Gurkha Force
John Whitwam, Managing Director, G4S Gurkha Services, argues the UK's sole dependence on the emergency services and the military during disasters is no longer viable. The expertise of a whole ready-made division of former Gurkha soldiers to provide a rapid reaction force to help the country cope with pandemics or extreme weather should be exploited
With the national media agenda dominated by the ongoing economic crisis and political scandal, it is no surprise that we have heard so little about national security in recent months. However, with factors from climate change to international terrorism and new pandemics continually transforming the security landscape, this issue is as important today as it ever was. As the National Security Strategy states, the most important responsibility of Government is to provide security for the nation and its citizens. With a predicted increase in both the frequency and severity of extreme weather cond… More…
Cyber Security Czar
Mike Gillespie, director at Advent IM, believes he sees command and control problems looming already following President Obama's announcement that he intends to appoint a Cyber Security Czar
Whilst the Cyber Security Czar title sounds altogether very impressive, I can see a problem looming already; one of command and control over this appointment. It can do no harm to position an individual with direct access to the President who can quantify levels of threat and explain potential counter-measures to combat them. However, in the case of the previous incumbent, I don't think he held his position for very long. The cause of his departure is unknown, but he was very well respected in the IT security sector; therefore, it questions whether he found the position to be purely political,… More…
Reasons to be fearful
Most people are all too familiar with the toll that the recession is taking on UK businesses, says Martin O'Neal, Director, Corsaire. But are disgruntled IT staff making things even worse?
Earlier this year, an IT consultant who was sacked for lying on his CV decided to retaliate by hacking into his company's computer system and deleting e-mails that were meant to delegate work between colleagues. As a result, the company lost a month's work on a project, which then collapsed, leading to several more workers losing their jobs. Apparently, the employee had been dismissed after his employers discovered that his boasts of a master's degree and top Government jobs were all lies – and he wasn't very happy about it. Meanwhile, a sacked worker in the USA has just adm… More…
Cybercrime and siphoned data
Richard Walters, Product Director, Overtis Systems describes how combining endpoint security with CCTV, physical access control systems and RFID, true perimeters can be created that can prevent data quite simply walking out of the door and into the cybercrime community
Criminals and foreign governments are now fully exploiting the interconnected online world. Traditional viruses now account for less than five per cent of all malicious software (malware) infections. Trojans and worms, with highly invasive capabilities, are now a global pandemic problem, designed to capture sensitive information from infected systems. A Whitehall report in January this year stated that "the UK is a high priority espionage target and a number of countries are actively seeking UK information and material to advance their own military, technological, political and economic … More…
