Head In The Cloud: Our thoughts on cloud computing
Fifteen years ago, computer users carried their documents around on floppy discs. My, how times have changed. Today, individuals and businesses alike have found their storage solutions in The Cloud - a web-based application which functions as a virtual server, allowing for anywhere-anytime storage of personal and professional files. The concept, quite simply, is that you outsource your needs to remote machines and simply log into your files from The Cloud with your personal device, be it mobile phone or laptop. Cloud Computing is nothing new. In fact, chances are you've already encountered it. Maybe you access your emails remotely through Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail or Gmail, or upload and share your pictures through Flickr and Picasa. But until now, the co...
Criminals in social media: swapping bricks for clicks
We constantly hear about how social media can be great. How companies are connecting with their customers through social media and how social media can assist in turning your start-up business into a viral success. However, recently it seems as though all the positives of social media have been tainted by people using it poorly. Prisoners are using contraband mobile phones to access social media, where they are threatening and intimidating victims. Other criminals are using social media to conduct crime, meanwhile, cyber-bullying is still as prevalent as ever. Is it the nature of our society that it was inevitable that something which was created for good, be used to promote negative behaviour? In the U.S., prisoners are engaging in their ‘freedom...
The real cost of storing your customers' details online
It has been an interesting, though unfortunate week for Lush. Close to 40,000 online shoppers will have to cancel their credit cards after a breach of the cosmetics company’s website. Lush were alerted of the breach by the company hosting their website, but they could not give an indication of how long the servers had been compromised. According to Lush, a forensic investigator had been employed to trace the source of the attack. Attacks on websites are common, and often only result in a minor disturbance or annoyance - with no personal data belonging to customers being leaked. In this instance though, it would appear that the attack has uncovered not only personal details, but the credit card numbers of thousands of Lush’s customers. This then begs the question - how ...
