While the Apple vs FBI arguments may be simmering down in the States, US politicians are still debating the issues within the wider context of international relations, business and security (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2016-06-23/sec-kerry-on-china-cybersecurity-apple-vs-fbi). Considering the drive from the technology firms to keep government and other snoopers out is to encrypt everything, Apple's latest move is a rather surprising one. In the latest development on the IT side, Apple has taken to decrypting the kernel, the core code, within the latest version of iOS. 

The new iOS 10 release comes with accessible code, allowing programmers to see the heart of Apple's software and report any security weaknesses. While this may create a few new ways for hackers to attack users in the short term, in the longer term it will make the operating system more secure. This change in approach also prevents Apple engineers from feeling complacent about their code, which they might have believed to be ultra secure thanks to the use of encryption. Apple remains confident that everything else, including user data, will be safe once the new iOS is released on the latest iPhone and iPad devices later this year.

Businesses are adopting encryption fast! 

Out in the business world, the use of encryption has rocketed as users and IT departments finally realise the risks that unencrypted data and communications poses. According to a survey, only 16% of large companies used encryption back in 2005. That figure rose steadily to around 34% in 2014 while the latest report (http://www.csoonline.com/article/3088916/data-protection/study-encryption-use-increase-largest-in-11-years.html) shows a large leap up to 41%. This still leaves an alarming 59% of companies exposing their, and possibly your, data to hackers or governments, but expect the number of businesses using data protection measures to grow rapidly until they become standard.

That positive trend still doesn't help the huge number of companies being hacked due to weak security, poor network controls, lack of encryption, falling victim to social engineering tricks and other errors. With so many targets and so many hackers, there is a never-ending stream of attacks being aimed at all businesses and individuals. Only by keeping their protection up to date and actively investing in the latest data protection, using VPNs, 256-bit SSL and HTTPS can companies stand a reasonable chance of remaining attack-free. Considering that just one rogue program on a single PC can infect an entire business network, the need for education and constant vigilance from all users is incredibly important.

A new wave of hacks and attacks

The latest hack saw over £40 million stolen from a bitcoin-based investment fund, called the Decentralised Autonomous Organisation (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36585930). These online-only crypto currencies are potentially the future for money, but few people will accept them into their lives when such huge sums can be stolen electronically, and with no real world recourse to compensation or much hope of finding the criminals.

Another new threat that could affect anyone is a ransomware tool called RAA that's turning up in emails. As a Javascript code (http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/the-new-raa-ransomware-is-created-entirely-using-javascript/), it can steal your data and only return it for a $250 fee, as well as try and steal any passwords on your system. Consider that before you decide to open up any random attachment sent to you by email. Unfortunately, the ransom demand is in Russian, so typical victims might have a hard time figuring out what do to. 

Other attacks against websites and online services have seen a host of these businesses having to automatically reset users' passwords to prevent illegal access. However, since many of us still use one or a few passwords on a huge range of sites, the risk to us of other accounts being accessed exists. The likes of social network MySpace, remote access service GotoMyPC and others are the latest victims of massive password thefts. As users, at the very least, we should have different passwords for financially sensitive sites compared to those we use on social media and other services. 

All of these issues and hacks continue to highlight the need for constant vigilance from users when it comes to protecting our data, communicating online, or passing our credentials and information out. They should remind all users to increase their use of security tools, ensure encryption is enabled and be more aware of threats. This can mean ensuring all websites use HTTPS:// headings to ensure a secure link between the user and a website, as you'll see on our own site and checking the technology news to understand what the latest weaknesses are, and if you may be affected. 

Whatever computers or mobile devices you use, ensure you keep your data safe and secure. Do so through enabling all the security features on the device, ensuring you use strong passwords and only opening files from trusted sources. Taking any other course of action is not worth the risk of having all your details stolen.