Kate O'Flaherty
Kate O'Flaherty is a freelance journalist with well over a decade's experience covering cyber security and privacy for publications including Wired, Forbes, the Guardian, the Observer, Infosecurity Magazine and the Times. Within cyber security and privacy, her specialist areas include critical national infrastructure security, cyber warfare, application security and regulation in the UK and the US amid increasing data collection by big tech firms such as Facebook and Google. You can follow Kate on Twitter.
Latest articles by Kate O'Flaherty
The Iran cyber threat: Breaking down attack tactics
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth Iran has been implicated in multiple recent cyber attacks – as state-backed hackers evolve their tactics, businesses must respond by shoring up defenses
AI and data protection: What businesses need to know
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT pose risks to data protection – firms still struggling to put an AI strategy in place will struggle down the line
Why attacks against critical national infrastructure (CNI) are such a threat
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth Organizations operating critical national infrastructure face an onslaught of cyber attacks by state-sponsored adversaries, prompting experts to call for better defense strategies and cooperation
How to recover from a DDoS attack – and what they can teach businesses
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth As distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks get bigger and stealthier, firms that can recover fast and learn from the experience have the edge
What does the Kaspersky ban mean for businesses?
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth The US has banned Kaspersky software, saying the Russia-based firm is a threat to national security. What does that mean for businesses?
Mitigating cyber risks in mergers and acquisitions
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth Mergers and acquisitions can open the door to significant cyber security gaps, which IT teams must work hard to overcome in the immediate aftermath of any deal closing
Building an incident response strategy in 2024
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth As the threat landscape changes, businesses must ensure their incident response strategy is up to the task and ready to meet the needs of regulators and stakeholders
Why the CISO role is so demanding – and how leaders can help
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth Battling decreasing budgets and stressful working patterns, those in the CISO role need support and space to communicate to do their jobs well
Stealthy malware: The threats hiding in plain sight
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth As malicious software becomes increasingly difficult to detect, businesses must act to counter the stealthy malware threat
AI threats: The importance of a concrete strategy in fighting novel attacks
By Kate O'Flaherty last updated
In-depth Malicious AI use could accelerate cyber attacks, but how big is the AI threat in practice and what can businesses do to prepare?
State-sponsored cyber attacks: The new frontier
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth With a new breed of groups launching state-sponsored cyber attacks against businesses, security teams will have to look beyond the traditional “CRINK” attackers
Zero-day exploits: How risky are they for businesses?
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth Zero-day exploits in popular software are a growing risk to all businesses. What can be done to mitigate the danger?
How to choose the best cyber security vendor for your business
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth What the best cyber security vendor means for you will depend on your needs – and if you require one at all
Cloud security for SMBs: Simple steps to stay secure
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth While a lack of budget and resources makes cloud security for SMBs harder, there are steps leaders can take to boost defenses
The end of passwords – and how businesses will embrace it
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth What will the end of passwords look like in practice and what can businesses do to prepare?
Patch management: Why firms ignore vulnerabilities at their own risk
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth Despite rising exploits by adversaries, poor patch management is still a problem – what can be done about it?
The cyber security skills shortage: What skills are missing?
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth As the cyber security skills shortage deepens, what specific skills is the industry lacking and how can firms do more with increasingly tight budgets?
What are the most-targeted industries for cyber attacks?
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth What makes the most-targeted industries for cyber attacks such common victims, and what can they do to shore up security?
The end of ransomware payments: How businesses fit into the fight
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth Governments worldwide have determined to stop ransomware payments, but what does this mean for businesses?
Using Excel for data analysis vs management
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth With many public sector organizations using Excel for data analysis and management, what are the risks and benefits of each approach?
What do passkeys mean for your business?
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth Passkeys are touted as the answer to the password problem. As support is rolled out by the big tech firms, are businesses ready for the technology?
Why ransomware attacks happen to small businesses – and how to stop them
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth With a surge in small business ransomware attacks, it's critical to know what makes your organization a target and what defensive measures you can take
What are Kerberoasting attacks?
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth Kerberoasting attacks are on the rise. How does this attack method work and what can firms do to protect themselves?
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