CS Mar-Apr 2021

Computing 

Security 

Secure systems, secure data, secure people, secure business 

Long-distance winners 

Excellence shines through from afar 

NEWS 

OPINION 

INDUSTRY 

COMMENT 

CASE STUDIES 

PRODUCT REVIEWS 

Where to now? 

Inside this issue: expert 

insights into what the 

industry can expect 

in the months ahead 

Webcam perils 

Be careful who may be spying on you! 

Attacks hit record high 

Deep concerns as cyber security 

incidents exceed all previous levels 

Computing Security March 2021

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APPRENTICESHIPS: VITAL ROUTE INTO CYBERSECURITY 

EDITOR: Brian Wall 

(brian.wall@btc.co.uk) 

LAYOUT/DESIGN: Ian Collis 

(ian.collis@btc.co.uk) 

SALES: 

Edward O’Connor 

(edward.oconnor@btc.co.uk) 

+ 44 (0)1689 616 000 

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(abby.penn@btc.co.uk) 

+ 44 (0)1689 616 000 

Apprenticeships are the solution to attracting more young people into cybersecurity, 

according to 42.5% of respondents to a new Twitter poll run by Infosecurity Europe, 

Europe's information security event. The poll set out to explore current issues around the 

skills shortage within the sector, particularly within the context of the pandemic. 

Responses also highlight the importance of proper support for remote workers - with more 

than a third (37.2%) believing that sustaining motivation and well-being is the greatest skillsrelated 

challenge faced by cybersecurity professionals right now. The information security sector 

continues to suffer from a shortage of skilled professionals, with more than four million unfilled 

roles worldwide, according to the Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) and the Information Systems 

Security Association (ISSA). Despite this, 35.9% of the respondents to Infosecurity Europe's poll 

say their organisation currently has a hiring freeze on cybersecurity roles. 

"We can definitely do more to open up apprenticeships or internships that encourage people 

to see if information security is for them," suggests Steve Wright, CISO of Privacy Culture and 

Former Interim DPO Bank of England, "but, as a permanent measure, we've got to look at what's 

going to attract people at the right age. I think more could be done to make it part of the school 

curriculum." 

Behind apprenticeships in the poll was the need for a formal career path (27.1%), more role 

models/mentors (17.1%) and greater diversity (13.4%). Troy Hunt, Microsoft regional director 

and founder of 'Have I Been Pwned', indicates the need for greater inclusiveness: "Technology in 

general is very male-dominated and there's a lot of women in particular feel excluded by that. 

There's also much more introverted behaviour, and - in my experience at least - obnoxious 

behaviour! We need to create an environment that people of all backgrounds want to be in; 

that removes the barriers making them reticent about joining the industry." 

PUBLISHER: John Jageurs 

(john.jageurs@btc.co.uk) 

Published by Barrow & Thompkins 

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Brian Wall 

Editor 

Computing Security 

brian.wall@btc.co.uk 

www.computingsecurity.co.uk March 2021 computing security 

@CSMagAndAwards 

3


Computing Security March 2021 

contents 

CONTENTS 

Computing 

Security 

NEWS 

OPINION 

INDUSTRY 

COMMENT 

CASE STUDIES 

PRODUCT REVIEWS 

Long-distance winners Where to now? 

Excellence shines through from afar 

Inside this issue: expert 

insights into what the 

industry can expect 

in the months ahead 

Webcam perils 

Be careful who may be spying on you! 

COMMENT 3 

Apprenticeships’ route into cybersecurity 

Attacks hit record high 

Deep concerns as cyber security 

incidents exceed all previous levels 

ARTICLES 

EDITOR’S FOCUS 6 

How well are organisations and the 

workforce surviving the WFH challenge? 

DIGITAL ACCESS FOR ALL 7 

Steve Mellings, founder of ADISA, looks 

at the wider impact of COVID-19 - and 

the digital divide this has triggered 

DATA PROTECTION LAW AND 

WORKING FROM HOME 8 

Samad Miah, Xcina Consulting, looks at 

the data security and privacy compliance 

challenges remote working can bring 

WINNERS, TAKE A BOW! 32 

It wasn’t possible to celebrate the 2020 

Computing Security Awards face to face, but 

even the virus couldn't prevent them from 

going ahead. Master of ceremonies Chris 

Cowdrey and editor Brian Wall revealed the 

winners by video link - and what an occasion 

it still proved to be 

SEIZING BACK CONTROL 18 

THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY 10 

How can organisations stop their data 

We asked several industry commentators 

falling into the wrong hands? Terry Greer- 

for their views on where they believe 2021 

King, SonicWall, offers his insights 

will lead us, as we continue to grapple 

with COVD-19 and a whole multitude of 

ATTACKS HIT RECORD HIGH 22 

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) 

other security challenges. Here's what they 

handled a record total of incidents over 

had to say 

the last 12-month period accounted for - 

with 200-plus related to the coronavirus 

THE PATIENT APPROACH PAYS OFF 24 

NHS Management has been adopting 

a security-first mindset, with a helping 

hand from AT&T Cybersecurity 

BE CAREFUL WHO’S WATCHING! 16 

Mark Zuckerberg (yes, Facebook raises its 

YOU'VE GOT EMAIL... BREACHES 26 

controversial head again!) posted a now 

Misdirected emails have been identified as 

infamous photo of his desk setup, showing 

the UK's top cause of reported security 

his laptop with a covered webcam and 

incidents, leading to 44% more incidents 

than phishing attacks 

blocked mic. If even the creator of 

Facebook does this, shouldn’t everyone? 

CHANGE IS ON THE CARDS 28 

Ever wondered if workplace security, no 

matter where you are, might be possible? 

Biometrics could offer a way forward 

A GLIMPSE INTO THE ABYSS 20 

CYBER STRATEGY’S CRITICAL POINT 30 

Cyber security has never been more relevant 

When your data leaks, it might well end up 

and will no doubt continue in that vein for 

for sale on the dark web, making you an 

organisations throughout the year ahead 

easy target for advanced attacks. As one 

industry expert observes, “the market for 

PRODUCT REVIEW 19 

stolen data on the dark web has become 

Wandera Private Access 

a truly lucrative trade”. 

computing security Jan/Feb 2021 @CSMagAndAwards www.computingsecurity.co.uk 

4

My peace of 

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Cloud Security Solutions that are 

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editor's focus 

WORKING FROM HOME - ONE YEAR ON! 

COVID-19 HAS BEEN WITH US NOW FOR ALMOST A YEAR - AT LEAST 'OFFICIALLY'. HOW ARE 

ORGANISATIONS AND REMOTE WORKERS SURVIVING THE CHALLENGES? 

One year on, it's clear that the 

pandemic changed the way many 

organisations operate, due to 

huge numbers of staff being forced to 

work from home. That reality is 

something that resonates deeply with 

Oliver Cronk, chief IT architect, EMEA at 

Tanium. "This has caused digital 

transformation to accelerate rapidly and 

many organisations have put stop-gap IT 

solutions in place to keep up," he states. 

"This approach, which we believe is 

especially prevalent in sectors hit hardest 

by the pandemic, often creates 

cybersecurity weaknesses." 

Another key issue he highlights is that 

many organisations are struggling with 

reduced revenue or funding right now 

and having to make cutbacks, yet 

cybersecurity is not an area they can 

afford to neglect, he warns. "As lockdown 

continues and some teams are being 

asked to do more with less resources, they 

remain increasingly vulnerable to cyber 

threats, due to distraction or fatigue, 

which can cause employees to drop their 

guard when it comes to clicking on 

malicious links in emails." 

OUT OF TOUCH 

In addition, states Cronk, "IT audit 

continues to fail many organisations, with 

some of the recent security issues we've 

seen being a direct result of IT audit and 

governance processes being used, which 

are out of touch with what is really going 

on in modern organisations". 

Businesses need to ensure they are 

planning for the long-term by setting up a 

security foundation which is flexible, datadriven 

and efficient, he advises, while 

equipping IT teams to respond to threats 

immediately from wherever they are based. 

"Whilst the pandemic has created 

challenges for IT teams, this period should 

also be seen as an opportunity to optimise 

IT security and operations. 

"Teams should consider embracing 

technologies such as distributed cloud 

architecture and endpoint management, 

which will give businesses the visibility and 

control they need to minimise the 

likelihood of a damaging cyber-attack in 

the age of lockdowns and mass remote 

working." 

06 

computing security March 2021 @CSMagAndAwards www.computingsecurity.co.uk

industry insights 

DIGITAL ACCESS FOR ALL - HELPING 

TO BRIDGE THE TECHNOLOGY DIVIDE 

STEVE MELLINGS, FOUNDER OF ADISA, LOOKS AT HOW COVID-19 HAS HELPED TO 

ILLUMINATE A GAP IN SOCIETY WHERE TECHNOLOGY FOR MANY ISN'T A GIVEN 

is essential for all children to achieve their 

learning objectives not just in the COVID 

world, but in the normal learning 

environment. The partnership we have 

formed with ADISA allows us access to the 

leading IT asset disposal companies in the 

UK, which means the programme is not only 

professional, secure and compliant, but 

sustainable." 

In these challenging COVID days, many of 

us are struggling to juggle homeworking 

and our newfound role as home 

educators. Those households that are lucky 

enough to have access to technology and 

connectivity are able to benefit from online 

learning, but imagine trying to educate your 

children with no technology? 

This is a predicament affecting more than 

1 million households in the UK and, far from 

being a COVID creation, this digital divide is 

ever present in society and reflects how a 

disadvantaged group that needs support 

has been overlooked. 

The 'Digital Access for All' programme 

(DAFA), run by the Learning Foundation 

Charity, has been focusing on this area 

for many years, but the COVID-driven 

requirement for home learning has drawn 

widespread focus (and angst) in how 

developed nations can still have families 

without access to technology at home. 

DAFA is a programme that is NOT just for 

today, but is tasked with helping to solve 

this ongoing problem and, in 2020, they 

partnered with ADISA to create a sustainable 

programme for businesses to donate 

redundant technology that can be 

refurbished and donated to schools or resold 

to help generate funds to purchase the type 

of technology those without access need. 

The programme has been designed by 

ADISA to present a route where ANY retired 

working technology can be processed to 

leading industry standards, including a service 

option for data sanitisation and compliance 

to overcome security concerns. From that 

point, any infrastructure that is not fit for 

reuse is recycled appropriately and the rest 

prepared for reuse. 

With businesses having to provide devices 

for homeworkers, the number of laptops 

available for donation is very low, which 

is why this programme accepts ANY 

infrastructure, with the aim being to generate 

much-needed funds to give the Learning 

Foundation the ability to help schools either 

by sourcing refurbished laptops or tablets, 

OR to help with connectivity issues. 

As Paul Finnis, chief executive of the 

Learning Foundation, says: "Far from being 

a luxury item, technology in the home really 

POSITIVE EXPERIENCE 

The programme has controls in place as 

to which type of devices can be supplied 

to schools to ensure the user experience 

is a positive one and, in conjunction with 

Microsoft, is able to ensure there is access 

to correctly licensed software. 

Since a soft launch in January, we have 

had offers of over 100,000 assets from 

organisations keen to help and we hope to 

be able to turn that into direct help for over 

25,000 children, BUT we cannot do it alone. 

This is a real email received by us last 

week….. 

"I'm not sure if you can help but I have 2 daughters 

who are home schooling and the laptop we have 

has just failed. We can't afford to get it fixed and 

the school says it can't help. Can you help us as I'm 

so worried that my girls are going to fall behind." 

Want to help? 

If you are a business that has any redundant 

equipment, you should consider donating it 

to the 'Digital Access for All' programme 

administered by ADISA. 

To find out more, visit: 

https://adisa.global/dafa 

www.computingsecurity.co.uk @CSMagAndAwards 

March 2021 computing security 

07

masterclass 

DATA PROTECTION LAW AND WORKING FROM HOME 

AS MORE PEOPLE WORK REMOTELY, THE DATA SECURITY AND PRIVACY COMPLIANCE CHALLENGES THIS CAN 

BRING MUST NOT BE OVERLOOKED, SAYS SAMAD MIAH, DATA PROTECTION CONSULTANT, XCINA CONSULTING 

confidentiality by keeping them locked 

in a filing cabinet when not in use and 

disposing of them securely when no 

longer required. You may also wish to 

return the papers to the office if you are 

unable to securely store or dispose of 

them at home. Lastly, try to maintain a 

written log of records and files that you 

have taken to ensure information is not 

accidentally misplaced and that others 

know its exact whereabouts. 

