Online fraud has been ”overlooked” by the government, police and business, according to public spending watchdog the National Audit Office.The growing problem needs ”an urgent response” coordinated by the Home Office, NAO head Sir Amyas Morse said.Almost two million cyber-related fraud incidents were estimated to have taken place last year, it added.The Home Office said government, the police and industry were working together to tackle the problem.Effective response?Sir Amyas said the Home Office, while not solely responsible for tackling the issue, was the only organisation that could oversee the system and lead change.

The Petya malware variant that hit businesses around the world may not have been an attempt to make money, suspect security experts.The malicious program demanded a payment to unlock files it scrambled on infected machines.However, a growing number of researchers now believe the program was launched just to destroy data.Experts point to ”aggressive” features of the malware that make it impossible to retrieve key files.Cashing outMatt Suoche, from security firm Comae, described the variant as a ”wiper” rather than straight-forward ransomware.”The goal of a wiper is to destroy and damage,” he wrote, adding that the ransomware aspect of the program was a lure to generate media interest.

The founder of encrypted messaging app Telegram has agreed to register the company in Russia, following pressure from local authorities.Russia’s communications regulator Roskomnadzor had warned that Telegram would be blocked if it did not comply with new data laws.Founder Pavel Durov said the company would be registered on the government’s list of information distributors.However, he insisted Telegram would not share confidential user data.Telegram lets people send encrypted messages, whoch cannot be read by criminals or law enforcement if intercepted.It has about 100 million users, but is also thought to be popular with the so-called Islamic State (IS) group and its supporters.Russia is introducing new data laws that require ”information distribution organisers” to register with the regulator and store users’ data for six months.

Russia does not rule out retaliatory measures if the United States bans Moscow-based cyber security firm Kaspersky Lab’s products, RIA news agency cited Russia’s Communications Minister Nikolai Nikiforov as saying on Thursday.

On Wednesday U.S. senators sought to ban Kaspersky Lab’s products from use by the military because of fears the company is vulnerable to ”Russian government influence”.