IT for consulting and business services
Companies in the consulting and business services industries often have specialist needs that require effective use of IT. Law firms, consultancies, accountants, recruitment firms and other advisory services use innovative technology to deliver business benefits, and you can read our news and analysis of the key trends and what they mean to you
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News
19 Dec 2024
LockBit ransomware gang teases February 2025 return
An individual associated with the LockBit ransomware gang has broken cover to tease details of a new phase of the cyber criminal operation's activity, which they claim is set to begin in February 2025 Continue Reading
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News
19 Dec 2024
Latest attempt to override UK’s outdated hacking law stalls
Amendments to the Data Bill that would have given the UK cyber industry a boost by updating restrictive elements of the Computer Misuse Act have failed to progress beyond a Lords committee Continue Reading
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News
06 Jan 2014
Yahoo claims malicious ads under control
Yahoo says the situation is under control after its advertising network served up malware to thousands of visitors last week Continue Reading
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News
03 Jan 2014
FireEye acquires Mandiant in $1bn deal
Security firm FireEye has bought Mandiant in a deal worth just over $1bn Continue Reading
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News
03 Jan 2014
Facebook faces lawsuit over monitoring private messages
Facebook is facing a lawsuit that claims it scans the contents of private messages to profile the user’s online activity Continue Reading
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News
24 Dec 2013
Top 10 IT privacy stories of 2013
Stories related to whistleblower Edward Snowden’s revelations about internet mass surveillance programmes by the US and the UK have dominated this year Continue Reading
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Opinion
19 Dec 2013
User acceptance testing needs real training, not just a short course
In spite of its importance, user acceptance testing (UAT) is often chaotic, problematic and ineffective Continue Reading
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News
11 Dec 2013
Research reveals widespread mobile app hacking
The top 100 paid Android apps and 56% of the top 100 paid Apple iOS apps have been hacked, research has revealed Continue Reading
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News
11 Dec 2013
Thirteen plead guilty to Anonymous DDoS attack on Paypal
Thirteen people have pleaded guilty to taking part in DDoS attacks on eBay’s Paypal, organised by the Anonymous hacker group in 2010 Continue Reading
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News
11 Dec 2013
Ransomware looks set to increase, warns Sophos
Cyber criminals are planning to produce new forms of ransomware on an unprecedented scale, according to IT security firm Sophos Continue Reading
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News
09 Dec 2013
Computer system failure delays hundreds of UK flights
Hundreds of flights at several UK airports were delayed or cancelled at the weekend because of a computer failure at National Air Traffic Services (NATS) Continue Reading
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News
05 Dec 2013
Automation key to balancing agility and security, says AlgoSec
Automated critical business application management enables a more agile business and enhances security, says security policy management firm AlgoSec Continue Reading
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News
04 Dec 2013
Proof-of-concept malware jumps air gap with sound card
Researchers demonstrate proof-of-concept malware exfiltrating data using high-frequency transmissions inaudible to humans Continue Reading
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News
04 Dec 2013
The Guardian denies Snowden stories damaged national security
Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger defends decision to publish stories on documents leaked by whistleblower Edward Snowden Continue Reading
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News
04 Dec 2013
UK proposes formal talks on cyber security with China
Prime minister David Cameron has called on China to be more open about cyber security Continue Reading
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News
28 Nov 2013
EU calls on US to rebuild trust in post-Snowden era
The EC has called on the US to provide guarantees to restore trust in the wake of spying revelations Continue Reading
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News