Data protection law requires 

companies to put in place 

appropriate technical and 

organisational measures to ensure the 

security of processing, whether it be in 

the office or in the comfort of your living 

room. We understand that keeping in 

touch and communicating with your 

team is crucial and have therefore listed 

our top five tips to ensure data 

protection does not become a barrier 

to productivity: 

1. Only use technology that is approved 

by your employer 

Work-provided hardware or software will 

have likely gone through some sort of 

vetting process and is therefore a much 

safer alternative then the use of personal 

devices. Privacy settings and system 

updates can also be applied at the 

administrator level on a work device and 

can therefore guarantee an optimal level 

of data security. Unless specifically 

authorised, avoid storing information 

on your personal device. Also, where 

possible, only use your employer's 

trusted networks and cloud services 

and ensure that data is backed up if 

stored locally. 

2. Use secure forms of communication 

There are several video conferencing 

software tools available on the market. 

Ensure that the solution you use offers 

end-to-end encryption on video calls, is 

not sending data to third parties without 

your approval and offers enhanced 

security and privacy features as standard 

(such as the use of a lobby or password 

access to a meeting). For emails, make 

sure you are sending it to the correct 

recipient and that all attachments are 

encrypted/password protected. 

3. Be careful with paper records 

It is important to note that data 

protection law also applies to personal 

information in manual form if it is 

intended to be a part of a filing system. 

If you are working remotely with 

paper records, consider security and 

4. Follow your organisation's policies 

and procedures 

If staff ignore procedures and policies, 

then they risk breaching key data 

protection principles. Your organisation 

will have developed an approach to 

ensure remote working is safe and 

secure and policies act as a way to 

communicate what is allowed and what 

is not. Do not be tempted to circumvent 

what is permitted by your employer 

(eg, sending emails through a personal 

account) simply because it is more 

convenient. 

5. Consider confidentiality and 

unauthorised exposure 

When working from home, try to ensure 

personal data is not seen by family 

members or those who you live with. 

This can prove challenging if you are 

sharing your home working space. 

However, try to hold confidential 

conversations somewhere where others 

are less likely to overhear you and 

position screens and papers, so they are 

not visible to others. Data protection law 

would consider family members to be 

third parties and information must not 

be shared with them as a result. 

08 


into the future 

THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY 

WE ASKED SEVERAL INDUSTRY COMMENTATORS FOR THEIR 

VIEWS ON WHERE 2021 WILL LEAD US, AS WE GRAPPLE 

WITH COVID-19 AND A MULTITUDE OF OTHER CHALLENGES. 

HERE'S WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY 

According to Verizon's Data Breach 

Investigations Report for 2020, social 

engineering has become a top attack 

vector for hackers. DigiCert, for its part, 

expects threat actors to leverage current 

events to unprecedented levels in the current 

year. Dean Coclin, DigiCert's senior director of 

business development, points to various 

influencing factors. "With unemployment 

fraud at an all-time high, we will see an even 

larger increase in 2021, as pandemicfocused 

unemployment programmes from 

governments have lowered the barriers to 

collecting benefits and security methods 

have not been able to keep up. Should we 

see additional stimulus funding from 

governments to provide relief for the effects 

of the pandemic, this will only make this 

a richer channel for fraudsters." 

Coclin, along with Avesta Hojjati, head of 

R&D, and Mike Nelson, VP of IoT security 

at DigiCert, have come up with some joint 

predictions for 2021, as life starts to return 

to a semblance of how it was pre-COVID-19. 

"We predict that individuals and businesses 

alike will adjust to a new normal sometime 

in 2021. As workers return to the office, 

there will be a steady crescendo of 

applications offered by threat actors, with 

the promise of increased productivity tools to 

ease the transition. Tools such as apps that 

provide ambient sounds will be leveraged in 

these attacks," they state. 

They warn of new attack vectors emerging 

not only for social engineering, but also 

attacks targeting common home devices, 

used at home for workers splitting time 

working at home and the office that can be 

used to compromise an individual and allow 

for lateral movement into a business. 

"Workers splitting time between the home 

and the office will only exasperate this 

transition period, causing confusion and an 

increase in security risk for business." 

Hojjati also sees 2021 bringing increased 

focus on automation and efficiency solutions 

in the security market. "As organisations 

work to keep the lights on and scrutinise the 

bottom line, there will be a resulting push 

for efficiency in security technologies. 2021 

will bring an emphasis on technologies that 

allow organisations to do more with less and 

automation will play a significant role, in 

terms of security innovation in the New Year." 

Worryingly, according to a 2020 SANS 

Automation and Integration Survey, 12% of 

respondents had no security automation in 

2019. In 2020, that dropped to 5%. "We 

predict the level of automation in 2021 will 

increase exponentially," he advises. 

Meanwhile, as security investments focus 

on immediate value, quantum computing 

will continue to move forward. "We will 

see the effect of Moore's law on quantum 

computing," says Tim Hollebeek, industry 

and standards technical strategist at 

DigiCert. "As quantum computing allows for 

10 



tasks to be more efficient, organisations will 

prioritise its continued development. 

Improvements and efficiency are recession 

resistant." 

Coclin has views, too, on the challenge of 

staying safe online, stating that identity and 

consumer accountability of an organisation's 

permissions and controls over its data 

will lead to a new interest in how to stay 

safe online and with connected devices. 

"Concerns over contact tracing and other 

government invasions of personal privacy 

will lead to a new desire by the public for 

ways to identify organisations with which 

they connect online," he states, "and for 

better assurances of the security of the 

connected devices in their everyday lives, 

including connected cars, homes, buildings, 

websites and emails." 

WORKING REALITY 

With the disruptions and restrictions the 

pandemic brought to our lives in 2020, 

it seems like 2021 will look similar with 

regards to our new working reality, cautions 

Robert Allen, director of marketing & 

technical services at Kingston Technology 

Europe. "This will bring new data security 

challenges for IT managers, as cybersecurity 

threats have increased massively during the 

Covid-19 lockdown . Artificial Intelligence 

will have a positive impact on security, 

while businesses will be more reliant on 

AI processes to implement cybersecurity 

and data privacy measures. 

"Working from home or a hybrid working 

environment will continue to stay and, even 

though the pandemic might gradually step 

out of our lives, employees will be looking to 

continue with the flexibility they now have." 

A better work-life balance for employees 

and savings on costs for businesses will be 

the main motivators for this, but it will come 

with additional challenges," he adds, "an 

important one being how to improve 

employees' equipment to increase efficiency. 

This may be a memory or storage 

improvement that will help all systems 

operate better, or being able to make the 

many video calls that are now part of our 

lives". 

Equally important is the need to improve 

data security in this new working 

environment. "IT managers might well 

consider upgrading employees' laptops 

by using encrypted drives to mitigate 

cybersecurity attacks," adds Allen. "The use 

of encrypted USBs would also add a layer 

of security to mobile corporate data, as we 

anticipate the shift from home working to 

more mobile working. " 

As the number of employees and 

businesses that are operating remotely 

has increased significantly, the need for 

companies to provide specific training and 

cybersecurity awareness programmes to 

employees will be paramount. "AI will 

play an important role in 2021, in order to 

support the implementation of further data 

security measures," he states. "With teams 

physically spread out and with a need to 

access corporate networks, businesses will 

rely more on automation and machine 

learning to prevent cyber-attacks. Businesses 

are still adapting to this paradigm shift. The 

impact caused by Covid-19 has completely 

changed the landscape in organisations 

worldwide and the tools that need to be 

used will also need to continue to adapt to 

this. Whatever happens in 2021 and 

beyond, we will continue supporting 

businesses as their needs evolve." 

RE-INFECTING MACHINES 

Kelvin Murray, senior threat research analyst 

at Webroot, sees cyber-attackers increasingly 

targeting home routers, insecure IoS devices 

and VPN systems to infect corporate 

machines connected to that network. "The 

goal of this tactic is to take advantage of low 

security home set-ups, so admins and users 

need to factor these risks into account when 

securing the growing number of work-fromhome 

environments. 

Avesta Hojjati, Digicert: increased focus 

on automation and efficiency solutions in 

the security market. 

Dean Coclin, Digicert: even greater interest 

will be shown in how to stay safe online and 

with connected devices. 



11


Lisa Ventura, UK Cyber Security 

Association: cloud computing and 

security will be central to the postpandemic 

world. 

Jon Fielding, Apricorn: rise in endpoint 

controls will enable employees to use their 

own devices safely. 

"MSPs and channel partners need to adapt 

their businesses to respond to the evolving 

threats that remote work presents. Some 

MSPs, particularly those who were more 

sophisticated before the pandemic, will be 

better equipped to protect against these 

types of threats. However, others will have to 

adapt and change their services very rapidly 

to keep up with these ongoing challenges," 

he adds. 

"The amount of disruption and cost to 

businesses and important services like 

healthcare by ransomware groups has 

grown too big to escape addressing by 

world leaders," Murray concludes. "Expect 

some major discussion and statements 

about the threat by politicians in 2021." 

GAPS IN SECURITY TRAINING 

For his part, Matt Aldridge, Webroot's 

principal solutions architect, believes there 

is still not enough security training being 

implemented across businesses, specifically 

to address the increasingly remote 

workforce. "In 2021, organisations need to 

prioritise training schemes that are tailored 

to remote workers, including how to spot 

phishing scams and other types of social 

engineering cyberattacks. With an increase 

of distractions at home and fatigue around 

email and virtual meetings, it's never been 

more critical that training be engaging, 

consistent and prioritised by business leaders 

to ensure it's embedded into company 

culture." 

A key consideration for businesses this year 

should be to monitor challenges around 

employee's mental health and the security 

issues that they can pose, he adds. "Many 

workers are mentally exhausted and more 

prone to making dangerous mistakes 

that can lead to security issues. Without 

a controlled network and onsite IT support 

offered by a physical office, businesses need 

to focus on implementing training that 

specifically supports workers in the home 

environment and that accounts for the 

stressors caused by the semi-permanent shift 

to WFH." 

Aldridge also points out that any training 

programme needs to have a feedback loop 

"and phishing simulations can help to form 

an important component of this, allowing 

organisations to track improvement in clickthrough 

rates from timely, realistic simulated 

phishing emails as the training programme 

progresses. Lessons can then be learned 

from this, helping organisations to provide 

just the right amount of regular training, 

without overburdening their users and 

without leaving it too long between sessions 

to allow bad behaviours to slip back in". 

The company's Nick Emanuel, senior 

director of product, also warns of new forms 

of exploitation, as we seek to emerge from 

the ravages of COVID-19. "As 2021 brings 

the first vaccines to fight Covid-19, cyber 

criminals will exploit the lack of trusted 

information and the widespread use of 

phone-based medical appointments 

[telemedicine] to target businesses and 

consumers in phishing attacks and BEC 

[Business Email Compromise] scams." 

DEVASTATING ATTACKS 

Lisa Ventura, CEO & founder, UK Cyber 

Security Association (UKCSA), has been 

highlighting some other areas she believes 

will continue to be a challenge in 2021. 

"Ransomware attacks can be devastating. 

Demands can run into millions of pounds. 

The number of such attacks has jumped 

by 350% since 2018, as well as the average 

ransom payment increasing by more than 

100% in 2020. Downtime has also increased 

to up to 200% and the average cost per 

incident is rising exponentially. 

Cloud computing and security will be 

central to the post-pandemic world, she 

adds. "Organisations that have migrated to 

the cloud will need to focus on their cloud 

security and understand the relationships 

they have with their providers. Cloud services 

12 



were essential in 2020 for keeping the 

economy and our lives from griding to 

a total halt and, in 2021 and beyond, 

there will be much more of a reliance on 

clouds, along with smart sensors, remote 

collaboration and streaming, even after we 

emerge from the pandemic." 

There will also be a greater reliance on 

automation, artificial intelligence and 

machine learning," Ventura states. "This 

reliance may drive a trend of hyper 

automation. This is a process in which 

organisations automate as many business 

and IT processes as possible, using AI, 

machine learning and robotic process 

automation. With the sheer number of 

potential threats and security alerts rising 

daily, it is often too much for humans to 

handle alone." 

