Cyber security news roundup April 2017

A round up of April’s cyber security news:

The Government announced 14 new Centres of Excellence for cyber security research, including the University of Edinburgh and Newcastle University. Academic Centres of Excellence are recognised by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) as meeting the required minimum standards and will specialise in developing the latest cyber security techniques to contribute to the UK’s increased knowledge and capability in this field.

Cardiff University announced the launch of the Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Analytics in partnership with Airbus, the first centre of its kind in Europe. The Centre will carry out studies into machine learning, data analytics and artificial intelligence for cyber-attack detection. This research will aim to protect corporate IT networks, intellectual property and critical national infrastructure.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) published a call for views on the derogations (exemptions) contained within the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The derogations enable the UK to exercise discretion over how certain provisions will apply, in relation to aspects such as the processing of personal data for scientific research purposes with appropriate safeguards to ensure people's rights and freedoms are accounted for. Also see commentary from Out-Law, which also reported on new draft guidance from a European committee of data protection authorities on examples of the type of data processing activities that businesses should carry out data protection impact assessments (DPIAs) for under the GDPR. The GDPR will come into effect in the UK on 25th May 2018, as in other EU countries.

The European Commission confirmed that the first EU-US Privacy Shield annual review will take place in September 2017. The EU-U.S. Privacy Shield provides a framework for transatlantic exchanges of personal data for commercial purposes. It also ensures that any access by public authorities to personal data transferred under the new arrangement on national security grounds is subject to clear conditions, limitations and oversight.

The Australian Cyber Security Growth Network (ACSGN), an industry-led organisation bringing together businesses and researchers and established as part of the Australian Government’s Industry Growth Centres Initiative, published its Cyber Security Sector Competitiveness Plan (SCP). The strategy aims to help Australia’s cyber security solutions sector realise its full potential in the rapidly growing global market. The ACSGN is a key initiative of Australia's Cyber Security Strategy.

Ars Technica reported on BrickerBot, a botnet which permanently incapacitates poorly secured Internet of Things (IoT) devices before they can be used in distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, and also on Hajime, which infects IoT devices before they can be hijacked.