One of the most interesting perspectives on cybersecurity to come out in recent times has been published by ENISA.

Although not strictly a look at antivirus products, it justifies the ‘antivirus review’ label by examining how important information sharing should be in Europe

ENISA stands for European Network and Information Security Agency. It acts as the EU’s cyber security agency. They have just launched a new report on the barriers which hinder information sharing within the cyber security sector.

And it shows there is a great gap between the commercial world which holds economic concerns above all else, and the political world which sees a concerted effort against cyber crime as fundamental to the future.

Dr Udo Helmbrecht, The Executive Director of ENISA, said:
“Information sharing is a corner stone to improve the protection of critical information infrastructure-CIIP, which is vital for Europe’s economy and communications within Europe.”

Apart from some waffle about cyber security aspirations, the report comes up with some key recommendations.

First is the fact that member states should create a sharing platform for national information and this will encourage co-operation with other Member States.

Second, it is beholden on the private sector to be more transparent when it comes to sharing information. This includes being prepared to share information way before an event necessitates sharing.

Third, the research and academic sectors should promote the economic benefits of participating in sharing platforms, ensuring that companies see the monetary benefit of what they recommend and implement. The theory goes that if companies fully understand how sharing will benefit them on the bottom line, then they will more actively become involved in the whole process.

Fourth, that a further information sharing platform should be established, which actively promotes sharing between Member States and private shareholders.

So maybe not the best report for antivirus product insights, but nonetheless, disregarding the ponderous feel of the report, it does have some good ambitions. Information sharing is a key way that the authorities and companies have for combating the ever-increasing levels of cyber crime, although the key question is, can the EU do more than just encourage the idea of talking, and actually get all the parties around a table?

Guest Article by Neil Camp

For many computer users, keeping safe online is the key consideration and the focus of an industry dedicated to producing antivirus software, but data theft by more traditional methods remains an issue.

Antivirus software firms rightly warn against the perils of surfing unprotected, but forget that many cases of data loss and id theft come from more mundane incidents.

Take the recent story from the Press Association which claimed that a highly confidential memory stick, containing details of top secret anti-terrorist measures, was discovered by a Manchester businessman on the pavement outside a police station.

The USB stick had the printed initials GMP POTU on the outside, which was later discovered to stand for: Greater Manchester Police Public Order Training Unit.

And here’s where the stories differ. The businessman who found the
stick said that it contained over 2,000 files which were grouped under a heading: “Manual On Guidance Of Keeping The Peace by the National Police Improvement Agency.” He claimed it was a virtual encyclopaedia of potential measures to counter serious terrorist attacks.

And he told the PA:
“There are even diagrams of crowd control scenes. If this got into the wrong hands, they would be one step ahead of the police all the time. The information in there is dynamite.”

The businessman preferred not to reveal his identity, but the incident happened in Stalybridge, Manchester.

He said the stick also contained personal information about a number of senior police officers and who would do what in the aftermath of a terrorist attack, including coping with such incidents as explosive damage and acid attacks.

Not so say The Greater Manchester Police, who quickly claimed that no sensitive information was on the USB memory stick. They claim that the information was in fact only used for officer safety training and that the majority of it was already in the public domain.

Mike Freeman, a Superintendent of The Greater Manchester Police, told The Independent that:
“I think it is fair to suggest that in most cases, anyone who found an item belonging to GMP outside a police station might do the right thing and hand it in. The person in this instance clearly had other motivations.”

So there! You decide who is right. Did the businessmen have some fun at the police’s expense with a few exaggerations, or are the police cleverly sowing the seeds of a misinformation campaign. Either way, when reading the numerous antivirus software reviews, always remember that it’s not only on the internet that you can lose data.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Mobile banking might be on the increase, but a recent study has discovered that almost one in three consumers don’t trust banks with data.

The resounding don’t trust banks with data sentiment is revealed in a major new research report from the Direct Marketing Association.

The don’t trust banks with data findings came from the Direct Marketing Association inaugural Data Tracking Study and doesn’t make happy reading for the country’s financial institutions. Nearly 30% of the 2,027 customers questioned said that they did not believe their bank could be trusted to store the information held about them.

But the survey was not just about the attitude don’t trust banks with data, it also discovered that in the same poll, almost half said they doubted the ability of public service departments to keep their data safe and even worse, said that 75% thought that political parties were the worst at keeping personal data safe.

