on these cables makes them a prime target.
Britain’s economy is around 80 percent service-based and relies on underwater cables to...
The chief of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has confirmed attacks on infrastructure from Russian hackers.
Ciaran Martin, the founding chief executive of the NCSC, claims the Russians have been attempting ‘to undermine the international system’ and sow discord.
Speaking at the Times Tech Summit in London, Martin said: "I can't get into precise details of intelligence matter, but I can confirm that...
An analytical report has revealed serious vulnerabilities in current and future mobile networks which makes them unsuitable for smart cities and puts users at risk of surveillance.
The cybersecurity experts at Positive Technologies discovered security flaws in the 4G network core known as the EPC (Evolved Packet Core) which can be exploited through vulnerabilities in the GTP protocol.
GTP (GPRS Tunneling Protocol) is a group of...
A leading cybersecurity firm has claimed a hacking group with alleged links to the Russian government breached the US power grid.
Symantec says the hacking group is nicknamed Dragonfly 2.0 and compromised more than a dozen American companies in recent months. The companies supply power to the US power grid and the hackers acquired high-level access.
The group, which has also gone by the nicknames of Crouching...