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Some charmingly inept robbers have completely demolished a bank in Malliss in Germany by somewhat miscalculating the amount of explosives needed. Despite the devastation, the ATM remained intact and the miscreants presumably made off with nothing of value. Cue the Michael Caine impression "you were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off&qu...
26 May 2010
Paul Penrose Head of Research at Finextra
Just stumbled across this jaw-dropping anecdote from a NY Times article on the May 6 Flash crash: The founder of Tradebot, in Kansas City, Mo., told students in 2008 that his firm typically held stocks for 11 seconds. Tradebot, one of the biggest high-frequency traders around, had not had a losing day in four years, he said. Tradebot, incidentall...
20 May 2010 /wholesale
Keith Appleyard IT Consultant at available for hire
Barnet Council reports a data loss affecting about 9,000 Students who were in year 11 across 3 Academic Years from 2006 - 2009 which was stolen in a domestic burglary earlier in March. The computer equipment was encrypted in line with council policies, so cannot be used to access confidential information. But this was not the case with a number of ...
31 March 2010 /security /regulation
Rather belatedly, I just discovered PI Day. Because it was Mother's Day last Sunday it rather obscured the fact that in the USA, Congress has ruled that 14th March is PI Day - because PI to 3 significant figures is 3.14, as in 3/14 (MM/DD format). This means we in the UK missed out on seeing a clever Google logo with circles and stuff (see http://w...
19 March 2010
PCPro has reported weaknesses with the online security of high street retailer Argos, http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/security/356077/argos-credit-card-scandal-worsens Argos has been sending customers unencrypted credit card numbers and security codes within e-mails confirming orders, potentially exposing customers to online fraud. Then it emerged tha
09 March 2010 /security
I've been watching a presentation by Zed Shaw (one of the pre-eminent software developers in the Ruby on Rails arena). Ostensibly, it's a presentation about implementing ACLs within a corporate environment (think File Permissions and Document Management Systems), though in reality it's about the relationships between managers and developers. There ...
05 March 2010
Elizabeth Lumley Global FinTech Commentator at Girl, Disrupted
I like watching skating - mens, womens, pairs, ice dancing (yes, there is a difference). But since the UK hasn't had a contender on the ice since Torville and Dean (look them up) the BBC doesn't show any skating in prime time! What they do show is curling. A sport where men and women slide stones on the ice and chase in front of them with brooms. W...
26 February 2010
Fraudsters are sending out thousands of tax refund 'phishing' emails following the 31st January tax deadline, according to HM Revenue & Customs. The email asks you to input your credit card or bank details into an online form, so that the rebate can be paid to you. But if you provide your details, your bank account will be emptied or your credi...
02 February 2010 /security /payments
An article in Saturday's Financial Times caught my attention. An angel investor is using Twitter as a means for start-up companies to pitch to him. It goes on to say that hopeful applicants have included an oil field in Iraq and a film studio. It sounds like a great way to get the overall gist of what the propsective business does without having to...
01 February 2010
It's time again for the RBS 6 nations. This year is set to be a particularly close tournament with France as the bookies favourite at 13/8. Second favourites are the Irish (5/2), looking to make history and become the only team to win two Grand Slams on the trot - a feat the Welsh couldn't quite achieve last year. Joint third favourites are the We...
28 January 2010
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