26 Nov 2013
NCA changed UK cyber crime fighting, says NCCU head
The NCA has changed the UK law enforcement landscape, says Andy Archibald, head of the NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit Continue Reading
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News
26 Nov 2013
Government lays out 2014 cyber security agenda
The UK government has reiterated its commitment to addressing cyber security and laid out some plans for 2014 at the Cyber Security Summit 2013 Continue Reading
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News
26 Nov 2013
IT suppliers relaxed about contract visibility
IT and BPO suppliers Atos and Capita say they are relaxed about being more open about the often obscured details of large government contracts, as outsourcing giants are put under pressure by MPs to open up to public scrutiny Continue Reading
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News
26 Nov 2013
The state of agile software development in the UK
Lately it is more surprising to hear that businesses are developing using a methodology other than agile, such is its widespread use Continue Reading
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News
26 Nov 2013
White hat Wi-Fi hacking shows vulnerability of business data
Whitehat hackers have shown that senstitive data can be sniffed easily from public Wi-Fi hotspots Continue Reading
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News
26 Nov 2013
FTSE 350 firms complete cyber risk assessment
Most FTSE 350 companies put cyber risk on the board agenda, but many need to improve how they manage that risk Continue Reading
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News
21 Nov 2013
CSA appoints Microsoft’s Adrienne Hall to board
The CSA has appointed Adrienne Hall, from Trustworthy Computing at Microsoft, to its board of directors Continue Reading
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News
20 Nov 2013
Report highlights poor UK attitudes to mobile security
Businesses should note that many UK mobile users do not take security precautions and do not know how to guard against data theft Continue Reading
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News
19 Nov 2013
Google reaches $17m multi-state settlement over Safari snooping
Google has reached a $17m settlement agreement with 10 US states for bypassing Apple Safari privacy settings Continue Reading
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News
18 Nov 2013
Google and Microsoft to block searches for child porn
Google and Microsoft have announced measures to make it more difficult to find child abuse images online Continue Reading
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News
15 Nov 2013
Cyber collateral damage a concern for all, says Lancope
All organisations could be affected by cyber attack collateral damage, says network security firm Lancope Continue Reading
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News
14 Nov 2013
Shell delivers global SAP upgrade
Shell has simplified and standardised business processes in its business focused on refining and marketing activities for oil products and chemicals, through a global SAP upgrade Continue Reading
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News
14 Nov 2013
Europe to follow US clearance of mobile devices on flights
The European aviation regulator is to follow the US lead in easing restrictions on the use of mobile electronic devices during flights Continue Reading
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News
12 Nov 2013
Mass surveillance a bad idea, says Information Commissioner Christopher Graham
Information Commissioner Christopher Graham says issues of national security must not overshadow concerns of legitimate public interest Continue Reading
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News
12 Nov 2013
Web surveillance not a good idea, says Info Commissioner
Information Commissioner Christopher Graham says issues of national security cannot be allowed to overshadow concerns of legitimate public interest Continue Reading
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News
08 Nov 2013
NSA and GCHQ mass surveillance violates EU law, study finds
Mass internet surveillance by US and UK intelligence agencies violates European law, according to a study by two academics Continue Reading
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News
07 Nov 2013
UK intelligence heads defend mass surveillance operations
Heads of the UK’s intelligence services insist all they do in term of mass surveillance is strictly within the confines of UK law Continue Reading
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News
29 Oct 2013
Analysis: RSA says security needs to change, but what does that mean?
