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

Addressing cybersecurity skills gaps in 2025
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth The cybersecurity skills gap is widening, despite multiple initiatives to fill core roles – leaders must act to redress the balance

The new ransomware groups worrying security researchers in 2025
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth Who are the new ransomware groups on the block, what are their aims – and what are their novel attacks methods?

Windows 10 end of life: How to prepare for the October deadline
By Kate O'Flaherty published
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?

How hackers bypass MFA
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth Security leaders must ensure there’s more to their defenses than the simplest identity checks

AI-generated code risks: What CISOs need to know
By Kate O'Flaherty published
As AI-generated code becomes more widespread, security teams will need to be even more vigilant for unwanted vulnerabilities and flaws

China cyber threats: What businesses can do to protect themselves
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth As attacks from the likes of Salt Typhoon escalate, business leaders must take a proactive approach to improving their cyber capabilities

Holiday threats security teams face and how to mitigate them
By Kate O'Flaherty published
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?

Russia is targeting unpatched vulnerabilities – what can tech leaders do to shore up defenses?
By Kate O'Flaherty published
In-depth Understanding the leading Russian threat groups and their methodologies is the key to a robust business cyber strategy

How to create a secure password policy
By Kate O'Flaherty published
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

Phishing tactics: The top attack trends
By Kate O'Flaherty published
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

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
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
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