ATTACKER SURFACE 

As the pandemic hit, many companies were, 

as we all now recall, forced to react really 

quickly to keep themselves going and meet 

customer needs. This move to digital opened 

up a gateway for hackers, who have since 

been seeking to take advantage of a great 

attacker surface. "2021 will start to see 

the trend towards efficiency over resilience 

reversed, as companies realise the damage 

that can be done, if these key services 

go down," says Dr Alex Tarter, chief cyber 

consultant and CTO at Thales UK. "This could 

result in the security budget overtaking the 

R&D budget next year." 

The business-hacker relationship has largely 

always been one way, with cyber criminals 

attempting to break in and businesses 

reacting to this. "However, 2021 will see that 

relationship change, as businesses go on 

the offensive and attempt to throw hackers 

off their game. Companies will start using 

deceptive techniques, such as deploying fake 

high-attraction systems to divert attackers or 

leave fake credentials [breadcrumbs] that 

lead to a fake high-value target," he adds. 

If 2020 is to be defined by the Coronavirus, 

then 2021 will, hopefully, be the year of 

the vaccine. "Scientists and the medical 

professionals have been working against the 

clock to produce a vaccine that will mitigate 

the virus, but within that unfortunately are 

threat actors looking to upset the process 

and steal data. With medical and logistical 

information at such a premium, the UK still 

faces a cybersecurity talent shortage that 

could leave its health industry exposed. In 

2021, expect to see a greater effort from the 

healthcare industry to access cybersecurity 

expertise," concludes Tarter, "both from a 

recruitment perspective and a partnership 

viewpoint, in order to protect their systems 

and against misinformation about the 

vaccine process." 

MAKE OR BREAK 

It's security culture that will 'make or break' 

hybrid working - not the technology, argues 

Jon Fielding, Apricorn's managing director 

EMEA. "Combined home and office working 

will set in as a long-term model and doing 

this safely will demand a major culture shift. 

Lack of employee education was singled out 

as the biggest cybersecurity weakness during 

the first lockdown in a recent Apricorn poll. 

Companies must make urgent changes to 

improve awareness of the different security 

risks associated with hybrid working and the 

knowledge of how to control them." 

Training employees in the 'practical stuff' 

won't be sufficient, he adds. "Everyone is 

accountable for protecting data in the new 

working environment, which requires a 

culture of information security best practice 

across the entire dispersed workforce. 

This isn't something that can be enforced; 

employees need to buy in to it. This will 

require IT teams to build deeper engagement 

with staff and devolve greater responsibility 

for security onto the individual. Education 

programmes must therefore explain the 

'why', as well as the 'what' and 'how': the 

reasons data protection is important, and 

the specific risks and consequences to their 

company of a breach." 

"Ultimately, businesses will want complete 

confidence that employees are working 

safely when they're out of the office," adds 

Fielding. "Secure, encrypted storage devices 

can be used to protect company data offline 

or quickly deploy a secure desktop 

environment to an entire workforce by preloading 

them with the with the standard 

corporate apps and security settings. 

Employees can then boot this up on 

whatever device they're using." 

He also sees organisations moving beyond 

the mindset of 'complete security', to focus 

on strengthening their cyber resilience. 

"Cyber resilience is an organisation's ability to 

prepare for, respond to and recover quickly 

from any digital disruption. We anticipate a 

marked rise in criminal attacks in 2021, as 

hackers take advantage of people continuing 

to work remotely - in particular, ransomware, 

malware and phishing. Recognising that no 

business is immune, IT teams will shift focus 

to ensuring they have all their ducks in a 

row, in the event of a breach. They'll also 

prioritise planning to mitigate the impact of 

any future crisis that drives the workforce out 

of the office!" 

Apricorn also expects to see an increase 

in encryption, to protect data as it's moved 

from office to home - mitigating risks, 

such as targeting in the cloud - and keep 

information secure whatever's happening 

around it. "There will also be a rise in 

endpoint controls that enable employees to 

use their own devices safely. These measures 

give organisations the ability to demonstrate 

transparency and due diligence, should a 

breach occur. The use of secure, encrypted 

storage devices as a straightforward way of 

backing up data locally is likely to increase, 

supporting the ability to get up and running 

again fast." 

STRAINING AT THE LEASH 

According to Mike Campfield, VP, GM 

International and Global Security Programs 

at ExtraHop, this year will see new strains of 



13


Mike Campfield, ExtraHop: new 

ransomware gangs will enter the picture 

and continue development of attack 

tactics. 

Maxine Holt, Omdia: COVID-19 accelerated 

cloud journeys and security was at best an 

afterthought. 

ransomware as attackers continue to profit. 

"We will also find new gangs entering the 

picture and continued development of 

attack tactics. Following the trend of recent 

years, ransomware will set its sights on 

ever higher value targets in healthcare, 

institutions of education and financial 

services. The more things change, the more 

they stay the same - the essential threat of 

ransomware is no different. Enterprises will 

develop workarounds to resist paying the 

ransom; ransomware continues to be the 

greatest threat to enterprises. We expect 

2021 to produce new victories in the long 

ransom war," he states. 

As for remote work, he believes that more 

and more employees are going to demand 

it from their employers. "In 2021, remote 

work will cement its place as a standard 

part of working life and create a new raft of 

considerations for enterprise security. How 

will an enterprise protect its network, if 

endpoints are employee-owned constantly 

on and off the corporate network, either 

from home or in the office? How are 

enterprises going to protect themselves, 

without the benefit of enterprise security 

controls? In 2021, the fact of long-term 

remote work is going to force us to rethink 

how we secure enterprise data and 

infrastructure," he adds. 

STRAINING AT THE LEASH 

2021 will be a year for organisations to 

reset and to fortify their cybersecurity 

resilience, according to Infosecurity Europe's 

community of security leaders. Europe's 

leading information security event asked its 

network of CISOs and analysts to comment 

on the major trends and changes they 

foresee shaping the next 12 months. 

Overall, they expect companies to focus on 

consolidating and reinforcing their security 

posture, as the full consequences of last 

year's rapid changes become apparent. This 

is a world that Maxine Holt, senior research 

director at Omdia, calls "the reset normal". 

She says: "From a security perspective, it's 

been difficult to maintain pace with the 

speed of change. COVID-19 accelerated 

cloud journeys, for instance, 

and security was at best an afterthought. 

Security functions applied temporary 

measures, and they will now peel back the 

sticking plaster and build more sustainable 

security for new ways of working. This 

should include upskilling staff in cloud 

security expertise, and looking at technology 

that can prevent, detect and respond to 

security incidents in these evolved 

environments." 

The threat landscape will continue to 

evolve at a speed that outpaces the 

cybersecurity industry, according to Becky 

Pinkard, CISO of Aldemore Bank. "I'd like 

to see companies buckle down on the 

'foundations of security', moving into an 

era of never-before-seen strength on the 

frontline fight against cyber threats," she 

comments. "However, I predict we'll see 

more of the same when it comes to security 

awareness, patching and risk prioritisation. 

The industry is maturing, but at a glacial 

pace. Until we pick up that pace, the 

current overall defensive posture will 

persist." 

When it comes to the threats that will 

come to the fore in 2021, Heidi Shey, 

principal analyst serving security and risk 

professionals with Forrester Research, 

believes insider incidents will be an area 

of increased concern. "Pandemic-related 

uncertainty and remote work environments 

have collided to create the ideal conditions," 

she explains. "We expect one-third of 

security breaches will be caused by insider 

threats in the coming year, up from 25% 

today. These may be due to accidental or 

inadvertent data misuse, or malicious intent. 

As part of their defence, firms should add 

capabilities for detecting insider threats 

and improve the employee experience." 

Part 2 of our predictions for cybersecurity in 2021 

will appear in the next issue. 

14 


Computing 

Security 


e-newsletter 

Are you receiving the Computing Security 

monthly e-newsletter? 

Computing Security always aims to help its readers as much as possible to do 

their increasingly demanding jobs. With this in mind, we've now launched a 

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free of charge. This will enable us to provide you with more content, more 

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If you are not already receiving this please send your request to 

christina.willis@btc.co.uk and advise her of the best email address for the 

newsletter to be sent to.

webcam perils 

BE CAREFUL WHO'S WATCHING YOU! 

JUST HOW SAFE ARE WEBCAMS - AND WHO'S MOST VULNERABLE 

TO HACKERS? 

As many parts of the world continue 

with strict lockdown restrictions, Zoom 

calls will remain the norm for some 

time. All to the good in such challenging 

times, but there are clear downsides, too. 

The tech and webcam specialists over at 

Reincubate have been analysing the real risks 

of webcams and detailed what we should be 

doing to protect ourselves as we let the world 

into our home via our webcam. Here is the 

company's take on where the greatest 

dangers lie: 

The rapid growth of remote and home 

working has led to a lot of users getting 

webcams or setting up Zoom equipment in 

their own homes. Mark Zuckerberg 

inadvertently brought attention to the risks of 

users being covertly monitored through their 

computer's webcams or mics when he posted 

a now infamous photo of his desk setup, 

showing his laptop with a covered webcam 

and blocked mic. If even the creator of 

Facebook blocks his, who else does? 

Generally speaking, there are few video apps 

where the host can remotely enable video if 

the participant has turned it off after the start 

of the call, and Zoom is safe in this regard. It 

does, however, have a feature whereby the 

host can remotely unmute a participant's 

microphone. If you're in the habit of stepping 

away from your computer on long calls to get 

a cup of coffee whilst muted, beware that you 

might be unmuted without knowing about it. 

Similarly, if you're joining the call from a 

room with other people around, their 

unexpected presence in your background may 

cause them embarrassment if they're not 

expecting to be broadcast. These inadvertent 

risks can be handled with a few simple 

precautions: covering or physically 

disconnecting a webcam makes things more 

obvious and having a mic with a physical 

mute button helps. 

SECURING YOUR CAMERA AND MIC ON 

AN IPHONE 

iPhone and iPad users have the least to worry 

about. So long as the device has not been 

jailbroken, it is extremely unlikely that hackers 

can remotely monitor the device's camera or 

mic. Apple's release of iOS 14 has done even 

more to safeguard users with its new orange 

and green dots. 

Of course, it's still possible for apps to access 

an iOS device's camera and mic, but in order 

for this to happen, users must first install an 

app and grant it permission to record video 

and audio. It's possible for apps to record 

audio - but not video - whilst backgrounded, 

but again, permissions must first be given by 

the user. Broadly speaking, your iPhone and 

iPad should be perfectly safe, so long as you 

don't let them out of your sight and only 

install apps that you trust. 

SECURING YOUR WEBCAM AND MIC ON 

A MAC 

A Mac or a MacBook Pro is second only to an 

iPhone in its security. Recent Macs include 

something called a T2 chip, which includes a 

number of hardware-based security features. 

Most relevant of all, it uses hardware to 

physically disable a Mac laptop's microphone 

when the laptop is closed or suspended. 

From a practical perspective, it's impossible 

for Mac's webcam to be in use without the 

16 


webcam perils 

accompanying green light being turned on. In 

the past, there have been workarounds, but 

the known exploits have been fixed on Macs. 

However, the software on the Mac does not 

trigger any sort of system-level security 

prompt when accessing a webcam or mic, so 

users must be careful to only use apps they 

trust. Security-conscious Mac users may wish 

to try OverSight (free) or Micro Snitch (paid), 

popular security tools that run in the 

background and alert users to any apps 

accessing their camera or mic. 

STAYING SECURE ON WINDOWS OR 

ANDROID 

Unfortunately, Windows and Android users 

will have the hardest time of all staying 

secure. Often the software and hardware for 

these devices are made by different 

companies, meaning there's plenty of room 

for loopholes between the two. Google's Play 

Store is infamous for including malware apps 

on a regular basis, and many Android phones 

suffer from not getting access to the latest 

security patches or Android updates. 

Theoretically, modern Android devices with 

the latest security patches will be close to an 

iPhone's security - at least, each app must 

prompt for webcam or mic access, but a 

status light won't be shown. 

But the problem is it's hard to tell by looking 

at an Android device if it's secure or up to 

date; simply because your phone says it has 

all of the latest security patches, doesn't mean 

that the manufacturer of your Android phone 

has made all of the security patches available. 

From this perspective, Google Android devices 

(such as the Pixel) are more trustworthy, as 

Google makes both the software and 

hardware together, and are ultimately 

responsible for issuing the most important 

security updates. 

Staying secure on these platforms is hard. 

The problem on Windows is so endemic that 

both Lenovo and HP have started building 

physical switches and covers into their 

webcams to give users some peace of mind. 

Without hardware control of the mic, it's 

impossible to tell if a Windows laptop could 

be recording in the background when open 

or closed! 