RSA executive chairman Art Coviello has issued a call to action to the security industry to improve technology and collaboration Continue Reading
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News
29 Oct 2013
Most businesses need to transform IT security, says RSA
No modern network or IT system can withstand the onslaught of a skilled adversary, given focus and time, says Amit Yoran, general manager of RSA Continue Reading
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News
28 Oct 2013
CIO Interview: Ann-Marie Rafferty, head of IT, Access, on partnership models
Ann-Marie Rafferty, who heads up IT for the partnership between Serco and Glasgow council, discusses strategic frameworks Continue Reading
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News
28 Oct 2013
Cyber attack shuts down Israeli toll road tunnel
A cyber attack has shut down a major link in Israel's national road network, experts claim Continue Reading
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News
25 Oct 2013
Fulham football club address skills shortfall with cloud database
Fulham football club’s IT team moves its database infrastructure to the cloud with a database as a service implementation Continue Reading
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News
25 Oct 2013
Samsung reports record Q3 profits of £4.8bn
Samsung has reported record third quarter profits of £4.8bn driven mainly by revenues from memory chips Continue Reading
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News
24 Oct 2013
Thales launches critical infrastructure cyber security lab
Thales has set up a cyber security lab dedicated to help improve the security of critical national infrastructure, government and business Continue Reading
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News
23 Oct 2013
US publishes draft cyber security framework
The US has published a draft framework of voluntary cyber security standards aimed at reducing risks to critical national infrastructure Continue Reading
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News
21 Oct 2013
Microsoft withdraws faulty Windows RT 8.1 update for Surface tablets
Microsoft has widthdrawn its Windows 8.1 update for Surface RT tablets after some users reported system crashes Continue Reading
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News
18 Oct 2013
Google share price at record high on third quarter results
Google’s share price has hit a record high in response to better-than-expected third quarter results Continue Reading
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News
17 Oct 2013
Dexter payment card malware variant hits South Africa
The Dexter payment card skimming malware discovered last year has resurfaced in South Africa, resulting in millions of pounds lost to fraud Continue Reading
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News
16 Oct 2013
Case study: Richard Branson's Virgin Management moves to IaaS platform
Virgin Management, a subsidiary of Virgin Group, has migrated its IT to a cloud-based IaaS platform for BYOD capabilities and savings Continue Reading
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News
16 Oct 2013
Neustar to host first DDoS awareness day
Communications firm Neustar is to host the first international awareness day on distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks Continue Reading
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Opinion
16 Oct 2013
Who owns your LinkedIn account?
It is common for employees to use personal social networking accounts for work, but who actually owns those accounts? Continue Reading
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News
15 Oct 2013
OFT launches investigation into public sector IT supply
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has launched a formal study into the supply of IT products and services to the public sector Continue Reading
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News
15 Oct 2013
The ICO issues BYOD warning after breach
The ICO is calling on organisations to ensure data protection policies reflect how employees are using personal devices for work Continue Reading
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Photo Story
15 Oct 2013
10 security reasons to upgrade to iOS 7
Even if it did not include numerous security fixes, iOS 7 has compelling reasons for corporates to adopt it to improve their security Continue Reading
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News
15 Oct 2013
D-Link begins fixing router backdoor
D-Link has begun releasing security patches to close the backdoor discovered on some of its routers Continue Reading
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News
11 Oct 2013
Legitimate users of Tor need not worry, says NCA
The National Crime Agency (NCA) says criminals cannot hide on the internet, but legitimate business users of anonymity software Tor are safe Continue Reading
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News
07 Oct 2013
UK National Cyber Crime Unit becomes operational
The UK's National Cyber Crime Unit has become operational as part of the new National Crime Agency Continue Reading
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News
03 Oct 2013
FBI shuts down Silk Road online drug market
The FBI has shut down the Silk Road online drug market and arrested kingpin Ross Ulbricht, previously known only as Dread Pirate Roberts Continue Reading
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News
03 Oct 2013
IT outsourcing no longer main recession-busting tool
Process optimisation and shared services have become a higher priority than IT outsourcing Continue Reading
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Opinion
03 Oct 2013
Privacy concerns in the digital world
Considering the full spectrum of privacy, people need to ask themselves if they are comfortable with all their characteristics in the public domain Continue Reading
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News
02 Oct 2013
McAfee Focus 2013: McAfee leadership upbeat about Stonesoft acquisition
