It is time for another round-up of key stories from the world of cyber security news, Jul 2021. Cyber-attacks continue apace, with many attributing the blame for certain high-level incidents to China. They have now hit back in what is shaping up to be quite a story.

Remote working vulnerabilities + phishing on the up

This story from BBC News was published over the weekend and is worth a read. So many of us have embraced remote working, and this has led to the development of bad habits. Patrick Carolan of CRIBB Cyber Security believes that ransomware incidents will multiply in time. He also thinks that remote workers using personal email need to be told not to do so: “As the BBC story correctly states, the pandemic paved the way for mass working-from-home practices. A lot of people started using personal accounts for work. More than that, without an IT department in view, many have adopted poor security practices. It is imperative that you protect data at all costs.”

Top Tip: How to combat phishing

Read our guide to phishing for tips on how to protect yourself against this growing threat. Our cyber security experts recommend that you implement a strong security framework. You must create solid policies and train your teams regularly, whilst also having firewalls and anti-virus software. And all of that is just for starters…

Cyber-attacks a real threat to UK food supply chain

This story appeared in The Guardian towards the start of the month. Essentially, an over-reliance upon overseas produce and computer ordering means that Britain’s food supply is now more vulnerable to cyber-attacks. A greater emphasis on domestic production may be the answer, as the UK is ~ 50% self-sufficient in food production. Brexit has played a part in the situation, with calls now for amended food policies plus food defence policies.

China hits back at its accusers

This article ran in The Financial Times last week (you may need to complete a short questionnaire to read it in full). China has been accused of spearheading cyber-attacks recently, including one against Microsoft. Now, Chinese diplomats have slammed the allegations as “groundless”. They stress that the accusations are not from the international community as a whole. They also called upon the US to halt their own cyber-attacks against China.

So there you have it, Cyber security news Jul 2021, the latest collection of articles from the last 4 weeks. Did we miss anything important? What were your favourite stories of the month? Drop us some feedback below…