How safe is official computer data from hacker threats?

Professor Richard Benham, visiting professor in cyber security management at Coventry University, has warned that governments and banks could be "brought to their knees" by computer hackers due to a "weak link" when it comes to staff who aren't trained proficiently in cyber security.

Government computer hacking activity

Coventry University has recently launched a National MBA in Cyber Security and these comments have been made after a well-reported series of cyber-attacks against high-profile targets. Some of the hacking activity included CyberCaliphate, the pro-ISIS hacking group, seizing the reigns (albeit temporarily) of the US Central Command’s Twitter and YouTube accounts.

Although it may be seen as inconvenient for businesses to train staff on cyber vandalism, Professor Benham has highlighted the importance that the threat is not ignored – the cost of good training is small compared to what could happen potentially.

Protect your business from cyber-attacks

Professor Richard Benham warned;

"Hacking social media channels is one thing, but it's only a matter of time before a major institution such as a large bank or government service is brought to its knees by an online onslaught.

"A major breach in any one part of a bank's critical network infrastructure could cause it to fail, setting in motion a potentially devastating ripple effect throughout the markets

.

"When the Associated Press had its Twitter feed hijacked with a fake tweet reporting the bombing of the White House, within minutes the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 143 points," he continued, adding: "Imagine the economic effects of a genuine strike."

Professor Benham warned that many organisations still remain highly vulnerable to cyber-attack and social media hackers, despite recent efforts to bolster cyber security.

He continued;

"Despite a recent push to flag up the importance of cyber security matters at board level, banks are still not especially well prepared for even this sort of attack at the periphery - never mind one that goes for the jugular," he said, before going on to suggest the lack of cyber security training for employees in these firms is dangerous.

"Most employees, without proper training of the necessary 'cyber-hygiene' required at work, are a significant weak link.

"In most cases only a small number of people in the organisation are sufficiently expert in cyber security issues - a problem that doesn't just affect banks.”

For more information on how to protect your company from cyber-attacks, contact AVC Computer Support on 01902 375304 or contact us via the website.  

No more Microsoft support for Windows 7

Microsoft has now stopped its mainstream support for the popular Windows 7 operating system. As from 13^th January, this withdrawal of this service came into play nine months after they did the same with Office 2003 and Windows XP.

The move also comes ahead of support termination for its Windows Server 2003 operating system which is still very much widely used across the globe.

There will be no further improvements to the Windows 7 but Microsoft will continue to deliver security patches when needed, until 14 January 2020.

It is estimated that worldwide, 55 per cent of PCs are still running Windows 7, with Windows 8 accounting for just 12 per cent.

Poor sales of laptop and desktop computers has been blamed for poor sales of Windows 8 - Intel and Microsoft hope that Windows 10, which will go back to the original feel of Windows, like version 7, will be more popular.

Critics did comment that Windows 8 was an attempt to catch the touchscreen / tablet audience and traditional PC users is the real reason that it did not sell in the numbers that Microsoft had hoped for. In fact, the Metro interface alongside a desktop interface just confused many users.

In the meantime, Microsoft are still advising users to install to Windows 7 or Windows 8 even though they have withdrawn their mainstream support – and many business have continued using Windows XP despite the lack of support, especially in the public sector.

After all, changing systems is a costly affair – are we paying the price for Microsoft’s marketing mistakes? What do you think? Why not let us know @AceComputerSup and follow us on Facebook to join in the conversation!

Arguments over proposed EU data protection regulations could result in 2016 delay

The European Union's data protection regulations could be delayed until 2016, due to British and business objections.

According to the vice chairman of the European Parliament committee overseeing the bill, MEP Jan Philipp Albrecht, the regulations – that would carry large potential penalties for businesses found to have broken them – would sidestep the common decree of existing EU laws.

€100m fines (or up to five percent of turnover) have been proposed, but it is not yet clear how these charges would be imposed on charities or public sector organisations.

Albrecht said that nearly 4,000 amendments were proposed as member states looked to dilute them or make them even tougher.

Albrecht commented that the UK, France and Germany were all objecting parties, albeit for different reasons. The UK did not want complete EU power and; EU privacy campaigners said that the proposed model has led to too much difference to how data protection is handled across the EU's member states.

Albrecht said;

"We don't know if we will make it this year. The European Council really have to run fast if they want to keep to the time scale. We hope we will manage, but if Council will wait even longer it will be very very difficult." *

"There's a lot of optimism about how quickly they can get it through, that's just not realistic."

Quote: Statement given to SC Magazine.

Can tablets change the way we run our Police Force?

Not too long ago, it was unthinkable that environmentally-friendly police vehicles would be rolled out across the UK – this is a trend that is set to continue and one that is doing well.

Now, it seems that the use of tablets as part of ordinary every-day policing work is set to become “the norm”, too.

In a £500k project, Staffordshire Police are rolling a scheme to utilise tablets within the force in a bid to save time and money, as well as increasing overall efficiency.

The scheme is due to start in March and Matthew Ellis, police and crime commissioner, stated to the local press that it will "fundamentally transform” policing.

By utilising tablet technology, Ellis claimed that inputting data would take less time – as well as accessing information. In fact, so much time that it would be equivalent to 5000 hours every week, which would pay for an extra 100 police officers.

Ellis explained that officers on the front line spend six out of ten hours in the community rather than at their station bases; when tablets are introduced, this is likely to increase to nine hours.

Ellis said;

"It's about police being given more time to do what they want to be doing and what the public want them to be doing, which is out-and-about policing."

He believes that using mobile technology will help to reduce record inaccuracies, and save a vast amount of time as statements would be “written” on tablets and uploaded onto a central server, effectively taking out the need to take down paper statement and transcribe them later on six systems.

Ellis continued;

"It's not what you'd expect in nearly 2015. So a radical overhaul of the way technology is used, the way it works, will fundamentally improve policing and get more police out and about for more of the time."

Investigators will also be issued with tablets but at this stage, it is not confirmed what type of tablets will be offered – what we do know is that the Police IT overhaul is expected to cost £46 million, spread over the next seven years.

What do you think of Staffordshire Police’s new policy? Is it right to ditch the paperwork and what if things go wrong? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter and Facebook – we would love to hear from you!