One in four women spy on partners

Espionage begins at home. If you are concerned about someone close to you spying, look for the signs and then seek specialist help.

In a poll of more than 1,000 men and women, researchers found 28 per cent of women log on to the social networking sites of their loved-ones to find out personal information.

Women quizzed in the poll said they used partner's passwords to log onto sites like Facebook, Twitter and Bebo to find out if they are unfaithful or if they are still in touch with ex-lovers. more...

Tracker covert transmitter helps Metropolitan Police crackdown on plant theft

Are you involved in physical asset management? Do you have moblie employees? do you want to know the pro's, con's and practical implications of GSM tracking, contact us.

Tracker is playing a key role in the Metropolitan Police's new National Plant Intelligence Unit (NPIU), which aims to crackdown on plant theft by helping locate and recover stolen plant equipment as efficiently and cost effectively as possible. more...

Prime Minister's health records breached in database attack

Whilst this is a strong headline it could apply to nearly all businesses where personal information is stored. 

Are you a doctor, lawyer, accountant, consultant, school, church, club, association, dentist and need impartial practical advice to keep your information secure, contact us.

Personal medical records belonging to Scotland's rich and powerful - including Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Holyrood's First Minister Alex Salmond - have been illegally accessed in a breach of a national database that holds details of 2.5 million people. more...

40% of kids don’t know their chat buddies

Please keep an eye on your children. It is important to educate yourself, and them, so sensible and safe practices prevail.

Some useful info:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Yourchildshealthandsafety/Internetsafety/DG_071138

http://www.microsoft.com/protect/family/guidelines/default.mspx

http://www.getsafeonline.org/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=1124

Pupils are using their PCs at home for two main reasons: online chatting and downloading and sharing music.

40 percent admit that they have “chat buddies” who they do not know in real life, and half admit using peer-to-peer software (P2P) to download music illegally. more...

Beware of Teddy Bears

If you are going through a divorce you should contact a specialist, reputable TSCM provider. 

We work with several legal firms and one senior divorce lawyer estimated that they see some sort of surveillance in 40% of all divorce cases.

An Omaha man has sued his ex-wife after she or someone on her behalf inserted an audio recorder into their 4-year-old daughter’s teddy bear during the couple’s custody battle. more...

Popular passwords include ‘1234′ and ‘password’

We need to get to grips with a sensible password culture. Still far to many people do not take this seriously but it is akin to the lock on your front door. you would not accept a key from Chubb that is the same as 5% of all other houses, everybody would be up in arms.

Also remember your network security is only as good as the weakest link, educate your team and publish and enforce sensible policy.

When 28,000 log-in details stolen from a well-known website were posted online recently, security firms discovered that a sizable minority of internet users are incredibly naive at setting their own password. more...

Organisations must address Generation Y changes to avoid data loss problems

sound familiar...

The technological advances in business communications over recent years have been truly astounding. In less than 20 years companies have gone from predominantly physical post and fax-based organisations, to a state where these tools are almost obsolete. There are now over 62 billion emails sent on a daily basis, backed up by an ever-growing array of new online communication tools. The rise of the internet from a simple novelty to the beating heart and nervous system of the business world has catalysed this trend alongside the much debated Generation Y. Company employees now have more communication tools at their disposal than ever before. But many businesses are yet to fully understand the shifting communication landscape, leaving them highly vulnerable in terms of information security. more...

The strange case of the surveillance cameras

One of the most quoted statistics in UK security has been shown to be very questionable.

How often are we caught on CCTV? 300 times a day, we are told. In search of the truth about a much-cited statistic. more...

Eversheds solicitor looses MOD documents on a train

Once again it is clearly shown that we are all human, we will be victims of crime, loose and misplace documents, computers etc.

The questions to be asked in this case are:

1. Was it necessary for the solicitor to be carrying these documents
2. If so had an appropriate risk assessment been done to the value of the documents
3. Had transport procedures been dictated by said risk assessment

How many of us can say we do not have far too much confidential information on our laptops/home office/briefcase/in the car etc. Do yourself a favour and have a shredding amnesty where you encourage all your employee's to have a thorough clean out of all unneeded information.

Ministry of Defence (MoD) legal papers are feared to have been stolen from a lawyer on a train journey from Leeds.The solicitor, from law firm Eversheds, told police a suitcase containing the documents went missing as she travelled to London on Monday morning. more...

Sensitive corporate data are walking right out the door with disgruntled former employees

More and more surveys are saying that ex-employees think it is fair game to steal your business information. 

Make sure you have solid procedures and policy's in place to minimise the threat of someone walking out the door with your data.

