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To their great credit, the Irish Health Service Executive (HSE) has published the full post-incident report into last year’s Conti ransomware attack. Prepared for them by PwC, the report is a fascinating read and allows us all to learn from the HSE’s unfortunate experience. The initial infection took place on 18th March 2021, when a […]

As energy prices rose sharply last September, CF Industries suspended fertiliser production in the UK as it was no longer economically viable. However, their manufacturing process also generates 60% of the CO2 used in the UK, primarily supplying the food and drink industry, so the shut-down triggered CO2 shortages across the country. (See previous blog […]

Whilst discussions of information security tend to focus on high-tech cyber attacks; the reality is that many data breaches are down to human error. Generally the biggest single cause of data breaches reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office is simply people sending information to the wrong people. Loss or theft of devices is another significant […]

Never let it be said that we don’t celebrate good news! Since April 2018, UK banks have had to report “Operational and Security Incidents” affecting personal and business current accounts to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) if they reach any of the following thresholds: 10% of transaction affected; 5000 payment service users affected; and/or 2 […]

Last Saturday marked the anniversary of the Kegworth Air Crash. On 8th January 1989 a British Midland Boeing 737 developed an engine fault shortly after taking off from East Midlands Airport bound for Belfast. The pilots mistakenly shut down the wrong engine and the plane crashed onto the M1 just outside the airport perimeter. Of […]

It seems incredible that, in the space of just a few weeks, we have stumbled from the chaos of the withdrawal from Afghanistan to national CO2 shortages and now a fuel distribution crisis.  Inevitably, comparisons are being made with the end of James Callaghan’s government and the “Winter of Discontent”. Despite the title of this […]

According to figures published recently by the International Standards Organisation (ISO), there was another steep rise in the number of certifications globally to both ISO 222301 and ISO 27001 last year.  As of the end of 2020, there were: 44 486 valid ISO 27001 certificate (up 22% on 2019); and 2205 valid ISO 22301 certificates […]

It is rare to get detailed information on the costs of incidents; so the recent financial update from Ocado Retail, covering the period around the fire at their Erith fulfilment centre, is particularly interesting.  Comments by the company’s senior management, also raise a question mark over how much they have learnt from previous fires. A […]

We blogged last week about the sharp rise in energy prices in the UK and the fact that this was leading some energy-intensive industries to shut-down production.  The situation has now escalated markedly, with the news that our main producer of fertiliser, CF Industries, has shut down production; leading to a massive shortage of CO2 […]