Latest opinions that Keith Appleyard has shared on Finextra

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Keith Appleyard

IT Consultant

available for hire

Member since

17 Aug 2007

Location

Bromley

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Keith's opinions

Cellphone Company doesn't understand Security basics

I had an interesting experience during the volcano disruptions which showed how Phone Companies aren't doing joined up thinking on Security. I was stranded without phone access on my Blackberry. I emailed Virgin Media from my pre-registered e-mail account to ask them to give me international access for my location. Their response was that for my sa...

21 June 2010 /security /regulation Whatever...

Guidelines for Merchants re writing down of Security Code?

The other week in a single day I completed 4 Charitable Donations forms where in 2 instances the paper form only asked for Cardnumber & Expiry Date, whilst in the other 2 instances they also asked for the Security Code to be written down. In the latter instance, one of the forms was subsequently returned to me as it was incomplete. If that had ...

21 June 2010 /security /regulation Whatever...

Barnet Council loss of personal data about former Students

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 Whatever...

PI Day

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 Whatever...

Argos credit card scandal worsens

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 Whatever...

Beware e-mails from HMRC offering you a Tax Rebate

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 Whatever...

NAO tells HMRC to answer the phone - that would be nice

"HM Revenue and Customs: Handling telephone enquiries", published by the National Audit Office on 15 January, says that HMRC's customer contact directorate answered only 57% of the 103 million attempted calls in 2008-09. This compares with 71% in the year before and an industry benchmark of more than 90%. In the first half of 2009-10 the...

18 January 2010 /payments Whatever...

Facebook - take care to check your Privacy Settings

Facebook has changed the way its privacy settings operate, asking users to change their settings even if they had already been set. Users logging on this week are presented with a new screen that they must engage with before going on to use the site. It asks users to update their privacy preferences in the light of the site's "new, simplified...

11 December 2009 /security /regulation Whatever...

National Border Targeting Centre - staff training delays

The opening of the operations centre at the heart of a new £1.2bn computer system - planned to monitor every person who enters or leaves the UK - has been delayed by staff training. The National Border Targeting Centre (NBTC), the Manchester-based clearing house for the e-Borders program, was scheduled to open this month, but to allow for staff

10 December 2009 /security /regulation Whatever...

DNA evidence will still harm your employment prospects

Back in August I wrote about DNA Evidence Can Be Fabricated https://www.finextra.com/blogs/fullblog.aspx?blogid=3190 County Durham police last week put the final nail in the coffin of the Home Office mantra "nothing to hide, nothing to fear", with a clear announcement that DNA and fingerprinting could harm an individual’s career prospects...