Data Protection

A new study has concluded that most people choose passwords that are far too short to be totally secure against brute force attacks from criminals. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are recommending that 12 characters becomes the standard length to ensure protection. This conclusion has been reached as a result of a hacking [...]

Analysts are predicting that the total global spend on security tools and software packages to protect and secure data will rise by the year’s end as the industry sees the effects of the economic turndown wane. Gartner reports that businesses and organisations will spend £10.6 billion on security in 2010, which equates to an 11 [...]

The organisation responsible for the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) has begun the process of analysing and updating the rules that aim to protect the private details of millions of consumers and businesses around the world. The PCI Security Standards Council announced that it would be reviewing the current standards and making [...]

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has spoken out about the allegedly spurious actions of many investigators who work in the UK on a freelance basis, with questions being raised over the way in which they gather both online data and paper data on their targets. The ICO is concerned that the regulations of the Data [...]

Businesses and individuals are at risk of serious data loss and security breaches as a result of a new botnet running on the Zeus 2.0 platform that is gunning for internet users based in the UK, according to security vendor Trusteer. The main aim of the botnet is apparently to harvest data that will allow [...]

A sophisticated toolkit that enables the automatic generation of phishing attacks has been built to take advantage of cloud computing in a way not seen before. The kit not only damages businesses and individuals by stealing private data, but it also pulls information right back to the two hackers who wrote the malicious software, bypassing [...]

The Information Security Forum (ISF) has outlined the challenging new world in which data protection must function as part of a study which identified that end user environments are becoming ever more labyrinthine and disparate. Although there is a general move towards greater understanding of technology amidst staff within both the public and private sectors, [...]

A leading EU commissioner has called for member states to look into standardising legislation relating to data protection and security to facilitate the flow of information between businesses and organisations in protecting the private data of European citizens. Viviane Reding, who champions justice, rights and citizenship at the EU, said that it would be better [...]

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has launched a guide which is accessible online in order to define the rules that businesses and organisations should follow to ensure that data is properly protected. Although the Personal Information Online Code of Practice is largely aimed at businesses, it also contains information that is useful for consumers who [...]

Lord McNally, the UK’s justice minister, is seeking confirmation that the changes that are set to be made to the data protection legislation forged by the European Union are progressive and effective. The purpose of this investigation is to help formulate arguments that can be put by representatives in the UK during the reassessment of [...]