Tag Archives: London

Apple iPhones Most Targeted by Thieves

September 9, 2014 Kris Price

A report that has been compiled by the Home Office indicates that Apple iPhones are the most desirable for thieves.

The report states that the Apple iPhone models such as the iPhone 5, 5C, 5S and 4S topped the table with the Blackberry 9790 making up the top five.

The collated results were based on information received from the Crime Survey for England and Wales and analysis of crime data in London form 1^st August 2012 to 5^th January 2014. According to the Crime Survey for England and Wales, 742,000 phones were reported as stolen between 2012 and 2013 whilst the Metropolitan Police reported that nearly 100,000 phones were stolen in 2013 in London alone.

The report also states that 14-24 year olds are most at risk of having their phone stolen with women also being targeted by thieves.

Home Secretary Theresa May who published the report believes that the number of phones being reported stolen is a concern because of the sensitive data that is now stored on.

May stated, “Crime has fallen by more than 10% under this government. However, the level of mobile phone theft remains a concern and people are increasingly carrying their lives in their pockets, with bank details, emails and other sensitive personal information easily accessible through mobile phones.

May added, “This is why it is vital that government, police and industry work together to tackle this crime.”

Metropolitan Police intelligence has also shown that there has been a reduction in thefts of iPhones after Apple released new security measures in its iOS 7 operating system in September last year.

An Apple spokesman stated, “Apple has led the industry in helping customers protect their lost or stolen devices since the launch of Find My iPhone in 2009 by allowing customers to remotely set a passcode or erase all their personal data.”

The spokesman added, “With iOS 7, Find My iPhone includes a feature called Activation Lock, which is designed to prevent anyone else from using your iPhone… if you ever lose it. This can help you keep your device secure, even if it is in the wrong hands, and can improve your chances of recovering it.”

As mobile phones have become more desirable to thieves, it is important as ever to ensure that confidential data is not stored on the device unless it is needed. It is also important to remain vigilant and to keep the mobile phone in a secure place to reduce the chances of thieves getting their hands on your phone.

If your phone is stolen, it is important that regular backups have been taken to ease the overall impact of replacing your phone.

Record Breaking Pipe from BT and Alcatel-Lucent

January 27, 2014

BT and Alcatel-Lucent have announced that they have developed a link that is able to transmit data at an incredible 1.4Tb per second.� The existing fibre link between BT Tower in London and Ipswich is 255 miles in length using seven 200Gbps channels transmitting through an �alien superchannel�.� The data was being transmitted through the 400Gbps Photonic Services Engine (PSE), Alcatel-Lucent�s 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS).

The significance of this latest achievement is that there none of the infrastructure used between London and Ipswich was designed specifically for this test.� By changing the gaps between the transmissions from 50GHz to 35GHz, using a technology known as Flexible Grid – or FlexGrid – they have managed to increase speeds by up to 42.5% above standard networks.

This will allow BT to provide faster broadband to it�s customers without having to change the expensive part of their network, the underground fibre.

�This outstanding achievement demonstrates that BT can easily introduce new features and technologies across our core network, maximizing the efficiency of our existing infrastructure� says Neil J. McRae, chief network architect at BT.

�Working with Alcatel-Lucent on this trial has been highly productive in demonstrating the viability of an alien wavelength approach”.� It may be some time before these speeds reach the consumer market, but BT has been reassured when its �2bn commercial roll-out is completed by the End of Spring 2014, there will be ways of significantly improving speeds without going underground.

Storm Batters Southern Britain

October 29, 2013

A huge storm has battered southern Britain over night and into Monday morning. The storm, named St Jude, is the largest experienced in the country for years and has already caused a huge amount of damage, as well as the tragic loss of four lives.

Winds of up to 99mph have been recorded which has left nearly a quarter of a million homes without any power, as well as rail and road networks in chaos. Flights to and from Southern Airports have also seen disruption.� The Environment Agency has advised people to stay in doors if they don�t have to travel, which has had a knock-on effect on businesses throughout the south of England.

