
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.
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What threat do infostealers pose to businesses?
In-depth To counter the rising threat of infostealer malware, security teams must be vigilant and practice rigorous patching
By Kate O'Flaherty Published
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Building ransomware resilience to avoid paying out
In-depth Amid an impending ransom payment ban, businesses should work to improve their incident response strategies and knowledge of prominent threat groups
By Kate O'Flaherty Published
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Addressing cybersecurity skills gaps in 2025
In-depth The cybersecurity skills gap is widening, despite multiple initiatives to fill core roles – leaders must act to redress the balance
By Kate O'Flaherty Published
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The new ransomware groups worrying security researchers in 2025
In-depth Who are the new ransomware groups on the block, what are their aims – and what are their novel attacks methods?
By Kate O'Flaherty Published
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Windows 10 end of life: How to prepare for the October deadline
In-depth Microsoft is ending support for Windows 10 in October this year – so what are the options for IT leaders who are yet to upgrade to Windows 11?
By Kate O'Flaherty Published
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How hackers bypass MFA
In-depth Security leaders must ensure there’s more to their defenses than the simplest identity checks
By Kate O'Flaherty Published
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AI-generated code risks: What CISOs need to know
As AI-generated code becomes more widespread, security teams will need to be even more vigilant for unwanted vulnerabilities and flaws
By Kate O'Flaherty Published
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China cyber threats: What businesses can do to protect themselves
In-depth As attacks from the likes of Salt Typhoon escalate, business leaders must take a proactive approach to improving their cyber capabilities
By Kate O'Flaherty Published
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Holiday threats security teams face and how to mitigate them
Feature The holidays present a unique set of risks for security teams – what are the biggest threats to look out for and how can they be overcome?
By Kate O'Flaherty Published
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Russia is targeting unpatched vulnerabilities – what can tech leaders do to shore up defenses?
In-depth Understanding the leading Russian threat groups and their methodologies is the key to a robust business cyber strategy
By Kate O'Flaherty Published
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How to create a secure password policy
In-depth Passwords don’t need to be changed every year – and three random words are better than lots of characters, according to the latest NIST guidance
By Kate O'Flaherty Published
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Phishing tactics: The top attack trends
In-depth Phishing is evolving beyond email as advances such as AI drive targeted attacks – leaders must keep up with the latest tactics to mount an effective defense
By Kate O'Flaherty Published
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The Iran cyber threat: Breaking down attack tactics
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
By Kate O'Flaherty Published
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AI and data protection: What businesses need to know
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
By Kate O'Flaherty Published
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Why attacks against critical national infrastructure (CNI) are such a threat
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
By Kate O'Flaherty Published
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How to recover from a DDoS attack – and what they can teach businesses
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
By Kate O'Flaherty Published
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What does the Kaspersky ban mean for businesses?
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?
By Kate O'Flaherty Published
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Mitigating cyber risks in mergers and acquisitions
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
By Kate O'Flaherty Published
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Building an incident response strategy
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
By Kate O'Flaherty Published
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Why the CISO role is so demanding – and how leaders can help
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
By Kate O'Flaherty Published
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Stealthy malware: The threats hiding in plain sight
In-depth As malicious software becomes increasingly difficult to detect, businesses must act to counter the stealthy malware threat
By Kate O'Flaherty Published
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AI threats: The importance of a concrete strategy in fighting novel attacks
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?
By Kate O'Flaherty Last updated
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State-sponsored cyber attacks: The new frontier
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
By Kate O'Flaherty Published
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Zero-day exploits: How risky are they for businesses?
In-depth Zero-day exploits in popular software are a growing risk to all businesses. What can be done to mitigate the danger?
By Kate O'Flaherty Published
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