Category: information

The Government’s New Cyber Security Centre

The government’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), based in Victoria, London, was officially opened by the Queen in early February.

The new boss is Ciaran Martin, who has moved from the agency’s headquarters in Cheltenham.

The NCSC is already busy as it says it has stopped more than a hundred high level cyber attacks in the last few months.

“The cyberattacks we are seeing are increasing in their frequency, their severity, and their sophistication,” chancellor Philip Hammond said ahead of the opening.

“We will help secure our critical services, lead the response to the most serious incidents and improve the underlying security of the internet through technological improvement and advice to citizens and organisations,” Martin said. This will include finding vulnerabilities in public sector websites, stopping spoof emails, and taking down thousands of phishing websites in the UK.

The National Cyber Security Centre has four key objectives outlined in its prospectus.

  1. To Be a Centre of Expertise on Cyber Security

To understand the cyber security environment, share knowledge, and use that expertise to identify and address systemic vulnerabilities. The NCSC will be the centre of government expertise on what is happening in cyberspace.. That knowledge will be used to provide best practice advice and guidance, and to tackle systemic vulnerabilities to enhance cyber security for all.

  1. To Protect the UK

To reduce risks to the UK by working with public and private sector organisations to improve their cyber security. The NCSC will support the most critical organisations in the UK across government and the private sector to secure and defend their networks.

  1. To respond to Cyber Security Incidents

When a serious cyber incident occurs, the NCSC will work with victims to minimise the damage, to help with recovery, and to learn lessons to reduce the chance of recurrence and minimise future impact. At the same time the NCSC will ensure that the wider response of government and law enforcement is well co-ordinated

  1. To Grow the UK Cyber Security Capability

To nurture and grow our national cyber security capability, and provide leadership on critical national cyber security issues. Cyber security and information technology continues to develop and evolve at a rapid pace. As the Centre within government for cyber-knowledge, the NCSC will have the best possible visibility of what is happening today – in terms of threats, vulnerabilities and technology trends. This means cutting edge technical research teams, combining the best of government, industry and academic expertise, scanning the horizon and helping plan for what could challenge us tomorrow. The NCSC will lead the UK’s thinking across the range of initiatives and developments, ensuring that the UK Government, organisations and the public can harness the advantages that new technologies bring in a safe and secure manner.

Let’s hope the new NCSC is up to the job of combatting foreign and domestic hackers, criminals and terrorists.

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TrashCan Disposable Email Addresses

You may be at an exhibition and want to download an advertised document but you have to give an email address to get it and you know your email address will go on their list for Marketing emails so you don’t want to give your real email address.

Or maybe you’re just on the Internet and you have to key in your email address for a one off reason.

Disposable email addresses are the solution. Use once and throw away.

There are various email providers  including Yahoo and Google etc. that offer disposable email addresses and there are some specialist suppliers.

Trashcan is a new supplier that has simplified the process as much as is possible.

You go to the site www.trashcanmail.com

Type in your desired email address @trashcanmail.com

If it’s already in use you’ll have to pick a new one otherwise it’s now yours.

You don’t have to register or give your name and email address.

The disposable email address is yours.

To check any incoming mail – go to the website and type in the address and see what you’ve got.

That’s it.

Clearly this is not very secure as anyone can go to the Trashcan website and key in your email address deliberately or accidentally while trying to make one for themselves.

But it’s designed for a one-off use then forget it.

If you want a secure disposable email address then there are lots of providers available eg. Yahoo, Guerilla Mail and Maildrop. But if you want a one-off quick email address to use then Trashcan might fit the role.

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Warning: Binary Trading is Not for Amateurs

There are thousands of professionals who trade on the stock market and currency markets  (including binary trades)  for a living and many do very well. There are also thousands if not millions of people around the world who do this from home to try to make a living or some extra money.

Binary Trading appears simple but it isn’t. You essentially bet on whether a currency or stock will go up or down in price – It’s risky and needs a lot of skill to make money. Only a small percentage of those who try  make money – the rest do not.

But scammers don’t care about that – they try to push Binary Trading as if it were so easy you can’t fail to make money and they often use enticements such as guaranteed no loss trades to get people hooked.

The Securities and Exchange Commission investigated one such company EzTrader and found that only 3% of people trying binary betting from Eztrader made a profit.

Clearly it is possible for some people to make profits but in the end all but a tiny minority make losses and have to give up.

In gambling – the House always wins. Unless you have the requisite expert knowledge, you’re just gambling.

Binary Trading Robots or Auto Trade Software

There are companies offering automated binary trading but many are just scams.

A Binary Options Robot is automated trading software. You give the software access to your trading account and it does the buying and selling automatically for you.

You can see why scammers love this idea as once they can access your account they can try to empty it.

The theory is that the software makes trades on your account.

WhateverRobot.com is an automated signal service provider and binary options robot. This website is a service for binary traders that places trades automatically into their accounts. But it’s hard to tell the scammers from the real thing.

Usually, only the company offering the service makes any money.

Binary trading is best left for the experts.

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HSBC To Use Voice Identification Passwords

You may have seen the recent adverts on TV or heard them on radio saying that HSBC customers can now use their voice as their password. This is only for telephone banking.

HSBC say “Voice ID making telephone banking safer than ever”.

