Author Archives for Helen Pidgeon
April 23, 2014 2:57 pm
Published by Helen Pidgeon
Japan airport staff dash to replace pass-codes after security mishap. Are they ready for Obama’s visit?
A member of staff at the Japanese airport in Haneda lost a note with key security codes written on it earlier this week. The blunder comes ahead of the first visit of a US president in 20 years. Bad timing?
To be fair, the note was recovered by staff half an hour later. The damage to Japan’s international reputation however, is done.
Angry mother of two told Asda security guard to “go home you dirty foreigner.” A class act?
‘Go home you dirty foreigner.’ Don’t know about you, but I can’t imagine my mum saying that to an Asda security guard after getting caught shoplifting. Can you?
Donna Taylor, 35, from Grimsby pleaded guilty to theft and racially aggravated harassment when she appeared in Grimsby Magistrates’ Court. She was reportedly caught stealing over £90 worth of children’s clothing. You’ve got to feel sorry for those kids.
“She was arrested and interviewed and said she had drunk four bottles of lager, she was shown CCTV and accepted her actions. She described her own behaviour as disgusting and said she was ashamed of herself.” Said prosecutor Rebecca Dolby.
Tags: Air Force One, Asda, Japan
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This post was written by Helen Pidgeon
April 22, 2014 3:56 pm
Published by Helen Pidgeon
Stowaway teen exposes flaws in airport security.
A teenager was captured climbing on to the landing gear of a passenger jet in San Jose. However, no one saw the footage and the boy slipped past several layers of security.
‘There’s no way to guarantee security, even if you had one person per video screen.’ said Richard Bloom, an airport security expert at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Arizona.
Family court to provide ‘more security’ for children.
Changes to the family justice system will provide children with “more security”, justice minister Simon Hughes has said.
Mr Hughes told the Today programme that the new 26-week time limit on care proceedings in court will lessen the amount of time children are left “in limbo” while cases are ongoing.
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-27109836
Senator almost hit by train at rail security talk.
Oh the irony…
Check out the video below where a US senator is almost hit by a train whilst taking part in a conference on rail security, but only if you promise to think about the irony.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ircHCzcg3WY
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This post was written by Helen Pidgeon
April 14, 2014 3:56 pm
Published by Helen Pidgeon
Android devices and tablets are reportedly vulnerable to Heartbleed
Last week, Google announced that Android devices are immune from Heartbleed save for a limited exception. As it turns out, that may not be true. Researchers now say that the millions of devices that use a 2012 version of Google’s mobile operating system could be at risk.
Of the 900 million Android devices purchased worldwide, Bloomberg reports that 34 percent run the outdated software. ‘One of the major issues with Android is the update cycle is really long,’ Michael Shaulov, CEO of mobile security company Lacoon Security Ltd. told Bloomberg. ‘The device manufacturers and the carriers need to do something with the patch, and that’s usually a really long process.’
A spokesman for Google said: ‘It’s good practice to use strong passwords that are unique to each of your accounts, but we don’t think our users need to change their Google Account passwords because of this bug.’
American Airlines freaks out 14 year old for tweeting a terrorist threat
On Sunday morning a twitter account allegedly belonging to a 14 year old girl tweeted a message to American Airlines: “Hello my name’s Ibrahim and I’m from Afghanistan. I’m part of Al Qaida and on June 1st I’m gonna do something really big bye.”
“Sarah, we take these threats very seriously. Your IP address and details will be forwarded to security and the FBI.” The airline responded.
The girl then responded with a series of frantic tweets: “I’m so sorry I’m scared now.” she wrote, quickly adding, “I was joking and it was my friend not me, take her IP address not mine.”
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This post was written by Helen Pidgeon
April 10, 2014 3:55 pm
Published by Helen Pidgeon
Kim Jong-un executes security minister by flame-thrower
Yes that’s right, dictator Kim Jong Un has ordered the execution of a security minister by flame-thrower because of links to Kim’s uncle, who was also executed. Jong-un ordered “no trace of him left behind, down to his hair,” according to sources in South Korea.
It’s hard to take this man seriously a lot of the time, but stories like this bring home the fact that he is dangerous, sadistic and must be stopped.
Internet users told to change internet passwords in security alert over ‘catastrophic’ Heartbleed bug
Major technology firms have urged the public to update their internet security. The warning comes after a bug called ‘heartbleed’ was discovered, which is able to bypass computer security. Personal information such as passwords and card details is in jeopardy.
Computer expert Tony McDowell advises that using passwords that are phrases which incorporate numbers and symbols rather than just words, which can be cracked very quickly. ‘A password of ‘name!saBe1la’ would take a year to crack’.
‘Most hackers give up after 24 hours unless it is something they really want to gain access to,’ he added. In addition, a website called LastPass can be used to check which sites have been affected:
https://lastpass.com/heartbleed/
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This post was written by Helen Pidgeon
April 4, 2014 3:59 pm
Published by Helen Pidgeon
Security Guards on Patrol at Birmingham School
It sounds like something out of a George Orwell book. St George’s Academy in Hockley has confirmed it used guards to help ensure the ‘smooth running’ of the school. Principal Nicola Hutchinson refused to say why the guards were needed.
