With mobile computing, software-as-a-service (SaaS), and now remote working moving the focus of IT security away from the traditional perimeter, this article takes a brief look at what a ‘Zero Trust’ approach is and how it can help. More Complex Security Demands The belief among many IT security experts is that a traditional perimeter-based security approach may no longer…
An error in the HM Courts and Tribunals Service computer system meant that 5,000+ defendants were wrongly assigned guilty pleas. Accidental Criminal Convictions The problem that led to 5,000+ people being wrongly given criminal convictions was an error in the computer system’s bulk amendment facility, which was used to update the cases of magistrates’ hearings that were adjourned due…
A survey by consumer watchdog Which? has revealed that almost half of adults in England are unaware of plans for their medical records to be shared with a new NHS database. What Data Sharing? Back in May, NHS Digital launched its plan for sharing medical data from GP records in England. As part of the General Practice Data for…
Two-Factor-Authentication (2FA) refers to another piece of information that users are required to provide (in addition to username and password login details) to access a website/platform/account. Requiring another piece of information protects against others accessing the account if they simply know the username and password. Reasons The reasons for 2FA include: – A huge increase in cybercrime and data…
If you’ve ever wanted to click on a link to a website but wanted a way to check first whether its spam or worse, here are five ways to safely check: 1. Check the status of a website URL using Google’s Transparency Report, which harnesses Google’s Safe Browsing technology. See: https://transparencyreport.google.com/safe-browsing/search?hl=en 2. Use URLVoid to check a website’s reputation and…
After John McAfee was found dead in a Barcelona prison cell last week, we take a brief look at the colourful life of this complicated, maverick software entrepreneur. McAfee Antivirus The products that made John McAfee a household name were his antivirus software and anti-spam products. John McAfee formed his software company, originally called McAfee Associates, back in 1987….
The ICO has fined home improvements company ColourCoat Ltd £130,000 for making more than 900,000 nuisance marketing calls! What? ColourCoat Ltd of St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex, which provides a number of home improvement services, was fined for making almost a million nuisance calls over an eight-month period, between 1st August 2019 and 31st March 2020. This equated to…
The ICO has fined the Conservative Party £10,000 for sending unlawful marketing emails to people who did not want to receive them. Breach The ICO has decided that after an investigation into emails sent from the Conservative Party, in the name of Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP, during the eight days in July 2019 after he was elected Prime…
In this article, we take a brief look at what a VPN is, how it works, its advantages, plus its disadvantages. What Is A VPN? A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a service that allows you to create a secure connection to another network over the Internet, thereby creating a secure, protected, encrypted ‘tunnel’. A VPN is a private,…
It is easy to think that cyber-attacks are likely to come from outsiders unconnected to the business, but how much do you know about the security of your digital supply chain? Software Supply Chain Risks Businesses use many different third-party software tools as part of their day-to-day transactions and for organisations in the public sector, for example, the software,…