Talking about the don’t trust banks with data findings, the executive director of the Direct Marketing Association, opined:
“Companies need to understand under what circumstances consumers are willing to share their personal information and for what reasons. Thanks to identity theft and well-publicised instances of organisational data losses, consumers are understandably wary of handing over their personal details to companies unless they absolutely have to, such as when online shopping.

“There has to be a clear trade-off in benefits to the consumer in doing so. Companies must also respect the privilege of being handed this data, or else they face the prospect of losing customers.”

The Data Tracking Survey will take place twice a year and was established to help companies identify and cope with the problems of holding data on people.

Others involved in the compilation of the survey are Equifax and fast.MAP.

Graham Burdett, Client Service Director, Consumer Marketing Services of Equifax Ltd said when discussing don’t trust banks with data: “The timing of the DMA’s first Data Tracking study couldn’t be better. With consumers increasingly concerned about security, it is crucial for companies to give consumers choice over how their personal data is used.”

Paul Seabrook, a director of fast.MAP, said about the don’t trust banks with data findings:
“It’s no surprise that people are nervous about revealing personal details since 23 per cent have experienced a security breach in the last six months which equates to about 10 million bad experiences, a frighteningly large number. People have also made it quite clear that if they give contact details in one situation this does not entitle the brand to make further contact without specific permission – especially by phone, which three quarters specifically do not want, while half don’t even want further email contact.”

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Many of us know the importance of protecting our home PCs and laptops with antivirus software to stop criminal elements from hacking personal information but what about mobile phone antivirus?

The emergence in the past few years of smart mobile phones has lead us to a place where we can do just about anything on them. Checking emails, updating social networking sites, making bookings for hotels or hire cars can all be done with mobile phones and you can also order products from retailers using your credit or debit card information. 

With this in mind we should already protect our mobile phones with something similar to computer protection software. GetSafeOnline.org is a new government website designed to highlight to smartphone users about the possibility of criminals using data retrieved from mobile phones. In a survey they found more than 67% of users accessing the Internet via their mobile had no kind of mobile phone antivirus. 

Phones are traded in everyday and fraudsters can access former shopping accounts with ease should they fall into their hands. Because at the time it’s your own phone; passwords are often saved which means anyone can then shop with your money online. 

You can find a host of antivirus reviews online to help advise you on the best software for protection from fraudsters. By searching online you can find genuine remarks about the software from customers who have already used the products.  

A simple way to start protecting you mobile is to use the PIN function so only you can access the Internet from your phone. This along with being more careful about storing passwords will help prevent you becoming a victim of fraud.

Guest Article by Louise Goldstein

A top computer security firm is saying that one in ten people have already fallen victim to data theft.

IT security expert Avira, one of the world’s leading IT security solution companies for both the professional and personal markets, discovered from their web-based moral issue survey, that internet users seriously underestimate the ability of cyber-criminals to access their data.

Over 5,000 people were questioned online and whilst most said they were aware of the security problems posed in today’s high-tech world, they did admit that they weren’t completely prepared for the ingenuity of the modern day cyber criminal.

Avira is a German based company which operates in a number of countries. It is perhaps best known for its virus protection programme called Avira AntiVir Personal, although it also helps protect companies, educational organisations and government authorities from cyber crimes.

And although half of those taking part in the survey said they had not noticed any attack on their data, Avira confirmed its likely only those that use extensive security protection would in fact realise their integrity has been comprised.

Avira pointed out that such is the sophistication of the modern virus programmes, that their detection is increasingly difficult and near-impossible without antivirus pc software.

Perhaps very worryingly, nearly a quarter of the survey participants said they wouldn’t be that concerned if they were attacked, as they doubted if they had anything of interest for the hackers! But Avira were keen to point out this is a dangerous stance and delusionary, mainly because an individual computer can be taken over and used as a bot, part of a bot net which can be used to distribute illegal spam. So a user, unknowing his own computer is part of a bot-net, might find themselves at the wrong end of a visit from the authorities in some cases.

Of those that have already fallen prey to some form of data theft, many had discovered that their Facebook and EBay accounts had been hacked, plus their email accounts. Having your personal accounts hacked in this way can get you into trouble so it important security pc software is used.

Avira’s products also include Avira AntiVir Premium which is also useful for filtering-out phishing sites and Avira Premium Security Suite which offers comprehensive protection.

Guest Article by Neil Camp