Latest News

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  • Gov't not trusted with public data

    The majority of UK citizens do not trust the government with their data following the HM Revenue & Customs data breach, according to security vendor Symantec. The personal details of 25 million people claiming or receiving child benefit were lost on two unencrypted CDs in November.


  • Business warning over data security

    In the wake of the HMRC data debacle, organisations must act to safeguard public confidence in data gathering - and that means considering the impact of new IT systems and technologies on individuals' privacy, says data watchdog the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). Speaking at a conference on the surveillance society, David Smith, deputy commissioner at the ICO, described the HMRC breach as a watershed and called on organisations to implement new safeguards to protect individuals' privacy. This means considering the impact of new IT systems before they are developed, he said.


  • Encryption not the key to data security

    Policies, processes and a "corporate ethos" of care of data are more important in securing sensitive information than using encryption technology. Encryption has been back in the spotlight following the HM Revenue & Customs data breach that led to two CDs containing unencrypted records of 25 million people on the child benefit database getting lost in the post.


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  • Data security a top priority for Europe

    The European Commission is intent on boosting data security and raising awareness around the protection of personal information. Speaking at the Microsoft Innovation Day in Brussels yesterday, vice president of the European Commission, Franco Frattini, said: "We must dramatically improve people's awareness of these crimes. Better data protection would also have a positive impact on consumer trust in cyberspace."


  • Hack forces Fasthosts to change user passwords

    UK web-hosting company Fasthosts has reset customer passwords after a hacker breached one of its servers.


  • Security experts slam HMRC over data loss

    The loss by HM Revenue & Customs of 25 million child benefit claimant records has understandably sparked a host of reactions from security and legal experts. Ovum principal analyst Graham Titterington encapsulated the scale of the event by saying: "This announcement is breathtaking because of the scale of the loss but not because it is a unique event. Indeed, it is the third major data leakage from HMRC in just three months."


  • Gordon Brown orders data security spot checks

    The government has agreed to data security spot checks across all departments by the Information Commissioner following the loss of 25 million records of child benefit recipients by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). Prime Minister Gordon Brown said all government departments and agencies will also have their procedures for the storage and use of data checked by security experts.


  • DNS security still "as vulnerable as ever"

    The security of domain name system (DNS) continues to be an issue for network administrators, despite the availability of more secure DNS servers such as BIND 9, according to a survey by network appliance company, Infoblox.


  • Russian malware gang goes to ground

    An alleged Russian malware hosting gang has abruptly disappeared, according to internet security company Trend Micro. The Russian Business Network (RBN), which was allegedly heavily involved in hosting malware packing kits - development suites for malware - suddenly dropped off the internet last week, said the security company.


  • Trojan targets companies' top brass

    C-level employees of publicly listed companies are being targeted by cyber criminals using malware-infected RTF (Rich Text File) documents disguised as recruitment letters. Security vendor MesssageLabs reported that 1,100 emails containing malware-infected RTF attachments have been recorded over a 16-hour period this month. Four separate waves appeared between 13 and 14 September, the company said.


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