  • Access telephone banking through your voice
  • No need to use your security number
  • Easier and safer to access your account through telephone banking

Can it really be accurate, reliable and ‘unfakeable’?

Francesca McDonagh, HSBC UK’s head of retail banking and wealth management, described the change as “the largest planned rollout of voice biometric security technology in the UK”. “The launch of voice and touch ID makes it even quicker and easier for customers to access their bank account, using the most secure form of password technology – the body.”

However, Barclays has already introduced voice recognition software, though only available to certain clients. RBS and NatWest have offered finger print technology for more than a year.

First Direct is owned by HSBC and will have access to this technology for its customers within weeks.

How it will work?

HSBC say “Your voice is unique, just as your fingerprint is which means you can create your own voiceprint with us. Once you’ve created your ‘voiceprint’, you’ll be able to use your voice to access telephone banking and we’ll use this to further help protect against fraud”.

When  you contact HSBC telephone banking – instead of entering two random digits from your telephone banking security number, they’ll verify it’s you by asking you to say a short simple phrase.

Will it be safe?

HSBC are convinced this is secure. You might think that a simple recording of your voice would do the trick, but HSBC say their system is far more sophisticated than that and can identify recordings.

HSBC also say their system will be able to cope with people who have got colds or slight impediments. “Things such as the size of your mouth or your vocal tract don’t change. Neither do your cadence or your accent when you’ve got those little colds”.

How do You sign up for Voice ID?

Simply call 08000 852 380 to enrol for HSBC Voice ID

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Be a Scamsmart Investor

There are many scams that operate by cold calling or emailing people about a fantastic new investment opportunity – usually only available to a few people and you must decide NOW or it will be too late.

These can be very lucrative scams as potentially a lot of money is involved. But they can be devastating to the people caught out who may lose their nest egg, savings or pension.

How to Avoid These Scams

  1. If you are cold called about an investment opportunity – end the call straightaway. Reputable organisations do not cold call in this manner.
  2. If you are called and the person claims to have spoken with you before or to be calling about a brochure or email they sent to you – just end the call (unless of course you do have the brochure and are interested)

Investment fraud is often sophisticated, well organised  and difficult to spot. Fraudsters can be highly educated  and seem financially knowledgeable. They may have credible websites, testimonials and materials that can be hard to distinguish from the real thing.

However, if you are interested in an investment opportunity, then you need to check on the company and the offer thoroughly.

How to Check a Company

Step 1: Check if a firm is authorised or registered at  https://register.fca.org.uk/

Check the Register to see whether a firm or individual is authorised by us or registered. You should access the Register from our website, rather than through links in emails or on the website of a firm offering you an investment. Also check the address of our website is correct and there are not subtle changes that mean it is a fake.

To confirm the identity of an authorised firm on the Register, ask for their ‘firm reference number’ (FRN) and contact details, but always call them back on the switchboard number given on the Register rather than a direct line they might give you.

If you deal with an unauthorised firm you will not be covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service (link is external) or Financial Services Compensation Scheme (link is external) (FSCS) if things go wrong.

Step 2: Check the FCA Warning List at https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/unauthorised-firms-individuals

Firms and individuals can only conduct regulated financial services activities in the UK if they are authorised by the FCA or registered to do so, or are otherwise exempt.

Step 3: Genuine Names

Beware of fraudsters pretending to be from a firm authorised by us, as it could be a ‘cloned firm’. These scammers often claim to be from overseas firms that appear on the Register as these firms do not always have their full contact and website details listed.

Step 4: Check the Company’s website, look for testimonials and reviews on independent websites, companies house records etc.

Step 5: Ideally get independent financial advice.

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Safer Internet Day 2017

Safer Internet Day for 2017 is Tuesday 7th February.

#saferinternetday on Twitter and Facebook

Safer Internet Day  has become a significant event in the online safety calendar.

Starting in 2004, It has  grown beyond its traditional geographic zone and is now celebrated in more than 100 countries worldwide.

From cyberbullying to social networking, each year Safer Internet Day aims to raise awareness of emerging online issues and chooses a topic reflecting current concerns. For 2017 that is the explosion of image and video sharing thanks to the continued dominance of the likes of Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. This is to look at the power of photographs through the impact they have.  There are various photographic projects specified  – each with a learning aspect to it.

The UK Safer Internet Centre has a website at www.saferinternet.org.uk and its aim is to make the Internet a safer place for everyone but they do concentrate on children and young people who are generally the most vulnerable.

They are a partnership between Childnet International, Internet Watch Foundation and South West Grid for Learning. It is part-funded by the European Union.

Their job is to promote safer us of the Internet and they have created Education Packs and complementary TV films tailored for 5 to 7 year olds, 7-11s, 11-14s, 14-18s and parents and carers.

These free packs include lesson plans, posters, presentations, activities and more! ​

There are also events to mark the day, including at Bletchley Park , the site of the famous code breakers in World War II and the construction of one of the first computers in the world.  A series of talks are being held at the site plus exhibition on cybersecurity will allow people to enjoy interactive and audio experiences that draws a link between the efforts of the codebreakers in WW2 and the modern-day need to stay safe online.

If you want to take part – go to www.saferinternet.org.uk or www.saferinternetday.org.uk

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