Blocking microphones isn't easy: you can't 

cover them with a piece of tape like you can a 

camera or at least, if you do, it won't be at all 

effective. 

Reincubate's advice, if running Android, 

would be to only use Google devices such as 

the Pixel and to avoid installing third-party 

apps from the Google Play Store. The risk of 

malware or app impersonation is not small. 

Seriously, if you want apps, use an iPhone. 

WHAT ABOUT ALEXA OR THE 

HOMEPOD? 

Plenty of users have an Alexa or HomePod 

device in their home or other forms of smart 

devices, like thermostats or security cameras. 

These are all capable of broadcasting video or 

audio captured within the home. It's very hard 

to keep tabs on these and ultimately one 

must either trust the company making them 

or not. 

"There are real risks to not covering a 

webcam, but, for users with Macs and 

iPhones, the greatest risk is most likely 

accidentally broadcasting themselves or 

unknowingly being unmuted by a meeting 

host, rather than being surveilled by a hacker," 

says Aidan Fitzpatrick, Reincubate. "Webcam 

covers and physical mute buttons on 

microphones act as fail-safes and helpful 

reminders to think about security, and a piece 

of tape really is the best solution for use with 

a MacBook. I recommend users keep devices 

closed or powered off when not on use. 

"It's worth thinking about using an external 

webcam or, for better quality, a smartphone 

webcam, as it can be physically unplugged 

between calls. Being able to unplug one's 

camera is the best way to stay secure." 

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook: in a recent 

post, his laptop had a covered webcam 

and blocked mic. 

Aidan Fitzpatrick, Reincubate: 

unplugging your camera is the best way 

to stay secure. 



17

inside view 

HOW CAN ORGANISATIONS STOP THEIR DATA FALLING INTO 

THE WRONG HANDS? TERRY GREER-KING, VP EMEA, SONICWALL, 

OFFERS HIS INSIGHTS 

In an era where cybercriminals are 

more sophisticated than ever, and 

attacks are becoming more 

commonplace by the day, the market 

for stolen data on the dark web has 

become a truly lucrative trade. Recent 

years have seen the spoils of many 

cyberattacks end up for sale on 

underground marketplaces. 

For instance, the recent attack on the 

European Medicines Agency (EMA) saw 

confidential information on the Pfizer 

COVID-19 vaccine was leaked across 

several hacking forums. The fact that 

billions of private records are changing 

hands poses a threat to businesses 

everywhere. 

The dark web is the term used for 

web content that exists on darknets: 

networks that require specific software 

or authorisation to access. Through 

the dark web, users can communicate 

anonymously without divulging 

identifying information. While not all 

activity on the dark web is illegal, it is 

often the preferred forum for criminals. 

Ultimately, the variety of threats that 

businesses could face from the dark web 

is endless. Essentially, criminals are after 

anything that can be traded for profit - 

usernames, passwords, credit card 

details, intellectual property, bank 

details, or employee information. The 

criminals will then leverage this data 

for financial gain. While it's hard to give 

concrete figures on the price data will 

fetch on the dark web, recent examples 

include the aftermath of 2018's British 

Airways hack, where stolen logins sold 

for as little as £7. 

When factoring this is in with the fact 

that it takes on average nine months to 

discover a breach, the risks become even 

clearer. Unfortunately, once the data is 

out there, there's not a great deal to be 

done to get it back. Therefore, the main 

mode of defence for any organisation is 

to prevent these breaches happening in 

the first place. Businesses need to zero 

in on ensuring they have a layered 

cybersecurity posture. The idea behind 

this is simple: The more barriers are 

placed in front of criminals, the better 

the chances to prevent them stealing 

data. By looking at cybersecurity in this 

way, companies can build an extremely 

robust line of defence. 

This will not only require a blend of 

the best technology available, such as 

strong identification and authorisation, 

sandboxing, SSL encryption, and cloud 

application security, but indeed also 

a consistent emphasis on employee 

education. Even with the finest 

technology in the world, if workers 

are not wise to the nature of threats, 

a simple phishing attack could expose 

all your data. 

Ultimately, combining this approach 

with a top-down focus on ensuring that 

best practices are being adhered to is 

the best way to prevent sensitive data 

falling into the wrong hands. 

18 


product review 

WANDERA PRIVATE ACCESS 

The COVID-19 crisis will continue to 

have a lasting impact on the way 

businesses around the globe 

collaborate and communicate, with 

repeated lockdowns forcing them to 

embrace remote working. In the rush to 

provide secure access to remote workers, 

enterprises are finding legacy VPNs (virtual 

private networks) are not fit for purpose, 

as their flawed trust models leave them 

open to all kinds of attacks. 

Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) is the 

new normal for securely accessing today's 

cloud and hybrid infrastructures and 

Wandera's Private Access (WPA) cloud 

service has a simple philosophy - trust no 

one. It ensures only authorised users can 

access business applications, and allows 

organisations to create software-defined 

network perimeters that surround and 

protect all corporate resources on 

premises, in data centres and the cloud. 

Wandera takes a mobile-first approach; 

but, along with support for iOS and 

Android, WPA has Windows 10 and 

macOS devices on its guest list. A key 

differentiator with legacy VPNs is WPA 

provides secure access to applications and 

not the network, thus blocking infiltration 

and lateral movement by hackers. 

WPA creates connections up to four 

times faster than legacy VPNs by 

employing a non-IPsec protocol, which 

uses single-packet authorisation in the 

cloud. This fast micro-tunnel activation 

provides seamless transitions between 

mobile and wireless networks for remote 

users on the move. 

WPA integrates tightly with existing 

identity providers (IdPs) and has Microsoft 

Azure AD at the top of the list. It also 

works with many others, including Okta, 

OneLogin, IBM, Centrify and Ping Identity. 

Deployment is a cinch as, from the 

Private Access administrative console, we 

defined Microsoft Azure as our IdP. After 

providing our Microsoft 365 credentials, 

WPA grabbed our Tenant ID and we were 

ready to go - it's that simple. 

Client deployment is equally easy, as 

users installed the iOS app on their 

mobiles, signed in with their Microsoft 

365 credentials and a secure tunnel was 

created in seconds. Likewise with our 

Windows 10 clients as, after installing the 

agent, they logged in using their Microsoft 

accounts and were ready to go. 

Wandera's admin console presents a 

wealth of information on users, global 

data usage, overall security ratings, the 

top countries devices connect from and 

much more. It provides quick access for 

sending enrolment links to users and 

creating activation profiles, which can 

integrate with existing UEM (unified 

endpoint management) solutions. 

WPA provisions policy-based access 

controls to SaaS apps in the public cloud 

and enterprise apps hosted privately. 

Policies are easy to create, as we selected 

Microsoft 365, Box, Dropbox and GSuite 

from the predefined list and requested 

that all access to these services should be 

encrypted and routed through the nearest 

Wandera data centre. 

From our user's perspective, there is 

nothing to see, because the process is 

completely transparent. They continued to 

access their business apps as normal, with 

the client handling tunnel creation and 

encryption in the background. 

Along with blocking users from accessing 

specific web site categories and applying 

data usage limits, you can assign riskaware 

security policies. Wandera's 

MI:RIAM (Mobile Intelligence: Real Time 

Insights and Analyst Machine) engine 

comes into play here, as it uses the data 

gathered by advanced machine learning 

techniques to determine if users are at risk 

from compromised apps, web content or 

devices and automatically blocks access. 

Provisioning safe remote access in these 

challenging times needn't be a headache 

for enterprises, as Wandera's Private 

Access provides an elegantly simple, yet 

highly secure, ZTNA solution. We found it 

remarkably easy to deploy, as it doesn't 

require new certificates, accounts or IT 

workflows to be created and its light 

touch on end user devices ensures they 

get the best possible experience. 

Product: Private Access 

Supplier: Wandera 

Web site: www.wandera.com 

Tel: +44 (0) 203 301 2660 

Sales: sales@wandera.com 

www.computingsecurity.co.uk @CSMagAndAwards March 2021 computing security 

19

dark web 

WHEN DARKNESS FALLS 

SHOULD YOUR DATA LEAK, IT MIGHT WELL END UP FOR SALE ON THE DARK WEB, 

MAKING YOU VULNERABLE AND AN EASY TARGET FOR ADVANCED ATTACKS 

As the ever-vigilant SpyCloud has been 

pointing out, there's been an awful 

lot of buzz resulting from the recent 

so-called 'superbreach', referred to in the 

round as 'Collection #1'. "Containing over 

772,904,991 unique email addresses and 

more than 21 million passwords, this incident 

already stands out in terms of its sheer 

magnitude of exposure," it states. "It certainly 

doesn't help that the data was reportedly 

posted to a publicly accessible online forum." 

SpyCloud is not so sure the frenzy that 

seized the media when this breach erupted 

is an accurate reflection of what actually 

transpired in this instance. "The proliferation 

of stolen or leaked databases has given rise to 

credential stuffing, a fairly simple technique 

in which criminals load lists of previously 

breached credentials (from Linkedin, 

MyFitnessPal, MySpace, etc.), called combo 

lists, into automated brute-forcing tools to 

test credentials en masse. These tools test 

stolen passwords against thousands of 

targeted websites and applications until there 

is a match." 

The reality is that, armed with your 

credentials, online criminals can take over 

your online accounts and start ordering 

goods with your credit card. This might 

happen before the news of the breach even 

goes public. What are the likely consequences 

for organisations that have been hit in this 

way? What is the worst-case scenario likely 

to be? And how can they fight back? 

WIDENING AN ATTACK 

"As an information security testing company, 

we often get asked to assess the possibility 

of a threat actor gaining access to an 

organisation's critical information or control 

of internal networks," says Paul Harris, 

managing director, Pentest. "Leaked 

credentials, whether they be from the dark 

web or public forums, offer a potential entry 

point for these engagements and, over the 

years, have provided one of the most reliable 

routes in." 

However, using leaked credentials to gain 

access to company accounts isn't necessarily 

dangerous on its own, he points out - after 

all, the account may have low-level privileges. 

"You may get lucky and obtain access to an 

account with entry to sensitive data straight 

off the bat. It's more likely, though, that 

the compromised account is just a starting 

point for a wider attack. "Take a red team 

engagement we conducted for a large 

multinational tech company. They wanted to 

know if we could gain domain admin on a 

critical network. Our first step: check if leaked 

credentials worked. Due to password reuse, 

we were able to obtain access to the 

company's VPN and gain a presence on their 

internal network. From there, we were able 

to escalate our privilege level, through further 

vulnerabilities, until we had admin access on 

a server. Once access to the server had been 

obtained, we monitored traffic and, when a 

domain admin logged in, we were able to 

pull their credentials out of the server 

memory, going from leaked user credentials 

to complete control of the company's 

Microsoft Windows Domain." 

But how can you protect yourself against a 

scenario such as the one above? "Sadly, 

there's no silver bullet, but the more effective 

security measures you have in place, the 

harder it becomes for a threat actor," states 

Harris. "Our broad advice? 

Encourage employees to use long, unique, 

but easy-to-remember passwords, such as 

phrases, and enforce tight password policies. 

Introduce 2FA [two-factor authentication] 

around key access points, such as VPN, Email, 

Office365 etc, and consider tighter user 

privilege levels. People should only have 

20 


dark web 

access to the information/networks they 

truly need to do their job, no more." Finally, 

he advises challenge your security posture as 

often and as thoroughly as you can. "It's 

always better to have an internal team, or 

testing provider, find a vulnerability than a 

malicious threat take advantage of it." 

LUCRATIVE TRADE 

As Terry Greer-King, VP EMEA, SonicWall, 

points out, the market for stolen data on 

the dark web has become a truly lucrative 

trade. "Recent years have seen the spoils of 

many cyberattacks end up for sale on 

underground marketplaces." 

He cites the December attack on the 

European Medicines Agency (EMA), 

confidential information on the Pfizer 

COVID vaccine as one notable example of 

date being leaked across several hacking 

forums. "Needless to say, the fact that 

billions of private records are changing 

hands poses a threat to businesses 

everywhere." 

Ultimately, the variety of threats that 

businesses could face from the dark web 

is endless. "Essentially, criminals are after 

anything that can be traded for profit - 

usernames, passwords, credit card details, 

intellectual property, bank details, or 

employee information," adds Greer-King. 

"The criminals will then leverage this data 

for financial gain. While it's hard to give 

concrete figures on the price data will fetch 

on the Dark Web, examples include the 

aftermath of 2018's British Airways hack, 

where stolen logins sold for as little as £7." 