More than half of workers who lost or left a job in 2008 said they stole confidential company data, according to a recent survey by Symantec, a data security firm, and the Poneman Institute, which polled nearly 1,000 adults who lost their job last year. Records taken include e-mail lists, employee records and customer contact information. more...

'Facebook generation' too lax with data, warns information watchdog

We are very much in the adolescent period of our information technology lifetime (and probably as society in general). We have to educate ourselves, and our children to the risks of publishing personal information and achieving a balance between lifestyle and security.

A “Facebook generation” of workers are risking data breaches because they are careless with technology and personal information held on databases, the Britain’s information watchdog warned yesterday. more...

Exclusive: Foreign spies bug British offices

Many people are not aware that a huge amount of government level surveillance is used to gain commercial advantage for companies involved in international commerce. If you are involved with multi-national business, bids and acquisitions you should be aware of the signs and have a sensible TSCM policy in place.

Spies from at least 20 countries are targeting British businesses to steal industrial secrets. more...

Psst! It’s so easy to spy on the wife

Times journalist goes to the spy shop to see what he can find out about his wife. Apart from paying far to much money for his devices this article highlights how the threat landscape has shifted and the ready availability of very effective surveillance devices.

Has your wife recently started putting her make-up on before taking the dog for a walk? Does the dog-walking take longer than it used to? And does she come back looking a lot more knackered than the dog? more...

More personal data lost as nine NHS trusts admit security breaches

The biggest challenge with understanding the scope of this problem is the lack of credible data. Most companies and organisations never report data losses.

Nine NHS trusts in England have admitted losing patient records in a fresh case of wholesale data loss by government services, it has emerged.At least 168,000 patients have been affected by the breaches, which came to light during a data security review by the Government. more...

BBC apologises after children’s personal data stolen

Facts of life - We are human and we will loose USB keys. 

Some basic procedures make a world of difference:

1. Use a Hardware encrypted USB key... something like this
   
2. Don't carry a USB key unless you need to 
   
3. Overwrite delete all data once no longer required

The BBC has apologised to parents and started an investigation after a memory stick containing the personal data of hundreds of children was stolen. more...

Why Morgan Stanley had to pay that $15m email fine

If you are a corporation failure to archive and provide emails to the authorities can be a very expensive business.

In 2006 Morgan Stanley agreed to pay a $15m fine to the Securities and Exchange Commission for repeatedly failing to produce emails during the course of investigations. more...

IT exec accused of $10m backup tape theft

Companies often miss identifying their database as a key asset to be protected. If your customer data was lost, made public or leaked to your competetors what sort of damage would it do?

There are many basic steps one can take to proactivly protect your information, contact us now for more advice

A former IT executive for a Canadian marketing firm has been accused of taking a computer backup tape containing personal information of 3.2 million customers that could net as much as $10m on the black market, according to court records. more...

Facebook ignores huge security hole for four months

Watch out for social networking sites in your home and workplace. Be careful how much information you publish as they are becoming the first stop for identity thieves and private investigatiors. always ensure your profiles are 'private'. If possible disable networking sites on your business network, they are bad for business from both a a time and security point of view. Educate your staff and give them some ownership of the process.

Facebook has been sitting on a nasty website flaw that for four months has made its users susceptible to malware and forgery attacks.

The cross-site scripting (XSS) error can be plainly demonstrated here and here. It allows a miscreant to trick a user into believing he is visiting Facebook when the vast majority of the content is being supplied by a website of the attacker's choice. more...

Bug was 'viable' device

The most interesting thing for me here is the link to the legal battle. If you are involved in any kind of litigation be aware of the surveillance threat.

Warning Signs That You May Be A Victim Of Bugging Or Covert Espionage

Politician Tommy Sheridan has been told by police that a suspected bugging device found in his car was "viable".

Mr Sheridan said police planned further tests on the device, and on a letter sent to his Glasgow office earlier this week."I do not know for certain who is responsible - but I certainly could not suggest this was something that was the responsibility of the security forces," said Mr Sheridan.

The Scottish parliamentarian went on to suggest that News International, with whom he was involved in an epic libel battle last year, may have been involved. ...more

Councils Use Spy Powers On Litterbugs

Still amazes me that Local councils have easier and less regulated ability to install covert cameras and surveillance devices than the police and security services. They are using the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa) to spy on litter bugs, anti-social behaviour, school catchment area infringement and almost anything else they fancy.

Why is it easier for almost unregulated council employees to legally install covert surveillance equipment than it is for the police?

more info here...