View From The Bunker

Common Criteria EAL +3 Security Certification – What’s all the fuss about?

Companies have for some time understood they need to safeguard their IT systems from infiltration and viruses. But in today’s sophisticated cyber environment, the protection of data and data integrity needs not only to match the skill and cunning of the cybercriminal; it also has to be in accordance with strict security rules and regulations. [...]

Cyber crime: a real risk to global stability

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks 2012 report released earlier this month, cyber crime is a real risk to global stability – something that Symantec has recognised since its inception. It is vital that businesses – especially smaller ones – take action now to protect themselves. We are becoming increasingly reliant on technology, [...]

Let’s get back to basics in 2012

The proliferation of security issues over the last decade is mind-boggling. Phishing, malware, malicious web sites and, more recently, targeted attacks such as Stuxnet and Duqu are keeping security specialists on their toes. Back in 2005, Symantec would identify and block approximately one such attack in a week. Now we block 20 threats per second [...]

The challenges of securing industrial control systems

The security of industrial process control systems has suddenly risen to the top of everyone’s agenda over the past 18 months to 2 years – the latest phase of which is the new report from ENISA on security for industrial control systems. This has been largely due to the advent of the Stuxnet worm and, [...]

The Power of Collaboration Against Cybercrime

Recently, I once again joined delegates from across the globe in Strasbourg to speak at the Council of Europe’s Cooperation against Cybercrime Conference. Bringing together industry, law enforcement, legal and policy experts, the conference marked the 10th year of the Budapest Convention – the first treaty for online crime that has aimed to define a [...]

A View from the London Conference on CyberSpace

In recent years, I’ve attended numerous events looking at the subject of cyberspace and the related threats, so what made the event hosted by the Foreign Office different from those that have come before? One significant variation that comes to mind first is the level of international support – with 60 countries coming together. Consequently, [...]

Safety first when going virtual

According to a recent Symantec survey, the majority of small businesses see virtualisation as a big priority for the future. Reduced overheads, more flexibility with IT as well as the ability to scale up and down as and when business needs dictate, are just some of the benefits SMEs cite when asked why they are [...]

#smbrisk – a great debate

You may have seen last month that I took part in a Twitter debate, hosted by Real Business Magazine, along with UK entrepreneur James Caan. The hour long debate, which went under the hashtag #smbrisk, brought together the small business community, industry experts and even a candidate from this year’s ‘The Apprentice’, all engaging in [...]

Tainted love….remembering the love bug of 2000

I realised the other day that an important anniversary passed me by last month. 4th May 2010 was the 10th anniversary of the love bug, the worm that e-mail servers will never forget. When the love bug hit the world I was working at an independent security consultancy and this was one of the busiest [...]

Get social, not paranoid

A recent survey by HCL Technologies show nearly half of all UK enterprises (48%) ban access to social media sites. The reason for this was not related to productivity but to concerns about damage to businesses’ reputation from derogatory comments being posted on social networking sites. The point to consider here is whether this is [...]