It takes on average nine months to 

discover a breach, so the risks involved 

become even clearer. "Unfortunately, once 

the data is out there, there's not a great deal 

to be done to get it back. Therefore, the 

main mode of defence for any organisation 

is to prevent these breaches happening in 

the first place. Businesses need to zero in on 

ensuring they have a layered cybersecurity 

posture. The idea behind this is simple: 

the more barriers are placed in front of 

criminals, the better the chances are to 

prevent them stealing data. By looking at 

cybersecurity in this way, companies can 

build an extremely robust line of defence." 

This will not only require a blend of the 

best technology available, he adds, such 

as strong identification and authorisation, 

sandboxing, SSL encryption, and cloud 

application security, but also a consistent 

emphasis on employee education. "Even 

with the finest technology in the world, 

if workers are not wise to the nature of 

threats, a simple phishing attack could 

expose all your data. Ultimately, combining 

this approach with a top-down focus on 

ensuring that best practices are being 

adhered to is the best way to prevent 

sensitive data falling into the wrong hands." 

Terry Greer-King, SonicWall: billions of 

private records changing hands poses a 

threat to businesses everywhere. 

Paul Harris, managing director, Pentest: 

challenge your security posture as often 

and as thoroughly as you can. 

UNLOCKING THE COMBINATIONS 

Combo (combination) lists - see main text - are usually not that interesting, from 

a security standpoint, because they are full of duplicate records, says SpyCloud 

(www.spycloud.com). In many cases, duplicates of duplicates of duplicates. 

SpyCloud analysts has published content on this subject, in light of the epidemic of 

password reuse. "As increasingly more websites and applications require account 

creation, people simply can't recall the many unique passwords they use between 

accounts," it says. "To make things easier, they reuse passwords amongst multiple 

sites, recycle old passwords and/or make only slight modifications to existing 

passwords. For criminals, this makes account takeover easier than ever - especially 

with the help of massive combo lists such as the one recently disclosed." 



21

cyber incidents 

ATTACKS HIT RECORD HIGH 

CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS ARE NOW OUTSTRIPPING ANYTHING THAT THE 

UK'S NATIONAL CYBER SECURITY CENTRE HAS HAD TO DEAL WITH IN THE PAST 

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre 

(NCSC) handled a record number of 

cyber security incidents over the last 12- 

month period accounted for. The agency dealt 

with 723 serious incidents between 

September 2019 and the end of August 

2020, a 20% increase on the 602 it handled 

the year before. More than 200 of these 

incidents were related to the coronavirus, 

according to the NCSC's latest annual review. 

The NCSC has been taking a series of decisive 

actions against malicious actors in the UK and 

abroad to combat this threat. We ask those in 

the security industry what preventive 

measures organisations can carry out, for their 

part, to keep them from being victims of such 

attacks in 2021. 

"Cybercriminals keep a close eye on events 

that are happening around the globe," says 

Jelle Wieringa, technical evangelist, KnowBe4. 

"To them, big events that attract a lot of media 

attention are an opportunity around which to 

build their attacks. COVID-19 is, unfortunately, 

a perfect example of cybercriminals taking 

advantage of world events." 

Those scams started with information about 

COVID-19 infection rates back in March last 

year and escalated to contact tracing over the 

summer. "With vaccines beginning to be 

administered to front line personnel and 

healthcare workers, cybercriminals are taking 

advantage of this by creating new phishing 

emails targeting users to click a malicious link 

or open an attachment. And with the world 

moving faster and faster, big things seemingly 

happen every day. So, there is no shortage of 

new events for cybercriminals to choose from. 

"For organisations to be able to defend 

themselves, they need to know where threats 

are coming from and what to defend against. 

Gathering security intelligence, whether it is 

through open source, paid or otherwise 

collected channels, is a great way for 

organisations to have visibility into what is 

happening, which allows cybercriminals to 

predict and prepare." Unfortunately, not 

everything can be clearly foreseen. "Therefore, 

an organisation needs to be prepared to fend 

off attacks, whether they are anticipated or 

not," he advises. "And with the pandemic still 

holding the world in its grasp, most 

employees will be forced to work from home 

for at least the foreseeable future. Even after 

employees are allowed to return to the office, 

it will be a while before everything goes back 

to a state of somewhat normal. This leaves 

employees particularly vulnerable to social 

engineering attacks - something 

cybercriminals are well aware of." 

Wieringa also points to how social 

engineering is a form of deception that is 

22 


cyber incidents 

used to manipulate individuals into divulging 

confidential or personal information that may 

be used for fraudulent and malicious 

purposes. "It is a popular tactic for today's 

cybercriminals to target humans, which is 

why it's so important to build up an 

organisation's human firewall and to help 

employees make smarter security decisions 

every day. This means organisations need to 

pay extra attention to the human side of 

cybersecurity. Training employees, promoting 

and rewarding secure behaviour, and 

cultivating a positive security culture 

throughout the organisation will be key to 

help combat social engineering attacks now 

and in the future." 

RELENTLESS ATTACKS 

Keith Driver, chief technical officer, Titania, 

says the figures released by the National Cyber 

Security Centre (NCSC) in its 2020 Annual 

Review demonstrate the relentless increase in 

cases whereby a cybersecurity attack has 

resulted in an incident requiring the UK 

national response team's attention -with, on 

average, almost two serious incidents 

occurring every day across the year. 

"On a national scale, the NCSC Active Cyber 

Defence programme has had incredible 

results," he points out. "It continues to roll out 

effective capabilities, like the Suspicious Email 

Reporting Service [SERS - where you can 

forward your suspicious email to 

'report@phishing.gov.uk for investigation], 

which received 2.3million emails in 2020, 

Protected DNS and Exercise in a Box, as well 

as a plethora of clear and concise advice 

notes." 

While these initiatives operate nationally on 

behalf of the British public, the protection of 

individuals and commercial enterprises 

requires us all to take action, he adds. "After 

all, as highlighted in the report, 'Cybersecurity 

is a team sport' , the NCSC has consistently 

promoted that the most effective cyber 

defence starts with basic cyber hygiene. The 

'10 Steps to cybersecurity' and 'Cyber 

Essentials' initiatives have been instrumental in 

helping to make the UK a safer place by 

providing easy-to-understand and practical 

advice on cyber policy and specific technical 

protections." 

When followed, the advice for endpoints, 

the networks they attach to and the people 

who use them provides a robust defence to 

the most common attacks, eliminating 

perhaps 99% of the threat, states Driver. 

"Basic cyber hygiene is vital to protect against 

the majority of attacks and it's something that 

Titania has discussed in depth. That's because 

it makes it so much harder for an attacker to 

gain a foothold. Everything from password 

strength and management, to device and 

network node configuration [firewalls, for 

example], is integral to operating a resilient 

and robust network, and should be 

considered." 

However, this does not need to be a lengthy 

process, he adds. "Much of basic cyber 

hygiene assurance can be automated, 

meaning it doesn't require human 

intervention to check that device 

configurations are secure or that policies have 

not been breached. I believe that this is where 

the value of technical solutions shines. By 

providing certainty in understanding that your 

policies and required configurations are being 

adhered to, the chances of an attacker being 

successful are much reduced and resources 

can be focused elsewhere, preferably on value 

creation." 

DEFENDING THE UK 

Since its inception in 2016, the NCSC has 

done incredible work and continues to defend 

the UK in an ever-changing threat landscape, 

he continues. "However, organisations and 

individuals now need to make the 

organisation's job as easy as possible by taking 

responsibility for our networks, devices and 

actions. This means ensuring that we make it 

as hard as possible for those that would do us 

harm and be continually vigilant, checking 

that this continues to be the case." 

Jelle Wieringa, KnowBe4: COVID-19 is a 

perfect example of cybercriminals taking 

advantage of world events. 

Keith Driver, Titania: the NCSC Active 

Cyber Defence programme has had 

incredible results. 



23

industry insights 

THE PATIENT APPROACH PAYS OFF 

NHS MANAGEMENT ADOPTS A SECURITY-FIRST MINDSET, WITH HELP FROM AT&T CYBERSECURITY 

NHS Management provides 

administrative and consulting services 

the US southeast region. Naturally, 

quality of care is the number one priority, as 

is protecting patient data in such a highly 

regulated environment. Stephen Locke, CIO 

for NHS Management, explains: "There are a 

lot of unique challenges in healthcare when 

it comes to cybersecurity, particularly with 

the increase of regulations over the past ten 

years, as well as the complexities that 

come with managing inpatient records, and 

securing communications between vendors 

and third parties." 

Around three years ago, during a long 

holiday weekend, NHS Management found 

itself at the mercy of cyber-attackers, who 

hit the company with ransomware at a time 

when they knew most people would be 

out of the office. Though no data was 

compromised, it took about a week to get 

the desktops back up and running again after 

NHS Management paid the ransom. It was at 

this time that Locke had been looking for a 

security solution that would give his teams 

the visibility into the network they needed to 

detect and respond more quickly to security 

incidents, such as ransomware. 

The company had been using several point 

security solutions, but, without a central 

point of management combined with lack 

of human resources, the logs piled up and 

going through them all was a difficult task. 

Locke chose to use AT&T Cybersecurity's 

Managed Threat Detection and Response 

service, instead of building out a dedicated 

in-house security operations centre (SOC); 

and so the company began its security-first 

journey. 

BUSINESS SUPPORT IS KEY 

Cole Two Bears, systems architect at NHS 

Management, expands further, noting that 

"business support of what is transpiring 

across the network is key, because you can 

only secure what you can see, so there has 

to be a strong focus on security from within 

the organisation". The deployment also had 

to be done in a way that didn't disrupt users' 

workloads - something that is very important 

in a healthcare setting. 

And while Locke is not a fan of outsourcing 

for outsourcing's sake, he also states: "In our 

case, with limited personnel resources, it 

made sense from a business perspective, 

but also financially, as the AT&T Managed 

Detection and Response service is less costly 

than having to hire several new skilled 

security team members." 

The pandemic has brought about many 

other challenges, as users have the strong 

expectation that they will have access to the 

data they need, regardless of their physical 

location. And they fully expect to be able to 

access it securely. "With more and more 

people working outside of your perimeter 

walls, you need to provide that line of 

communication is highly secure, and people 

can get to it all the time and make sure 

you're able to submit all the information that 

you need to the state government, national 

government and the like," says Locke. 

"With AT&T Managed Threat Detection and 

Response, I'm confident the ransomware 

issue we experienced previously wouldn't 

have happened," Two Bears concludes. 

"We've been delighted and impressed with 

the service, which allows our small security 

team the time to deliver on other important 

projects. Not having enough human capital 

is a problem many organisations face, 

making a managed security service an ideal 

option." 



24

Computing 

Security 


Product Review Service 

VENDORS – HAS YOUR SOLUTION BEEN 

REVIEWED BY COMPUTING SECURITY YET? 

The Computing Security review service has been praised by vendors and 

readers alike. Each solution is tested by an independent expert whose findings 

are published in the magazine along with a photo or screenshot. 

Hardware, software and services can all be reviewed. 

Many vendors organise a review to coincide with a new launch. However, 

please don’t feel that the service is reserved exclusively for new solutions. 

A review can also be a good way of introducing an established solution to 

a new audience. Are the readers of Computing Security as familiar with 

your solution(s) as you would like them to be? 

Contact Edward O’Connor on 01689 616000 or email 

edward.oconnor@btc.co.uk to make it happen.

email perils 

YOU'VE GOT EMAIL... BREACHES 

MISDIRECTED EMAILS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS THE UK'S TOP CAUSE OF REPORTED SECURITY INCIDENTS, 

LEADING TO 44% MORE INCIDENTS THAN PHISHING ATTACKS. BRIAN WALL REPORTS 

Steve Mulhearn, Fortinet: CISOs must 

educate their employees about common 

attacks. 

During the pandemic, email volumes 

have surged, with one-in-two IT 

leaders seeing an increase of over 

50%. Coupled with the finding that 70% 

of IT leaders surveyed reported that they 

felt sensitive data is at greater risk when 

employees are working from home, the 

pandemic has created a perfect storm for 

email data breaches. 

Will things be any better in 2021, even as 

and when emerging vaccines enable us to 

get to grips with COVID-19? Has the virus 

actually served as a catalyst to ramp up 

attacks and will this simply continue, should 

the virus be brought under firm control? 

Ultimately, can we only ever expect a 'least 

worst case' with email and accept that we all 

must suffer some level of collateral damage? 

