Disaster planning: How to expect the unexpected
If there is one thing that unites all organisations that have had the misfortune of experiencing any disaster, natural or otherwise, it’s that they tend to have believed it would never happen to them. Indeed, such disasters can affect everything from small teams of independent developers to large multinational corporations.
The number and types of disasters are increasing year on year, and can be broadly divided into three categories: natural, anthropogenic and cyber.
Natural disasters are ty...
Contact tracing: The privacy vs protection debate
It would be fair to say that the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic has witnessed the greatest shift in society this century, with most nations currently in varying states of lockdown. Covid-19 first appeared in China in December 2019; the UK’s first case was recorded a month later.
The UK went into lockdown on 23 March, and this is still ongoing at the time of writing. The legal basis for the lockdown, the Coronavirus Act 2020, was introduced on 19 March and passed all remaining stages of conside...
Mitigating social engineering attacks with MFA
Social engineering attacks are one of the most prevalent forms of attack against organisations. They can target any organisation, regardless of size or type.
In fact, many of us will have experience of them, such as automated calls claiming to be from your internet service provider or emails offering “unbelievable” discounts, for example. They can vary in sophistication, with some easy to spot, while others are highly convincing.
Europol’s Internet organised crime threat assessment (IOCTA) 20...
The cyber threats lurking within every company
Unlike conventional cyber attacks, which seek to breach the defences of a network, insider threats circumvent these defences because they originate from within the network.
“Insider threat is absolutely the major threat facing organisations,” says Colin Tankard, managing director of Digital Pathways. “In the worst-case scenario, [companies] get a bad infection and you have to go back to the cold metal, where you have to wipe everything out and rebuild, and that can cost a fortune.”
While most...
Get ready for CCPA: Implications for UK businesses
The bill for the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) was passed by the California State Legislature and signed into law by governor Jerry Brown of California on 28 June 2018, to amend Part 4 of Division 3 of the California Civil Code. It is due to come into force on 1 January 2020. Although it is based in California, the CCPA will have a far more global reach.
Historically, the US has had a different approach to privacy to that taken in Europe. But this is now changing, due in part to seve...
Two-factor authentication is broken: What comes next?
It has long been known that passwords are one of the weakest methods for authenticating users. One of the first examples of a password being compromised can be traced back to 413 BCE, when the Greek army used a pass-phrase for identification during a night-time battle. Unfortunately, this pass-phrase became known to Syracusans, who used it to pose as Greek allies. Employing this ruse, the Syracusans decimated the Greek army.
Getting Cloud Security Right
Let's face it, cloud security can be do...
Tick or click: Why electronic voting is unlikely in 2015
With the 2015 UK general election approaching and the increasingly digital nature of society, electronic voting is once again being promoted as the next stage in the evolution of democracy. But despite the ease and cost-saving opportunities, security questions remain.
In a speech to the University College London Constitution Unit in March 2014, Jenny Watson, chair of the election watchdog the Electoral Commission, revealed the commission was examining a range of ways to make voting more acces...
DDoS attack threat cannot be ignored
In the second 2020 MIT Sloan CIO Digital Learning Series, a panel of IT security leaders discussed how they are keeping their ...
As we all adjust to the new normal, the digital experience a company provides is more important than ever. Companies need to ...
Companies need to remain agile during the pandemic, especially when it comes to your digital transformation journey. Alisia ...
SYLVESTER McCOy
SYLVESTER MCCOY TELLS PETER RAY ALLISON HOW HE TOOK THE TIME LORD TO THE “DARK SIDE”
We’re chatting with the Seventh Doctor. Alas we didn’t have a chance to go into the whole ferret-down-the-trousers business.
Finding fame as the seventh doctor, sylvester mcCoy more recently cemented his sf credentials with roles in Sense8 and The Hobbit – but it’s his time in the TARDIS that’s made him an enduring geek icon.
mcCoy played the doctor for three inventive seasons, before the show’s cancellation ...
‘Making Cyberpunk Red almost killed us’: Mike Pondsmith on the return of the tabletop RPG, catching up with 2020’s future and Cyberpunk 2077
2020 is a momentous year for the game in more ways than one; this is the year the core rules for the latest edition of the game, upcoming tabletop RPG Cyberpunk Red, and its hotly anticipated video game adaptation Cyberpunk 2077
Shedding light on World of Darkness, the gothic-punk universe of RPG Vampire: The Masquerade
It has been over 15 years since the World of Darkness was cancelled, but now the roleplaying setting has risen from the grave to terrorise a new generation.
The World of Darkness is the gothic-punk setting for White Wolf’s tabletop fantasy RPGs; a dark reflection of our own world, rife with corruption and decadence. Humans are the unwitting pawns of supernatural creatures, who engage in a millennia-spanning war of Machiavellian intrigue.
The setting is currently undergoing a renaissance, with...
Five predictions about the future that the Cyberpunk 2020 RPG did - and didn't - get right (so far)
Cyberpunk 2020 is a tabletop roleplaying game set in a world of low life and high technology. Devastating wars, bio-plagues and nuclear terrorism have devastated much of the planet, whilst arcologies and combat zones are taking over cities. Powerful corporations vie for power, leaving governments to slowly lose control. Cybernetically-enhanced mercenaries are employed by fixers to do the dirty work of the corporations, allowing executives maintain their deniability.
Following the release of t...
Using simulated disaster management to tackle the security skills gap
Academic qualifications, such as Cyber Security & Computer Forensics BSc (Hons) and Cyber Security MSc, provide cyber security professionals with the necessary knowledge for their career, but nothing compares to real-world experience when dealing with potential network threats.
Will we ever have robot carers?
Films like Robot and Frank and I, Robot, as well as animated television shows like The Jetsons, have portrayed a future where robotic servants undertake household chores, allowing families to spend more time together and for elderly people to remain independent for longer.
Politics, privacy and porn: the challenges of age-verification technology
During the UK’s 2015 general election, the Conservatives pledged to protect children online by requiring all sites with pornographic content to verify a visitor’s age, with the threat to block any websites that did not have such systems in place.