Intel-owned security firm McAfee is upbeat about its acquisition of Stonesoft and its future capability to tackle security differently Continue Reading
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News
01 Oct 2013
IT security industry still immature, says (ISC)2 board member
The information security industry is still immature and failing to act or speak as one, says Dave Lewis, (ISC)2 board member Continue Reading
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News
27 Sep 2013
Financial markets next big cyber target, says US expert
Manipulation of international financial markets will be the next evolution of cyber crime, says US Cyber Consequences Unit chief Continue Reading
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News
27 Sep 2013
Top 10 cyber crime stories of 2013
Cyber crime featured heavily in security news coverage in 2013, with cyber criminals and cyber law enforcers upping their games with each passing month Continue Reading
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News
27 Sep 2013
Software acquisition is risk acquisition, says industry panel
New software often means new security vulnerabilities, panel tells the (ISC)2 Security Congress 2013 Continue Reading
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News
19 Sep 2013
NSA reveals how Snowden accessed secret Prism files
Prism whistleblower Edward Snowden accessed secret documents through a file-share, the NSA has revealed Continue Reading
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News
16 Sep 2013
Risk assessment key to cloud adoption, says Isaca
There is mass confusion among small and medium businesses about cloud computing, says Amar Singh, chair of Isaca UK Continue Reading
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News
09 Sep 2013
Most websites could be targeted through PHP, warns Imperva
Hackers are focusing on vulnerabilities in PHP web application development platform, threatening most websites, warns Imperva Continue Reading
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News
09 Sep 2013
Lloyds website continuity hit as TSB launches
Lloyds Banking Group websites, including the new standalone TSB, have been hit by problems on TSB launch day Continue Reading
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News
03 Sep 2013
Disinfecting PCs false security, says security expert
Many companies proud of their ability to identify and clean malware infected machines are missing a trick, says veteran security expert Continue Reading
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News
22 Aug 2013
Charlie McMurdie joins PwC’s cyber practice
Charlie McMurdie, former head of the Metro Police central e-crime unit, is joining business consultancy firm PwC as its senior crime adviser Continue Reading
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Opinion
14 Aug 2013
How to appoint a new outsourcing supplier
Outsourcing can come with its own security risks if not managed appropriately, making due diligence and clear contractual arrangements key Continue Reading
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News
06 Aug 2013
Capita and Barnet deal to be completed after campaigner’s court appeal fails
Outsourcing contracts worth over £470m will be signed off by Barnet Council after a Court of Appeal ruled that the deal was lawful Continue Reading
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Opinion
30 Jul 2013
The ideology of hacking
Business leaders need to be educated on the true threats their firms face and IT security professionals have to arm their executives with that information Continue Reading
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News
30 Jul 2013
ICO to investigate sale of online dating profiles
The UK’s data protection watchdog is to investigate the sale of 10,000 online dating profiles to the BBC’s Panorama programme Continue Reading
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Feature
29 Jul 2013
An introduction to cyber liability insurance cover
Cyber liability insurance cover has been around for 10 years, but most security professionals seem to have not heard of it or know that it exists Continue Reading
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News
29 Jul 2013
Continual vigilance key to security, says Damballa
UK businesses must update their approach to cyber security to look for signs of compromise continually Continue Reading
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News
26 Jul 2013
FireEye partners with Phishme for multi-layered security
Security technology developer FireEye has partnered with phishing awareness training firm PhishMe to offer a multi-layered approach to securing information networks Continue Reading
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News
25 Jul 2013
MI5 and GCHQ call for FTSE 350 cyber health check
Intelligence agencies MI5 and GCHQ call on UK’s top listed companies to take part in a cyber governance health check Continue Reading
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News
23 Jul 2013
Cisco buys cyber security company Sourcefire for $2.7bn
Networking giant Cisco has reached an agreement to buy cyber security business Sourcefire in a $2.7bn deal Continue Reading
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News
22 Jul 2013
Insider threat: Balancing security with privacy
How can organisations increase security without affecting productivity or encroaching on employees’ right to privacy? Continue Reading
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News
22 Jul 2013
UK to block online porn by default
The UK is to block online pornography by default to all new internet users, David Cameron is to announce Continue Reading
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Opinion
19 Jul 2013
How to assess the security of a cloud service provider
As businesses continue to put more information online, understanding cloud suppliers and agreements has never been more important Continue Reading
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News
18 Jul 2013
Google competition proposals not good enough, says EC
Competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia wants Google to readdress fears that it is abusing its market domination for its own gain Continue Reading