CORNERSTONE 

As Mark Forrest, CEO, Cryptshare, comments, 

email is likely to remain the cornerstone of 

our communications for some time to come, 

for the simple reason that it is universal, 

effective and cheap. "There are a plethora of 

point solutions for encrypting, scanning, 

blocking, authenticating and protecting 

against email-born threats. But, in the end, 

we need to solve the puzzle of having all of 

these things at a price that our very much 

under-pressure budgets demand,” he states. 

"Breadth and cost effectiveness have come 

into sharp focus during the pandemic where 

the promises of the biggest enterprise 

software vendors are being found wanting. 

This is not a time to drop your defences," 

he cautions, "but there are cost-effective 

choices." 

With the trend towards a remote 

workforce continuing this year, the need to 

keep the remote workforce secure will 

continue, says Dean Coclin, senior director of 

business development at DigiCert. "With 

regard to emails, providing tools to warn 

users of emails originating outside the 

organisation, capabilities to encrypt email 

and keeping email safe on mobile devices will 

continue to be essential. VPN use will expand 

as organisations see the security benefit." 

With information about the pandemic 

constantly being sought, hackers look to 

entice people to click on email links 

associated with COVID cures, virus testing 

sites and similar topics. "These links can lead 

to malicious sites, defective equipment (ie, 

PPE) and phishing sites to get login/password 

information," he adds. "Cybercriminals will 

use whatever hot topic, be it the virus or 

something else, to steal credentials from 

unsuspecting users." 

That said, organisations have become more 

adept at increasing their email security, Coclin 

points out. "Technologies such as DMARC, 

which prevent unauthorised individuals from 

sending emails using the company domain, 

are becoming more popular. Also, digital 

certificates to sign and encrypt email are 

being increasingly rolled out at companies, 

large and small. The CA/Browser Forum is 

currently working on new standards for 

email certificates, which are expected to be 

released this year. All of these improvements 

will help minimise 'collateral damage' and 

improve email security for all." 

MISDIRECTED MISSIVES 

Misdirected emails cause the most incidents 

and are, according to Egress CEO Tony 

Pepper, "a revolving door" for data breaches, 

especially with many organisations moving 

26 


email perils 

to long-term remote working and email 

becoming an even more vital tool for sharing 

business information, particularly sensitive 

data. "In fact, our recent Outbound Email 

Security Report revealed that 94% of 

organisations have seen increased volumes 

in outbound email and one-in-two saw 

growth of over 50%. With this surge in 

email volumes came an increase in the 

surface area for risk." 

It means people are also more likely to 

make errors. "Remote working has created 

a challenging environment for many 

employees, with a myriad of distractions 

present - from providing childcare to 

answering the door for deliveries. These 

distractions easily lead to employees making 

mistakes, such as sending an email to the 

wrong person. It's no surprise, then, that 

80% of organisations reported data being 

put at risk for a reason as simple as the 

wrong recipient being added to an email." 

STRESS LEVELS SOAR 

Employees are also experiencing higher levels 

of stress, with the line between work and 

home life more blurred than before," 

continues Pepper. "Our research found 

that almost 40% serious email data breach 

incidents were caused by tired and stressed 

employees." 

With some 70% of IT leaders believing 

that sensitive data is at greater risk when 

employees are working remotely, heightened 

insider risk will be an issue for organisations 

in the long term, he comments. "If 2020 

has taught us anything, it's the importance 

of securing the individuals within our 

organisation's human layer, so they can work 

effectively and productively - particularly 

when using email. 

“With a combination of the intelligent 

technology and robust security training, 

organisations can keep their data safe, even 

in this period of heightened insider risk," 

Pepper concludes. 

One of the biggest vulnerabilities that has 

presented itself since the increase in remote 

working patterns is the advancement of 

social engineering tactics," comments 

Steve Mulhearn, director of enhanced 

technologies, Fortinet. "Unscrupulous actors 

are leveraging important contextual 

information about users, including daily 

routines, habits, or financial information and 

the chaos of email is the easiest place to slip 

by unnoticed." 

The most common security breach 

experienced by UK businesses in 2020 

according to GOV UK , were phishing 

attacks, with 86% of businesses falling 

foul of fraudulent emails and redirects to 

fraudulent websites, he adds. "To combat 

this risk, CISOs must educate their employees 

about common attacks that could appear 

in the form of phishing, spear phishing, 

smishing or various other tech support 

scams." The simple tap of the shoulder in 

offices of old has drifted away, and now 

employees are left to the confinement of the 

four walls of their home office and inbox, 

rues Mulhearn. "However, the home office 

should remain purely an extension of the 

corporate security policy, and employee and 

company cyber behaviour should stay the 

same. One way of implementing this is 

through a Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) 

model and ensuring flexibility is increased 

without the increase in risk. If malware is 

installed, then isolation and data access 

restriction to remediate is critical, and 

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) 

systems play a crucial part in this process." 

He emphasises that, through cyber 

awareness training and instilling the correct 

habits, such as email best practice, you can 

create a culture of security, relieving pressure 

on the security team and allowing a 'human 

firewall' to be built around the business. "If 

the awareness of threats is combined with 

habit, every individual within the business will 

be able to take greater care of their own 

cyber brick within the wall." 

Tony Pepper, Egress CEO: Misdirected 

emails are a revolving door for data 

breaches. 

Dean Coclin, DigiCert: VPN use will 

expand as organisations see the security 

benefit. 



27

iometrics 

CHANGE IS ON THE CARDS 

EVER WONDERED WHETHER WORKPLACE SECURITY, NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE, 

MIGHT BE POSSIBLE? PERHAPS BIOMETRICS COULD OFFER A WAY FORWARD 

regulated and more susceptible to attack." 

To minimise crime and financial losses, 

enterprises need more control over who can 

access their buildings, or offices - wherever 

they might be - and access to their servers 

and digital data, she advises. 

"With biometrics gathering momentum 

beyond smartphones, it can offer more 

secure and convenient authentication across 

the workplace that could be at the office, at 

home or even at a café." 

WHY BIOMETRICS? 

Biometric access cards can be thought of 

as a modern-day key that combines access 

with a multiuse, such as an ID badge. 

Each access card is linked to one specific 

cardholder, who registers their fingerprint 

on the card. When entering a building or 

office, or logging into any system, the card's 

biometrics must match the person using 

the card, ensuring that only authorised 

employees gain access. 

Traditional security measures no longer 

align with modern needs. Passwords, 

for example, are easily hacked and 

carry the risk of serious data breaches. 

Moreover, employees have to remember 

an array of different codes across devices 

and accounts, leading not only to reuse 

and frustration, but costing enterprise IT 

department millions a month in resetting 

forgotten passwords. 

Unsurprisingly, then, the demand for more 

secure and seamless access methods has 

been rising. One 2019 Gartner study 

predicted that 60% of large and global 

enterprises, along with 90% of mid-size 

enterprises, will implement passwordless 

authentication methods in over half of use 

cases by 2022. 

"This year has put even more pressure on 

the need for increased workplace security, 

as well as convenience for the employees," 

says Maria Pihlström at Fingerprints. 

"Although flexible working was already 

a growing trend, it has accelerated 

significantly in the light of the pandemic 

and remote working mandates, increasing 

the average cost of a workplace data breach 

by $137,000*. In addition, employees 

have started working more flexible hours 

on-premises, making building access less 

"Since unique biological traits are 

extremely difficult to steal and spoof, 

biometric access cards are more secure 

than traditional access cards and fobs 

that require PINs, or no additional 

authentication," states Pihlström. 

"Compared to existing solutions, the 

technology is also more convenient. 

You can't forget your fingerprint, after all, 

not to mention there's the possibility to 

streamline authentication across the 

workplace. And if it gets lost or stolen, 

no one else can use it. There's no need to 

tap or touch a shared PIN pad or reader 

either, as the card is contactless. 

"These benefits are often far simpler to 

28 


iometrics 

realise than many enterprises imagine. 

Biometric cards can be integrated into 

existing infrastructure across offices, 

enabling improved workplace security that 

is convenient for both employers and their 

employees. And because the biometric data 

is stored and processed on the card, privacy 

is guaranteed for employees, while 

organisations don't have the cost, 

complexity and compliance headaches 

associated with managing biometric 

databases," she points out. 

ADDING SECURITY AND CONVENIENCE 

Use cases for biometric access cards are 

numerous. "Besides unlocking doors, the 

cards can also be used for any other new or 

existing authentication access point across 

the workplace, such as logging into work 

computers or digital files, accessing time 

and attendance systems, and resetting 

alarm systems. The benefits of increased 

and more convenient security reach far 

beyond keeping burglars out." From 

preventing industry espionage to managing 

personnel in vital industries, she offers three 

examples where biometric access cards can 

add security where it matters. 

"In healthcare, whether for certain 

wards, drugs cabinets or operation rooms, 

protected access is crucial. Moreover, with 

two-factor authentication already in place 

for many access points or to review patient 

data, traditional methods can add time 

pressure to often busy workdays. 

Combining security and convenience, 

biometric cards can strengthen access 

control systems, while removing a point of 

friction for many healthcare professionals. 

The UK's NHS is just one example that's 

recently announced it's investing £40 million 

in implementing biometrics to remedy staff 

stress and frustration with the legacy IT 

system access process.** 

In a pharmacy setting, biometric access 

cards can also ensure that only qualified 

employees have access to certain 

medications. "Similarly, it can conveniently 

unlock the issuance of medicine in digital 

systems for permitted staff and allow them 

- and only them - to review and update 

the personal health information of their 

patients," she adds. 

KEEPING CORPORATE SECRETS 

Corporations and enterprises hold many 

highly sensitive files that, if stolen or 

otherwise compromised, could damage 

the company or individuals. From legal 

offices to accountancy firms, biometric 

access cards could not only keep offices 

highly secure, but also lock devices and 

certain files on a company's system. "By 

locking digital files with biometrics, only 

employees working on a particular project 

would have access to the information, 

ensuring that confidential information is 

no longer at the mercy of easily hacked 

passwords. And when files do disappear 

or fall into the wrong hands, a meticulous 

record showing who last had access to the 

office or information can facilitate a 

smoother investigation of the data 

breach." 

Labs and R&D departments are often 

subject to industry espionage. In this type 

of workplace, biometric access cards can 

ensure sensitive information stays under 

lock and (digital) key. "But ideas are not the 

only thing kept safe by the cards. Because 

labs can contain dangerous materials, 

substances and machinery, controlled 

access is even more important. Biometrics 

can enable more controlled and secure 

access, ensuring hazardous premises are 

only accessible to trained and authorised 

personnel. Research departments are 

also often sensitive and sterile test 

environments, and require meticulous 

logs of who has entered an area or 

operated a machine. Biometric security 

systems can reduce errors in attendance 

logging, creating more predictable test 

environments and, ultimately, facilitating 

more accurate test results." 

Maria Pihlström, Fingerprints: remote 

working has made building access less 

regulated and more susceptible to attack. 

Hacked and forgotten passwords cost IT 

departments millions a year, while lost keys 

and forgotten passwords are a number one 

frustration for many employees. Biometric 

access cards can provide a more convenient 

and secure authentication solution for both 

physical and logical access control, offering 

a solution to security breaches and the need 

to remember multiple strong passwords. 

"But the technology can go beyond just 

cost savings for IT teams and reducing daily 

annoyances," Pihlström points out. "By 

offering improved security in high-stake 

industries, biometrics can ensure that 

medication is authorised by the right 

person, compromising information is kept 

confidential, and inventors keep control 

of their intellectual property. In this way, 

biometric access cards bring a whole new 

dimension to worriless workdays, unlocking 

a modern workplace security system that 

adds convenient security where it truly 

matters," she concludes. 



29

cyber refocus 

CYBER STRATEGY HITS CRITICAL POINT 

CYBER SECURITY HAS NEVER HAD MORE RELEVANCE, WHEN SET AGAINST A BURGEONING BACKDROP 

OF CHALLENGES THAT WILL UNDOUBTEDLY CONTINUE TO VEX ORGANISATIONS IN THE YEAR AHEAD 

Daisy McCartney, PwC: security teams 

need a mix of soft and technical skills, 

coupled with business knowledge. 

The increasing sophistication of cyber 

criminals, coupled with the rapid shift 

to digital technologies brought about 

by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 

has emphasised cyber security's importance 

for both individual organisations and 

wider society. Amidst this backdrop, the 

professional services network firm PwC has 

launched its latest insights into what's 

changing and what's next in cyber security. 

