Several large banks of the United Kingdom may be at risk because of a security hole in their two-factor authentication systems, and regulators aren’t acting to deal with the problem, a security essentials research company has revealed.

To exploit the vulnerability in the banks’ online banking systems, cyberattackers could use phishing emails to plant malware on customers’ computers, then infiltrate the bank’s networks by piggybacking off legitimate activity, according to the security company that first uncovered the problem at one large UK bank. Other big UK banks that use a similar two-step authentication process would also be vulnerable.

The government has unveiled the driverless cars that will be tested on the roads of the United Kingdom, but admits that changes in the Highway Code and MOT will be needed before any full rollout.

It could be a while before driverless cars make it to the roads for consumers. Any trials conducted in the UK will also require drivers on hand to takeover in the case of emergencies. It also remains to be seen how the government will address criminal liability if a driverless car accidentally kills someone. Security groups have warned that big changes will be needed across the car industry before the benefits will be seen by the public - who themselves aren’t convinced.

Top secret documents previously provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden have revealed that the US and Britain broke into the network of the world’s largest SIM card maker to compromise global communications.

According to the documents, founded by Snowden collaborator Glenn Greenwald, the US National Security Agency and its British counterpart, the Government Communications Headquarters, stole the encryption keys used to secure voice calls and texts from Gemalto, the largest manufacturer of SIM cards in the world. Gemalto makes two billion SIM cards every day. They are used by many wireless network providers around the world.

The Investigatory Powers Tribunal ruled that regulations covering access by Britain’s GCHQ to emails and phone records intercepted by the US National Security Agency breached human rights law.

Advocacy groups said the decision raised questions about the legality of intelligence-sharing operations between the UK and the USA. The ruling appears to suggest that aspects of the operations were illegal for at least seven years – between 2007, when the PRISM intercept programme was introduced, and 2014. The critical judgment marks the first time since the IPT was established that it has upheld a complaint relating to any of the UK’s intelligence agencies.

Mr Assange has claimed asylum in the embassy since June 2012 against his removal to Sweden, where he is now. The British taxpayer has footed a bill of £10 million and rising to police the Ecuadorian embassy where the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is avoiding extradition over sex crime allegations.

His presence in the embassy means the Metropolitan Police has been forced to post a round-the-clock detail of officers to arrest Julian Assange should he leave the building in Knightsbridge. Meaning the total estimated cost including a further three months of cover is now thought to have reached millions of dollars.

Small and big firms working online have to be prepared for ‘unprecedented levels of attempted fraud’ this month, say payments experts. Payments business Worldpay claims instances of fraud could rocket by as much as 80 per cent in February as hackers capitalise on customer data harvested during the Christmas shopping period.

But it should be mentioned that small firms are the biggest target for hackers. Virtually all breaches happen online, the rest being at point of sale. The costs of being targeted can run to tens of thousands of pounds, with an investigation costing £11,250 on average and attracting a penalty of at least £8,000. There is also the cost of lost goods and damage to reputation.

The British army is going to create Facebook warriors, good at psychological operations and use of social media to engage in unconventional warfare in the information age. The brigade will be responsible for what is described as non-lethal warfare. Both the Israeli and the army of the USA already engage heavily in psychological operations.

The force will attempt to control the narrative. The army will include reservists and regulars. Soldiers with journalism skills and familiarity with social media are among those being sought. The move is partly a result of experience in counter-insurgency operations in Afghanistan.

British and Canadian spy agencies accumulated sensitive data on smartphone users, including location, app preferences, and unique device identifiers, by piggybacking on ubiquitous software from advertising and analytics companies, according to a document obtained by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Programmers frequently embed code from a handful of such companies into their smartphone apps because it helps them answer a variety of questions: How often does a particular user open the app, and at what time of day? Where does the user live? Where does the user work? Where is the user right now? What’s the phone’s unique identifier?

Former head of Secret Intelligence Service uses first speech since leaving to say there cannot be 'no-go areas' on internet as he warns of 'all but inevitable' attack on UK. The British security services will not be able to prevent terrorism unless they monitor the internet traffic of innocent people, the former head of MI6 has said.

He said the revelations the former CIA contractor had captured the public's attention because they had not been properly informed about the security services' online surveillance capabilities. Snowden, who revealed top secret details about online monitoring, had "thrown a massive rock in the pool", but he admitted that the move had led to a public debate.

If reelected, British Prime Minister David Cameron would consider banning messaging apps, if they don't make their data available to intelligence agencies.

He cited the recent Paris terror attacks in his remarks which were aimed at messaging apps that encrypt messages to secure users' communications. These apps provide "safe spaces" for terrorists to communicate and make their users' data inaccessible to intelligence agencies and government officials. Cameron reassured citizens that obtaining such information with permission from the apps would still require a warrant.