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Cyber security: call for doctorate bids

Blue screen of death picture for expert witness cyber story Universities have been invited to apply for grants to run two new dedicated Centres for Doctoral Training that will train postgraduates to maintain the UK's security in the face of growing cyber threats.

The centres will enhance the nation's academic capability across all aspects of the field and are part of the response to the Government's National Cyber Security Programme, which aims to create a stable, secure and open cyber environment in which the UK's interests and businesses can operate and be preserved.

The call for bids has been made by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the Government's communications headquarters, GCHQ, and the Office of Cyber Security and Information Assurance (OCSIA).

Fuzzy logic could prompt cyber attacks at Games

With the Olympics about to commence and millions of visitors and competitors arriving in London, there has been a certain amount of comment on the prevalence of payments using so-called 'near field communication' (NFC) devices systems and the possibility of 'fuzz' attacks on mobile devices or 'Wallets'.

According to security experts at McAfee, 'fuzzing' involves feeding corrupt or damaged data to an app on a mobile device to discover vulnerabilities. According to McAfee, this can be accomplished in several ways, including text messages and now NFC tags.

EU must get data law right, says Lord McNally

Expert-Witness Lord_Mcnally The new EU data protection law must work for business, for government and, most important of all, for individuals, Justice Minister Lord McNally said in a statement on 28 June.

The new law to update data protection will apply to the UK; but, said Lord McNally, the Government will negotiate hard in Europe to make sure that the right balance is struck between protecting personal data, without overburdening business or stifling economic growth and innovation.

Health body loses unencrypted data sticks

your expert witness data stick An NHS body in London has put hundreds of patients' sensitive personal data at ‘unnecessary risk’ after the loss of unencrypted USB devices, the UK's information regulator has found.

According to the Information Commissioner's Office, there were four separate breaches of data security by the South London Healthcare NHS Trust.

On 11 April the ICO reported that: “An undertaking to comply with the seventh data protection principle has been signed by South London Healthcare NHS Trust. This follows the loss of two unencrypted memory sticks, the leaving of a clipboard with ward lists attached in a grocery store and a failure to adequately secure some patient paper files when not in use. All of the information was recovered.”

Mobile fingerprinting rolled out across the capital

Your Expert Witness Satellite The Metropolitan Police has introduced new mobile fingerprint scanners across the force. The device, known as mobile identification or MobileID, can check a person's identity in two minutes.

MobileID is about the size of a mobile phone and allows police to read the fingerprint of an index finger (pictured). According to a press statement from the Met, it checks the fingerprints with the national database but does not retain them afterwards. The device will be used in instances where an individual is suspected of committing an offence, or wanted for a previous offence.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said: "Mobile Identification is a technological step forward that helps police officers identify people quickly.