The findings are based on a survey of 3,249 

business and technology executives from 

around the world, including 265 in the UK. 

An overwhelming 96% of UK respondents 

said that they will shift their cyber security 

strategy, due to COVID-19, with half now 

saying they are more likely to consider 

cyber security in every business decision. In 

addition, a third of UK respondents (34%) 

plan to accelerate their digitalisation plans, 

on account of COVID-19. 

When asked what they saw as being the 

most likely cyber events to impact their 

industry over the next 12 months, 58% of 

UK respondents cited an attack on cloud 

services, followed by a disruptionware 

attack on critical business services (52%) 

and a ransomware attack (50%). 

At a global level, PwC's research showed 

that the strategic focus on cyber security 

will lead to a more prominent role for the 

chief information security officer (CISO). 

Two-fifths (43%) of global respondents 

agree that there will be more frequent 

interactions between the CISO and CEO 

or board, but this falls to 34% in the UK. 

This shows that more needs to be done to 

elevate cyber security conversations to UK 

boardrooms, says PwC, and this could be 

achieved by better aligning cyber risk to 

business strategy. 

LOW CONFIDENCE 

The research found that a majority of 

organisations lack confidence in their cyber 

spend. Just 38% of UK respondents are very 

confident their cyber budget is allocated to 

the most significant cyber risks, compared 

to 44% globally. Similarly, only 36% of UK 

respondents are very confident that they 

are getting the best return on their cyber 

spend versus 42% globally. Despite this lack 

of confidence, 56% of UK respondents are 

planning to increase their cyber budgets in 

2021. 

Richard Horne, cyber security chair, PwC, 

comments: "It's surprising that so many 

organisations lack confidence in their cyber 

security spend. It shows businesses need 

to improve their understanding of cyber 

threats and the vulnerabilities they exploit, 

while changing the way they think about 

cyber risk, so it becomes an intrinsic part of 

every business decision." 

When asked whether they would be 

expanding their cyber security teams in 

2020, 42% of UK respondents said they 

plan to increase their headcount, compared 

to 51% globally. However, the research also 

found that more than a fifth (22%) of UK 

organisations are planning to decrease the 

size of their cyber security team, compared 

to 16% globally. 

New hires in the UK are expected to 

possess more than just technical 

knowledge. When asked which cyber 

30 


cyber refocus 

security skills were most in demand, UK 

respondents cited security intelligence 

(46%) and the ability to work with cloud 

solutions (40%) as the most important 

skills for new employees, closely followed 

by communication (38%), project 

management (38%) and analytical skills 

(37%). This reflects the evolution of the 

industry, states PwC, with cyber teams now 

required to work collaboratively with the 

rest of the business to develop a strategic, 

analytical approach to cyber security. 

Daisy McCartney, cyber security culture 

and behaviour lead at PwC, argues that, as 

cyber security becomes a strategic priority, 

organisations should be hiring talent from 

more diverse backgrounds. "Security teams 

need a mix of soft and technical skills, 

coupled with business knowledge - this 

helps improve collaboration with senior 

leaders and ensures that cyber security 

decisions support the organisation's 

strategic goals." 

SPOTTED AND BLOCKED 

Meanwhile, cyber attacks may soon be 

spotted and blocked before they even have 

a chance to wreak havoc in organisations' 

operations, according to cyber security firm 

BlackDice, which is developing the machine 

learning and predictive analytics designed 

to forecast and protect against cyber 

attacks, following a £100,000 grant from 

Innovate UK, the UK's innovation agency's 

Sustainable Innovation Fund. The objective 

is to help all UK sectors rebuild after the 

effects of COVID-19. BlackDice applied for 

the grant on 1 September 2020 and will 

use the funding to develop machine 

learning in predictive analytics, allowing the 

technology to forecast cyber-attacks before 

they happen. Telecom operators will have 

the ability to watch attack scenarios to 

help them understand external activity, 

which is a key indicator of the internet and 

behaviour data from BlackDice's device 

network. 

Innovate UK will be investing up to £191 

million to fund single and collaborative 

research and development projects through 

its Sustainable Innovation Fund over the 

next two years. The programme will fund 

1,103 projects, 1,189 businesses, with a 

total of more than £130 million in support 

for the UK. 

"These funds feed directly into BlackDice's 

2021 plans for software development," says 

Paul Hague, CEO of BlackDice. "The funds 

will help to provide state-of-the-art 

preventive vaccine technology, which 

helps to protect devices and networks 

from the rising threat of cyber-attacks. 

2020 has been a challenging year for 

telecommunication operators, and this 

grant shows the importance of cyber 

security solutions and how they can keep 

customers' data safe from harm." 

Richard Horne, PwC: surprising so many 

organisations lack confidence in their 

cyber security spend. 

Paul Hague, BlackDice: aim is to protect 

devices and networks from rising threat 

of cyber-attacks. 

COVID-19 DRIVES NEW THINKING 

In a wide-ranging PwC survey of UK executives, 96% say they have shifted their 

cyber security strategy, due to COVID-19: 

34% state that they are accelerating digitisation 

Only 38% are very confident their cyber budget is allocated to the most 

significant cyber risks 

42% plan to increase cyber team headcount. 

However, the UK responses lag somewhere behind global findings in a number of 

key areas, states PwC, such as the importance of the CISO role, return on cyber 

spend and headcount. 



31

2020 CS Awards 

Computing Security Awards 2020 

EXCELLENCE SHINES THROUGH 

It may not have been possible to gather together in the usual way to celebrate the 2020 Computing Security Awards, but even the virus 

couldn't prevent them from going ahead. 

Remote they might have been, with master of ceremonies Chris Cowdrey and editor Brian Wall (both dressed in full regalia!) revealing 

the winners by video link, but the tingle of excitement as the top performers were announced across the various categories was still 

unmistakable. 

And although it wasn't possible on this occasion to actually see the bottles of champagne being opened as the celebrations began, you 

could still almost hear the corks being popped, as victorious company upon company, individual after individual, showed exactly why our 

industry is right at the top of its game. 

To see who won what - and to soak up the atmosphere of what was, despite everything, still a truly gala occasion - check out all of the 

victors and runners-up on the following pages. And to see the awards ceremony itself in full, go to: https://youtu.be/bLmvHafBiLg 

32 



Email Security Solution of the Year 

WINNER: Libraesva - Email Security Gateway 

RUNNER-UP: VIPRE Security - VIPRE Email Security ATP 

"We would like to thank not only our staff who have dedicated their time to making Libraesva the best solution on the market, but also 

our partners and customers across the globe who continue to work closely alongside us and voted for Libraesva in the awards! We have 

ambitious plans for 2021 and we cannot wait to share these with you throughout the year." - Paolo Frizzi, CEO Libraesva. 

Anti-Malware Solution of the Year 

WINNER: VIPRE Security - VIPRE Endpoint Security 

RUNNER-UP: Malwarebytes - Malwarebytes 

"We believe very strongly in our Endpoint Security Cloud service and the powerful protection it provides against modern-day threats. But 

to be voted Anti-Malware Solution of the year means that our customers and partners love it as much as we do. It is such fantastic 

feedback and proof of the quality of the product – thank you so much to everyone who voted!" - Yvonne Conway, Marketing Manager 

UK and Ireland 

Incident Response & Investigation Security Service Provider of the Year 

WINNER: AT&T Cybersecurity 

RUNNER-UP: Cyjax 

“With every second counting after a cyberattack, quick action to investigate and remediate an incident is critical for minimising impact. 

In these stressful situations, organisations need a trusted advisor to help guide them to successful containment and recovery. We are 

honoured to be receiving recognition from Computing Security Magazine for our Incident Response and Forensics Service.” - Bindu 

Sundaresan, Director, AT&T Cybersecurity 

Network Security Solution of the Year 

WINNER: Neustar - UltraThreat Feeds 

RUNNER-UP: Endace - Endace Probe 

We are very proud to have won three separate awards at these prestigious Computing Security Awards. Demonstrating the depth and 

value of our security offerings, Neustar was recognised with awards in three different categories: 

Network Security Solution of the Year: Neustar UltraThreat Feeds Web Application Firewall of the Year: Neustar UltraWAF 

One to Watch Security Product: Neustar UltraGeoPoint 

We are honoured to have earned these three awards from such a respected and important publication. 

For more information, contact security@team.neustar, or call us at 1-855-898-0036 in the US and +44 1784 448444 in the UK. 



33


Encryption Solution of the Year 

WINNER: Cryptshare AG - Cryptshare 

RUNNER-UP: Egress - Egress Intelligent Email Security 

"Competitions such as this are important, as they help to blow the smoke of often false vendor claims away and expose the deeper 

reality of the value of a few well-engineered products above a mass of ‘me too’ products. We were delighted to win this award and can 

I thank the many customers who voted for us. We spend huge efforts to understand the issues in the market, and design and build the 

best software to solve those problems. We are growing fast by direct customer references and, in the end, anybody can try our software, 

prove the value for themselves and, in due course, gain the confidence of great security at a fair cost. Don't be shy, try Cryptshare soon 

and make it part of your recovery plans!" - Cryptshare CEO Mark Forrest 

Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) Solution of the Year 

WINNER: Heimdal Security - Thor Foresight RUNNER-UP: SonicWall - RTDMI (Real Time Deep Memory Inspection) 

Through its traffic filtering capability, Heimdal stops ransomware attacks at all stages: before, during and after the attack. Heimdal 

combines automatic software updates with powerful Traffic Scanning for effective security against exploits kits. Using its unique 

intelligence, Heimdal blocks malicious connections that try to harvest and steal your confidential financial information. 

DLP Solution of the Year 

WINNER: Kingston Technology Group Co LLP - DTVP30 

RUNNER-UP: CoSoSys - Endpoint Protector 

"We are honoured to be awarded with the DLP Solution of the Year. Our DT Vault Privacy 3.0 provides an affordable business-grade 

security USB drive with 256-bit AES hardware-based encryption that protects data and enforces complex password protection to prevent 

unauthorised access. The drive locks down and reformats after 10 intrusion attempts, so it is an ideal solution in this new working-fromhome 

environment to prevent data loss wherever you are working from." 

Compliance Award - Security 

WINNER: Metacompliance 

RUNNER-UP: ADISA 

"We were thrilled to win the Compliance Security Award at the Network Computing Security Awards 2020. It's testament to the strength 

of our innovative products and our unique ability to offer Cyber Security and privacy solutions from a unified platform. Thank you so 

much to everyone that took the time to vote for us." - Robert O'Brien, CEO MetaCompliance. 

AI and Machine learning-based Security Solution of the Year 

WINNER: SonicWall - RTDMI (Real Time Deep Memory Inspection) 

RUNNER-UP: VIPRE - Email Security Attachment Threat Protection 

"SonicWall was honoured to be named the winner in the ‘AI and Machine Learning-based Security Solution of the Year’ Award at the 

Computing Security Awards for its patent-pending Real-Time Deep Memory Inspection (RTDMI). RTDMI technology enables SonicWall 

Capture Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) to catch more malware faster than behaviour-based sandboxing methods, with a lower false 

positive rate." - Will Benton, Regional Sales Director North EMEA, SonicWall 

Identity and Access Management Solution of the Year 

WINNER: SecurEnvoy - SecurEnvoy SecureIdentity IAM 

RUNNER-UP: My1Login - My1Login Enterprise IAM 

"SecurEnvoy is delighted to have won Identity and Access Management Solution of the Year. For almost 20 years, we have been a leader 

in designing innovative security solutions and to be recognised for this by our customers shows we have continued to be a point of trust 

and expertise. A huge thank you to all who voted, and to the incredible SecurEnvoy team. - Adam Bruce, Chief Revenue Officer/CRO 

34 



Anti Phishing Solution of the Year 

WINNER: Libraesva - Email Security Gateway 

RUNNER-UP: Metacompliance - MetaPhish 

"We would like to thank not only our staff who have dedicated their time to making Libraesva the best solution on the market, but also 

our partners and customers across the globe who continue to work closely alongside us and voted for Libraesva in the awards! We have 

ambitious plans for 2021 and we cannot wait to share these with you throughout the year." - Paolo Frizzi, CEO Libraesva. 

