Increased reliance on the Internet means businesses face a number of different security threats aimed at bringing down websites, impacting performance or stealing information.

Many of these attacks are aimed at the application layer. Content delivery specialist Limelight Networks is adding to its Cloud Security services with the launch of a new Web Application Firewall (WAF).

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One of the biggest problems organizations have in staying secure is a lack of visibility across the whole enterprise, giving hackers the opportunity to exploit gaps between security solutions.

Access control specialist SecureAuth is taking the lead in the creation of a Connected Security Alliance with the aim of building a reference architecture that will help organizations address every stage of the attack lifecycle from initial penetration, to lateral movement, to escalating privileges.

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It is often the illusive H Factor -- the human element -- that ends up being the weakest link that makes cyber-attacks and data breaches possible, sometimes even more so than hackers exploiting zero-day system vulnerabilities or employing new malware.

According to the 2016 Verizon DBIR, human errors are a major factor in most data breaches. This human touch is especially true with the growing mobility of employees and BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies that are becoming more widespread. Therefore, while technological cybersecurity solutions take center stage in many businesses' cybersecurity plans, addressing the human element is as important as the technological one.

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Contracts are among the most sensitive documents that many enterprises handle. When storing them in the cloud therefore firms need to be sure that they’re secure and properly managed.

Contract lifecycle specialist Icertis is partnering with cloud storage supplier Box to integrate with the latter's enterprise content management platform, empowering users to collaborate with internal stakeholders and seamlessly share documents and contract drafts during negotiation.

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Computer vision -- meaning quite literally, machines seeing things -- is poised to explode over the next several years. This technology is very important to things such as security cameras, artificial intelligence and robotics. On an immediate consumer level, Intel's RealSense technology is already being used for Windows Hello -- a secure camera-based method of logging into Microsoft's operating system with biometrics.

Intel is looking to further bolster its RealSense technology, plus other such initiatives, with the acquisition of Movidius. This soon-to-be-acquired company's main focus is computer vision and artificial intelligence, making it a seemingly smart fit for achieving Intel's goals.

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Banks around the world are embracing biometrics as a way of securing customers' accounts. HSBC is taking things in a slightly different direction, however, giving business customers the ability to open a new account using a selfie.

While the selfie alone is not enough to open a bank account, it is used as part of the identity verification process. It uses facial recognition software to analyse a selfie taken on a smartphone.

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Given the rising frequency of increasingly malicious and innovative cyber-attacks organizations have to be prepared and proactive. It is no longer a question of if but when your organization will have to deal with a cyber-attack. The cost of a cybersecurity breach is significant -- in terms of money, business disruption and reputation. Depending on the magnitude of the attack, a cyber incident can potentially put you out of business.

According to UK government research, two-thirds of UK big businesses have been hit by a cyber-attack in the past year. UK telecoms group TalkTalk suffered a high profile attack in October 2015 when hackers stole personal data from customers. According to TalkTalk, the cyber-attack it suffered wiped £15 million off trading revenue as well as forcing it to book exceptional costs of £40m - £45m, and losing it up to 101,000 customers.

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It seems that serious data breaches are all but an everyday occurrence at the moment. At the same time, there have also been instances of historical hacks suddenly coming to light such as the 2012 breach of Dropbox.

But Dropbox was not the only company to suffer an attack in 2012 -- so did music site Last.fm. Now, four years after the hack, details of 43 million accounts have been leaked.

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OurMine is a hacking collective that gets its jollies by causing havoc in the name of security. For instance, the group often takes over Twitter accounts, causing distress to the handle owner. Heck, just last month it hacked TechCrunch. Ultimately, OurMine never seems to cause real damage -- its antics are an inconvenience more than anything.

Today, OurMine hacks Variety.com and takes its mischief to a new level. You see, the hackers not only infiltrated the company's newsletter database, but OurMine sent spam to the contained subscriber email addresses too. Apparently it was not just one spam email, but many.

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It's not that there are less data breaches lately -- it's that they're not being disclosed. That's basically what Huntsman Security is saying, after it requested data about error and breaches in security through the Freedom of Information Act. Between April 2015, and March 2016, a total of 2,048 incidents were reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

This represents a jump of 88 percent, as the year before, there were a total of 1,089 reported incidents.

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Although there are many different security solutions on the market, smaller businesses often struggle to find a solution that's affordable and easy to implement.

Kaspersky Lab is targeting this SMB market with its new Endpoint Security Cloud. It's a software-as-a-service solution offers advanced functionality and proven protection but can be managed easily via simple cloud-based console with an intuitive and user-friendly interface.

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There's a reason why cyber attacks use social engineering techniques, it's because the person sitting in front of the screen is usually the weakest link in the security chain.

This is confirmed by the findings of a new report from Wombat Security Technologies which shows that in the last year, the number of organizations that reported being a victim of phishing has increased 13 percent, and 60 percent of enterprises say the rate of phishing attacks has increased overall.

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Remember how Dropbox asked all those that haven't changed their passwords since 2012 to do so now? Remember how they said they did it for no particular reason, just as a precaution? Turns out, it was much more than that.

As a matter of fact, back in 2012, more than 68 million accounts were hacked.

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If your laptop or smartphone gets lost or stolen, there’s the danger of its contents being accessed, which could prove a nightmare. If the device is encrypted, however, you can rest easy… Or can you?

Ebba Blitz, CEO of laptop encryption company Alertsec (and former host of Sweden's Shark Tank), chatted with me about the benefits and potential pitfalls of encryption, and revealed her top tips for keeping your data secure.

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Dangerous vulnerabilities are present in a large number of today's websites, and the percentage is only going to keep on growing, according to a new report by Acunetix.

The automated web application security software company released its annual Web Application Vulnerability Report 2016, based on 45,000 website and network scans, done on 5,700 websites over the past year. The results are worrying.

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