Train companies have had to cancel or reduce their services, with Southwest Trains, East Coast, First Great Western, Virgin West Coast just some of the providers cancelling services on Monday morning. London has also been greatly effected, with disruption to rail and air travel common across the South East in general.

It is events like this that should focus many businesses on how their data is protected and whether they have in place an effective and fully tested Disaster Recovery plan. With people finding it difficult to get to their place of work, an effective DR plan utilising Backup Technology�s Online Backup and Virtual Disaster Recovery services means workers could effectively work remotely from their home without the need to travel in such circumstances. Whilst businesses should be protecting their data with regular backup routines, are these backups managed and fully offsite, should the unthinkable happen and an office or place of work is destroyed?

One of the most important commodities in today’s world is data, whether it be customer details, communication data (such as emails) or critical documents. Taking the time to plan for potential disasters is a key part of maintaining a good service to customers of all businesses!

Disaster Recovery Systems not in place for many London NHS Trusts

May 28, 2012

A recent study that has been conducted across 30 HNS trusts in London has revealed that 60% of the NHS trusts do not have a disaster recovery system in place. This is a staggering statistics and means that data belonging to hundreds of patients is at risk. If one of these NHS trusts who do not have an adequate disaster recovery plan and disaster recovery system in place experience a disaster, how on earth do they expect the doctors and their team to provide the medication and care needed as patient records will be inaccessible for a period of time or lost forever.

Dionne Hilton, programme manager at London NHS Commercial Support Unit, presented the results from the study and commented on why so few NHS Trusts had a disaster recovery system in place. Hilton honestly stated that they do not know and that they are trying to find out why so many do not have a disaster recovery plan in place.

Hilton stated, �That is what we are trying to find out; we are trying to help them. It is quite shocking that as many as 60% don�t have it. There was a massive range, from organisations that were doing particularly well in efficient use of their back-office systems to others not faring as well. We found overall that foundation trusts are doing better than non-foundation trusts.�

An NHS IT manager who attended the presentation stated, �I�m very surprised by this finding. We are a foundation trust and have a very robust disaster recovery system in place. I almost feel that this figure can�t be right somehow it�s so shocking.�

This sums of the whole situation very well and those HNS Trusts in London who do not have an adequate disaster recovery system in place, should start looking to implement a system immediately.

As this study was only conducted across 30 NHS Trusts in London, the need for a more widespread study across the country should be looked into as it is vital that the true extent of the problem in known. An investigation needs to be conducted in those NHS Trusts who do not currently have a disaster recovery system in place so that the more common problems if any can be tackled.

Cyber Team Preparing to Protect London Olympics from Cyber Attacks

May 15, 2012

A team of cyber security experts has been put together and have been preparing the cyber defences for the London 2012 Olympics. Based on the number of cyber-attacks that the Beijing Olympics suffered, a huge amount of preparation has been put in place to ensure that the London Olympics isn�t successfully attacked and seriously harmed by a cyber-attack.

Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office has confirmed that they expect a huge amount of cyber-attacks but that everything is being put in place to ensure that the London Olympics remains safe.

Maude stated, “The Beijing Olympics saw 12 million cyber security incidents during their Olympics. We have rightly been preparing for some time; a dedicated unit will help guard the London Olympics against cyber-attack. We are determined to have a safe and secure Games.”

During a speech in Estonia, Maude has expressed how important it is to have a substantial cyber security system in place and the importance of being flexible and to keep adapting to the ever changing cyber-attack threats.

Maude stated, “UK Government networks continue to be regularly targeted by foreign intelligence agencies, or groups working on their behalf and we know that the threat is accelerating. High- end cyber security solutions that were used 18 months ago by a limited number of organisations to protect their networks may already be out in the open marketplace, giving cyber criminals the knowledge to get round these protective measures. Our responses have to be fast and flexible. What works one day is unlikely to work a matter of months or even weeks later.�

With the publicity and hype that is around any Olympic Games, there is no doubt that the cyber security team for the London Olympics will have their hands full. The Olympics present the perfect opportunity for a cyber-hacker to try and make his or her name in the cyber attacker community. It is good to see that the threat is being taken very seriously and that they are acting proactively and not reactively.