Secure Data & Asset Disposal Company of the Year 

WINNER: Computer Disposals Limited 

RUNNER-UP: Sims Lifecycle Services 

“Winning this award for ‘Secure Data & Asset Disposal Company of the Year’ is a fantastic accolade for CDL. It’s been a tough year for all 

businesses across the UK, but to be recognised as the industry leaders in this field is a real compliment to the dedication the staff have 

shown in getting us where we are today. “ - Ben Griffin, Sales and Marketing Director, Computer Disposals Ltd 

Cloud-Delivered Security Solution of the Year 

WINNER: Edgescan - Edgescan 

RUNNER-UP: SonicWall - NSv Series 

"We are delighted to have been awarded ‘Cloud-Delivered Security Solution of the Year’ 2020, our first time winning this award. This 

award stands to the hard work our team has put into creating and delivering an award-winning vulnerability management platform that 

is delivered on the cloud. - Eoin Keary CEO 

New Cloud-Delivered Security Solution of the Year 

WINNER: Check Point - CloudGuard 

RUNNER-UP: Redsift - OnDMARC 

"It's particularly gratifying to receive the Computing Security award, as it is voted for by partners and end users in the IT and cybersecurity 

communities. Cloud security is challenging and the biggest challenge is unifying security across multiple clouds, as analysts agree 

that over 80% of organisations use two or more cloud providers. Check Point CloudGuard solves this problem, giving organisations the 

most advanced and agile cloud-native security, together with holistic visibility and automated management, and enforcement of security 

policies across their cloud estates." - Andy Wright, regional director for Northern Europe at Check Point Software Technologies 

Mobile Security Solution of the Year 

WINNER: Wandera - Wandera Security Suite 

RUNNER-UP: Lookout - Lookout 

"Now, more than ever, it's clear that secure remote access is imperative for organisations across industries. Being recognised in the 

Computing Security Awards is a testament to the work we have done in modernising secure remote access, so our customers have the 

technology they need to seamlessly and securely keep their employees connected, no matter where they are and what device they are 

using. We're looking forward to meeting the challenges of 2021 head on, as we work to make a secure and productive borderless 

enterprise easily attainable." - Eldar Tuvey, CEO and Founder of Wandera 

Penetration Testing Solution of the Year 

WINNER: Edgescan - Edgescan 

RUNNER-UP: Redscan - Redscan Penetration Testing 

"We are delighted to have been awarded Pen Testing Solutions of the year 2020 for a second year in a row. It highlights the amount of 

work and time we put into our pen test solutions and to our team that delivers the results." - Rahim Jina COO 



35


Remote Monitoring Security Solution of the Year 

WINNER: Wallix - Wallix Bastion 

RUNNER-UP: Redscan - ThreatDetect 

"With the win of the ‘Remote Monitoring Security Solution of the Year’ award for the WALLIX Bastion by Computing Security Magazine, 

WALLIX confirmed another market recognition as European specialist in Identity and Access Security Solutions. WALLIX's unified 

solutions portfolio enables companies to detect and be resilient to cyberattacks. They also ensure compliance with regulatory 

requirements regarding access to IT infrastructures and critical data. More than 1,200 organisations from the public and private sectors 

have chosen WALLIX to secure their digital transformation. To find out how WALLIX can help you regain control of your data anytime, 

anywhere, visit www.wallix.com." 

New Security Software Solution of the Year 

WINNER: Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity - R&S Trusted VPN Client 

RUNNER-UP: SecurEnvoy - SecurEnvoy Data Discovery Essentials 

R&S®Trusted VPN Client wins category "New Security Software Solution of the Year" 

R&S®Trusted VPN Client is a software-based VPN client enabling users to work in a secure and encrypted mobile environment while complying 

with the high security requirements of federal authorities. The solution protects the network communication of a client platform (Windows laptop 

or tablet) with a government or corporate network over an untrusted network such as the internet. The Federal Office for Information Security has 

granted approval up to classification level VS-NfD (RESTRICTED), NATO RESTRICTED and EU RESTRICTED for the new, software-only R&S®Trusted 

VPN Client. - Daniel Heck, Vice President Marketing, Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity 

Security Education and Training Provider of the Year 

WINNER: KnowBe4 

RUNNER-UP: Metacompliance 

"Winning several industry-recognised awards in the UK is a great honor for our organisation. One of our main goals is to provide 

always fresh security awareness training content and simulated phishing templates to keep up with the evolving cybersecurity threat 

landscape. Being recognised in this awards programmes in the UK as training provider of the year speaks volumes to the quality of 

our training.” - Malik, security awareness advocate - KnowBe4 

Web Application Firewall of the Year 

WINNER: Neustar - Neustar Ultra WAF 

RUNNER-UP: F5 Networks - Silverline WAF 

"We are very proud to have won three separate awards at the prestigious Computing Security Awards. Demonstrating the depth and 




We are honoured to have earned these three awards from such a respected and important publication." 


Threat Intelligence Award 

WINNER: Cyjax 

RUNNER-UP: Webroot 

"Cyjax is delighted to receive this award. In 2020, we had to innovate to reach our existing users and potential customers. We made much of 

our high-quality research available to the public and not-for-profit organisations focused on protecting our digital economy. We appreciate the 

votes of support from the information security community and our customers in the Finance, Pharmaceuticals and Public Services sectors who 

believe threat intelligence is a key component in protecting against the ravages of cybercrime. We would like to thank you once again for this 

award and wish all your readers a prosperous 2021." - Kevin McMahon, Cyjax CEO and Founder 

Security Reseller of the Year 

WINNER: Brookcourt Solutions 

RUNNER-UP: NGS 

"We are absolutely thrilled to have been recognised as ‘Security Reseller of the Year’. We strive to deliver innovative and effective cyber 

security solutions to our customers, and to have won this prestigious award shows that we implement the right partnerships and 

approach to meet customer needs, even during challenging times." 

36 



Security Distributor of the Year 

WINNER: Nuvias 

RUNNER-UP: Brigantia Partners 

The Nuvias Group is the fast-growing European next-generation distributor, with a broad range of innovative services and solutions 

designed to secure customer success, and accelerate partner and vendor growth. In collaboration with leading technology suppliers, we 

specialise in providing security, agility and manageability for clients, networks and cloud technology solutions through an ecosystem of 

highly skilled channel partners. 

Enterprise Security Solution of the Year 

WINNER: Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity - R&S Trusted Gate 

RUNNER-UP: F5 Networks - Silverline WAF 

R&S®Trusted Gate wins category ‘Enterprise Security Solution of the Year’. 

"R&S®Trusted Gate is a Cloud Data Protection Gateway which uses a data-centric approach to let you keep full control of your data on 

any kind of infrastructure. It can be deployed on-premises, in the cloud or in hybrid mode. As a server-based solution, there is no need 

for additional software on the client side." - Daniel Heck, Vice President Marketing, Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity 

SME Security Solution of the Year 

WINNER: Redscan - ThreatDetect 

RUNNER-UP: Titania - PAWS 

"It’s always pleasing to receive industry recognition, but it’s particularly satisfying when it is the votes of our customers and partners that 

helped us secure an award. To win an award for a fifth successive year is a proud moment for the team, especially in such a challenging 

year. We’re committed to maintaining our high standards and protecting organisations through these difficult times by improving our 

services year-on-year." - Simon Monahan, Redscan Director of Product Marketing. 

Contribution to CyberSecurity Award - Person 

WINNER: David Calder of Adarma 

RUNNER-UP: Stu Sjouwerman of KnowBe4 

"I’m very proud, thankful and humbled to have received the Computing Security ‘Contribution to CyberSecurity - Person’ Award. I’ve 

been lucky enough to work in the security industry since the late nineties and I still love it today. 

We formed Adarma to make the world a safer place for our customers - and, in turn, safer for their customers. We wanted to help 

create the next generation of security leaders, and to build a sustainable and ethical business. This gives me energy every day. 

I’m incredibly touched to win the award for doing what I love. Thank you to everyone. - David Calder, Chief Product Officer 

Customer Service Award - Security 

WINNER: Titania Ltd 

RUNNER-UP: Brookcourt Solutions 

"We were thrilled to be crowned the winner of the Customer Service Award. In a year where concerns around Cyber Security have come 

to the forefront, due to remote working becoming the norm, increased online spending and threats to the healthcare sector, we 

appreciate how vital our software is to organisations worldwide. Our team has proactively continued to support our customers during 

this challenging time, helping them to accurately identify vulnerabilities to their organisation and improve cyber hygiene to ensure 

essential business operations can continue." - Kirsty Fisher, Chief Financial Officer, Titania. 

Security Service Provider of the Year 


RUNNER-UP: AT&T Cybersecurity 

"We truly believe in giving a consistently excellent service to our customers and it is crucial to our company values. Winning this 

significant award that links to service is an achievement we are extremely proud of. Thank you to all our customers that voted for us." 



37


Security Project of the Year - Public Sector 

WINNER: Egress and Haringey Council 

"We're delighted to win this award with our customer, London Borough of Haringey. At Egress, we pride ourselves on delivering 

maximum value for all our customers - particularly when helping them to drive business efficiency while keeping highly sensitive data 

safe. It is brilliant to see the industry recognising the fantastic work carried out between the London Borough of Haringey and Egress to 

support digital communication and an entirely new way of operating during the COVID-19 pandemic." - Mark Lendon, SVP of Sales 

at Egress 

Security Project of the Year - Private Sector 

WINNER: KnowBe4 and SIG PLC 

"Winning several industry-recognised awards in the UK is a great honor for our organisation. One of our main goals is to provide 

always fresh security awareness training content and simulated phishing templates to keep up with the evolving cybersecurity threat 

landscape. Being recognised in this awards programmes in the UK as training provider of the year speaks volumes to the quality of 

our training." - Malik, security awareness advocate - KnowBe4 

Editor's Choice 

WINNER: Hornet Security - 365 Total Protection 

"Hornetsecurity is honoured and delighted to receive the Computing Security Award for our 365 Total Protection service. It confirms 

to us once again that our service addresses the needs of Microsoft 365 users for additional security in the best possible way. We would 

like to thank the Computing Security team for the transparent and uncomplicated review process!" - Yvonne Bernard – Head of Product 

Management 

One to Watch Security - Company 

WINNER: ADISA 

RUNNER-UP: Orange Cyber Defense 

"ADISA is delighted to have been awarded the ‘One to WatchSecurity - Company’ Computer Security Magazine award. Despite being 10 

years’ old, we have been extremely busy in the last 18 months and look forward to announcing some exciting news about work being 

concluded with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office and the MoD. Check out our You Tube channel called ADISA Media Centre to 

be kept up to date on this news." - Stve Mellings CEO ADISA 

One to Watch Security - Product 

WINNER: Neustar - UltraGeoPoint 

RUNNER-UP: GeoLang - Data Discovery and DLP 

"We are very proud to have won three separate awards at the prestigious Computing Security Awards. Demonstrating the depth and 




We are honoured to have earned these three awards from such a respected and important publication." 


Security Company of the Year 


RUNNER-UP: KnowBe4 

"It's a huge honour to have won this prestigious award for the second year running. As a company, we are committed to being a trusted 

and reliable partner for our customers, so to be recognised for this award is a huge achievement for us. Thank you to all who took the 

time to vote." 

38 


Pragmatic and experienced 

risk management professionals 

Xcina Consulting provides high quality business and technology risk assurance and 

advisory services, which only comes from years of experience in our clients’ shoes. 

We help to ensure an organisation’s key risks are appropriately managed; its processes 

and controls are robust and fit for purpose; it remains compliant with legislation 

and regulation and wherever feasible it leverages industry standards as part of 

good practice. 

Accredited by the Payment Card Industry’s Security Standards Council as a Qualified 

Security Assessor (QSA) company and a British Standards Institution (BSI) platinum 

member for the provision of services related to ISO27001 (Information Security) and 

ISO22301 (Business Continuity). 

All our consultants have 10+ years minimum experience and have held senior level 

positions. 

Our services can be customised to your needs. 

• Business Continuity and Crisis Management 

• Data Protection 

• Financial Processes & Procedures 

• Information Security / Cyber Security 

• IT & OT Security 

• Payment Card Industry 

• Project & Change 

• Risk Management 

• Control Assurance (ISAE3402 / SSAE18) 

• Due Diligence 

• Governance 

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• Operational Processes & Procedures 

• Process Management 

• Regulatory Compliance (finance services) 

• Third Party Management 

020 3985 8467 

www.xcinaconsulting.com 

info@xcinaconsulting.com

There’s a difference between 

feeling secure & knowing 

you're secure. 

Information Security Advice 

Penetration Testing 

Adversary Simulation 

www.pentest.co.uk

CS Mar-Apr 2021

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