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News
18 Jul 2013
Intel Q2 profits down, but in line with expectations
Chip maker Intel reported a second quarter profit of $2bn, down 29% from a year ago, roughly in line with analysts’ estimates Continue Reading
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News
17 Jul 2013
Tech firms target piracy profiting websites
Tech firms including Google, Yahoo and Microsoft join an initiative targeting websites that profit from piracy by cutting off advert revenue Continue Reading
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News
16 Jul 2013
More than one-fifth of UK firms hit by DDoS attacks in 2012
More than a fifth of UK firms experienced a disruptive distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack in 2012 Continue Reading
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News
15 Jul 2013
Black market for software security flaws reaches new highs
The black market in previously undiscovered vulnerabilities in commercial software is so established that the average flaw sells for up to $160,000 Continue Reading
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News
11 Jul 2013
OpenCorporates makes company data public
Company data is being made available as part of an initiative to place more government data in the public domain Continue Reading
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News
11 Jul 2013
Yahoo wants Fisa objections revealed
Yahoo is the latest company implicated in the Prism internet surveillance programme to call for more transparency around its involvement Continue Reading
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News
11 Jul 2013
Icahn wants judge to appraise Dell buyout offer
Billionaire US investor Carl Icahn says he will go to court to get a better price for his stake in the computer manufacturer Dell Continue Reading
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News
11 Jul 2013
Protecting against modern password cracking
This article in our Royal Holloway Security Thesis series explains just how insecure passwords are and offers advice on alternative methods of security. Continue Reading
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News
11 Jul 2013
Smart cards: security risks
This article in our Royal Holloway Information Security Thesis series assess the new features introduced in Java Card 3 Connected Edition smart card specification and their associated security risks. Continue Reading
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News
11 Jul 2013
Security visualisation
This article in our Royal Holloway Information Security Thesis series shows how to generate a visual representation of a dataset and use visualisation in the evaluation of known security vulnerabilities. Continue Reading
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News
10 Jul 2013
Microsoft notches up over 3,000 copyright cases
In its battle against piracy, Microsoft says it has settled 3,265 copyright cases in the past year and warns of links to malware distribution Continue Reading
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News
09 Jul 2013
Will cloud services follow the evolution of the banking industry?
Cloud service providers say security will become the very reason companies choose cloud services in future Continue Reading
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News
08 Jul 2013
UK takes cyber threats to infrastructure seriously
The UK is taking seriously potential cyber threats to critical national infrastructure, according to GCHQ head Iain Lobban Continue Reading
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News
05 Jul 2013
Tougher EU penalties for cyber crime not enough, say security experts
The European Parliament has adopted a draft directive to toughen up EU penalties for cyber crime, but security experts say this is not enough on its own Continue Reading
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News
05 Jul 2013
Security Think Tank: Prism unlikely to change much
Does the data collected by Prism put the US Government at risk from other state or non-state sponsored activists? Continue Reading
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News
05 Jul 2013
UK joins EU demands for Google to rewrite privacy policy
The UK’s privacy watchdog has joined data protection authorities in France, Spain, Germany and Italy in demanding changes to Google’s privacy policy Continue Reading
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News
05 Jul 2013
NSA Prism scandal could hit US cloud providers, says EC vice-president
EC vice-president Neelie Kroes says US cloud services providers could lose business because of fears over US Prism surveillance programme Continue Reading
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News
04 Jul 2013
FBI warns of increased spear phishing attacks
The FBI has issued a warning about an increase in spear-phishing attacks targeting multiple industry sectors Continue Reading
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News
02 Jul 2013
Security Think Tank: Prism – Sitting duck or elaborate honeypot?
Does the data collected by Prism put the US Government at risk from other state or non-state sponsored activists? Continue Reading
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News
02 Jul 2013
Senior MPs flout EU cookie law
Two years after the EU cookie regulation and UK law came into force, not all UK websites are compliant, including the sites of 13 senior MPs Continue Reading
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News
01 Jul 2013
Stuxnet leak investigation leads to project originator
The US government investigation into Stuxnet leak of classified information leads to retired general in the Marines, James Cartwright Continue Reading
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News
01 Jul 2013
Scottish police outsource system to Accenture
Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland have chosen Accenture to maintain its i6 administration system after two-year tendering process Continue Reading