According to a new report by Fujitsu, more than half (54%) of senior executives have struggled to adapt security policies to changes in the threat landscape and working practices.

The survey, which Fujitsu carried out in September 2020, provides further evidence that many organizations are at higher risk of cyber-attacks due to the shift to remote working during COVID-19, with cyber-criminals taking advantage of the rising number of connections and devices to target corporate systems.

The findings also indicated that current cybersecurity training techniques are not suited to the current situation. Close to two-thirds (61%) of employees surveyed said they believe their security training is ineffective, while around three-quarters (74%) of non-technical staff do not find it engaging enough. Additionally, 32% thought their company’s training courses were too long, and 35% said it was too boring or technical.

These feelings may be partly explained by many organizations having a standardized approach to cybersecurity training: 60% of senior executives surveyed for the study admitted that all employees in their business receive the same type of training irrespective of the type of function they perform.

Senior executives also recognized a degree of apathy among their employees when it comes to cybersecurity, with 45% stating that most people in their organization believe this has nothing to do with them.

In response to these issues, encouragingly, over two-thirds (68%) of senior executives stated they recognize that training is most effective when it involves games, rewards or quizzes.

Commenting on the findings, Mike Smit, head of enterprise & cyber security at Fujitsu UK & Ireland, said: “Thanks to the pandemic forcing organizations to move to remote or hybrid working, a number of weak points have been exposed when it comes to cybersecurity and employees are one target that has come under increasing fire from cyber-criminals. 

“Business leaders must understand that having a robust and effective cybersecurity approach relies on more than just IT and technical defenses, it also requires a ‘human firewall’ of trained, vigilant employees.

“In our new hybrid-working world, it is critical that organizations invest in a strategy where all employees receive tailored training that addresses the threats they encounter in their specific roles. This means cybersecurity teams have to get closer to the business areas to understand their specific challenges. Putting the right training in place to ensure your employees are aware of the risks will make a significant difference to an organizations’ overall security posture. And, ultimately, it will build a sense of collective responsibility where every employee is engaged in the security process.”

The government has issued a call-to-arms to the UK’s burgeoning cybersecurity startups to help it defend the country from malicious online activity.

GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) used the Cheltenham Science Festival on Friday to launch NCSC for Startups.

The new program will invite applications from UK startups to develop products designed to defend critical areas of the economy and society.

It’s the successor to the NCSC Cyber Accelerator, a program that reportedly helped over 40 tech companies raise over £100m in external investments.

However, where it differs is that, whereas the accelerator required startups to participate in 10-week programs at set points of the year, NCSC for Startups will see continuous onboarding of successful applicants over the coming 12 months.

The idea is to drive more opportunities for these companies in the process.

Those chosen to participate will receive support from NCSC and GCHQ experts and NCSC partner Plexal, which is described as an “innovation center” with its own industry partners across the UK’s cybersecurity ecosystem.

Participating startups will be eligible to apply for funding, although there were no further details on how much.

“We want to work with the UK’s thriving cybersecurity industry to explore new ideas that will make the UK the safest place to live and work online,” said NCSC deputy director for cyber growth, Chris Ensor.

“NCSC for Startups offers the potential for even greater collaboration than ever before, and I would encourage startups to come forward and help us in our mission.”

The industry appeared to get a welcome boost from the pandemic last year, as demand for security services surged due to the mass switch to remote working.

According to one report, funding for UK cyber startups surged 940% in the first few months of the pandemic. That amounted to £496 million raised by investors in the first half of 2020, almost as much as the total figure for 2019 (£521 million).

G7 leaders confirmed their commitment to urgently tackling ransomware on Sunday, as a senior British security chief will warn today that cyber-criminals represent a more significant threat than state-sponsored espionage.

The Carbis Bay communique, published after a three-day summit of world leaders in Cornwall, singled Russia out by name — urging Vladimir Putin to “identify, disrupt and hold to account” cyber-criminals operating from the country.

“We commit to work together to urgently address the escalating shared threat from criminal ransomware networks,” it added. “We call on all states to urgently identify and disrupt ransomware criminal networks operating from within their borders, and hold those networks accountable for their actions.”

Lindy Cameron, CEO of GCHQ offshoot the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), will reportedly tell an audience today that Britain’s failure to tackle ransomware is “far more worrying” than the “malicious strategic threat” of state-backed online espionage.

She will reportedly add that, in a dangerous development, the ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) model has democratized the ability to launch attacks and that such raids are “often enabled and facilitated by states acting with impunity.”

Hostile states such as Russia are long thought to have tolerated cybercrime groups operating from within their borders, as long as attacks are targeted at organizations in rival nations.

However, with recent attacks on key fuel and food supply chains in the US, the scrutiny of world leaders has been turned towards such policies.

Despite the rhetoric, the lines between financially motivated cybercrime and nation-state activity are, in fact, increasingly blurring.

An HP report from April claimed that governments now routinely buy exploits and hacking tools from the cybercrime underground and often recruit criminal operators to help with specific stages of threat campaigns.

A global policing operation has led to the closure of over 110,000 websites and online marketplaces selling fake pharmaceuticals, according to the international organization Interpol.

The organization said that Operation Pangea XIV involved law enforcement, customs and regulatory officers from 92 countries.

As well as the removal of 113,020 fake sites — the largest number since the long-running operation began in 2008 — counterfeit medicines and COVID-19 testing kits were seized after raids and checks on suspicious packages.

In the UK, for example, the authorities shut down 43 websites and removed 3100 ad links and seized three million fake medicines and devices worth over $13 million.

Many drugs were hidden amidst other items such as clothing, jewellery, baby toys and food.

In Qatar, officials apparently discovered 2,805 painkillers secreted inside tins of baked beans.

During the week of action, May 18-25, fake and unlicensed COVID-19 kits accounted for over half of all medical devices obtained by police. Some 277 arrests were also made worldwide, and potentially dangerous pharmaceuticals worth more than $23 million were seized, Interpol said.

In Italy, the authorities recovered over 500,000 fake surgical masks and 35 industrial machines used for production and packaging — illustrating the scale of many underground operations.

In total, global police took nine million devices — including syringes, catheters, masks and testing kits — and pharmaceuticals, including painkillers, steroids and anti-cancer drugs.

Interpol secretary-general, Jürgen Stock, warned that fake pharmaceuticals and testing kits are putting public health at risk at a dangerous time.

“As the pandemic forced more people to move their lives online, criminals were quick to target these new ‘customers’,” he added.

“Whilst some individuals were knowingly buying illicit medicines, many thousands of victims were unwittingly putting their health and potentially their lives at risk.”

In March last year, a previous iteration of Operation Pangea led to the seizure of $14 million worth of fake goods.