Labour MP Khalid Mahmood had this to say: ‘A tactic like having guards in schools does not encourage a great deal of trust and support for the young people who are trying to get back into the education system. These young people have issues but they need to have their confidence built and be supported.’
Anarchy in Croston (well, not exactly)
Vandals have poured paint stripper over a car in Croston, Lancashire. The car is question was a BMW X1 worth £26,000. The damage is estimated at £4,000.
The owner of the vehicle, Stewart Simon, had this to say: ‘I’m shocked that this has happened. I believe it’s youths in the area that have done it as some sort of practical joke. We’ve never had any trouble like this before in the village of Croston. It’s a lovely place and we have excellent neighbours, the people that have done it obviously have no understanding of what problems damage like this can cause.’
He added: ‘I’m definitely going to step up security in the area, perhaps security lights or even CCTV cameras. We want people to think twice about doing something like this again.’
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This post was written by Helen Pidgeon
April 1, 2014 3:59 pm
Published by Helen Pidgeon
Police ‘covered up’ warnings of ‘flawed’ evidence on 21/7 London Attacks
An appeal court has been told that Metropolitan Police officers covered up warnings from government scientists in a terrorist trial that key evidence was flawed.
Two weeks after the 7/7 bombings, which killed 52 people, four suspects were seen fleeing from trains and buses after rucksacks they were carrying began fizzling and seemingly failed to detonate. Manfo Asiedu was one of those suspects, he dumped his evidence and handed himself into the police.
In 2007 he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to causing explosions. Counsel for the crown, Max Hill QC, dismissed allegations from Asiedu’s lawyers that crucial documents had been deliberately concealed.
NSA infiltrated RSA security more deeply than previously thought
American computer and network security company RSA adopted two encryption tools developed by the NSA, rather than just one as was previously thought.
It was reported in December that the NSA had paid the RSA $10 million to make a cryptography system the default software used by a range of internet and computer security programs. This system had a ‘back door’ which allowed the NSA to bypass it.
It is now reported that a second NSA tool made RSA software even more vulnerable. Known as ‘Extended Random’ this tool could apparently crack software tens of thousands of times faster.
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This post was written by Helen Pidgeon
March 31, 2014 3:57 pm
Published by Helen Pidgeon
Senator calls for improved security at The World Trade Center.
Senator Charles Schumer has called for improved security at The Wold Trade Center in New York after several breaches in recent months. At a news conference on Sunday, he said that The Department of Homeland Security should review the site’s surveillance equipment, entry points and guards performance.
Security manager of the site Joseph Dunne claims the agency in charge of security at the site “have taken significant steps to address” the recent lapses. A company that manages the building said the tower’s security chief resigned on Friday.
Ex-TSA agent reveals insider details of the bizarre world of airport checkpoints
Whatever you do, don’t take your goldfish on holiday with you this year. Not that you would want to anyway but ex-TSA agent Jason Edward Harrington has blown the whistle on airport security revealing, among other things, that a passenger was told their goldfish would have to travel without the water.
Other highlights from the Politico article include Harrington recalling when he witnessed a ‘heated’ debate about whether mashed potatoes count as a liquid.
‘They were angry that I seemed to place responsibility for the agency’s problems squarely on the shoulders of low-ranking employees, rather than focusing on upper management and underlying organizational problems,’ Harrington said of his former colleagues.
Harrington also revealed in an article for Time that TSA agents were asked to confiscate aluminium foil and ink cartridges.
Controversy after security guard is left critical after being trampled at Miami’s Ultra Music Festival.
Private security guard Erica Mack has been left in critical condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital with severe brain hemorrhaging.
‘She was not strong enough to deal with a mob of people that actually pushed this fence down, pushing her backwards and the fence landing on top of her.
‘Now these people started trampling on top of her just to get into the event, as a result she sustained major head trauma as well as a broken leg,’ said Miami Fire Rescue Lt. Ignatius Carroll.
Mayor of Miami Tomas Regalado has been highly critical of the organisers of the festival. ”The organisers of Ultra did not follow the police directive to re-enforce the fence, even though they knew that this year, and the year before, some kids have tried to over run the fences’ he said.
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This post was written by Helen Pidgeon
March 28, 2014 5:00 pm
Published by Helen Pidgeon
Security guard caught sleeping on the job at The World Trade Center
A half blind security guard who was caught sleeping at his post at The World Trade Center in New York has insisted he was simply ‘exercising his eyes’.
The security of the tower has been called into question after a number of breaches recently, including two base jumpers who jumped from the top of the building in September. Two CNN producers were also arrested attempting to breach security to expose flaws.
Turkey blocks YouTube amid ‘national security’ concerns
The Turkish government has reinforced its clampdown on social media after an audio recording of a high-level security meeting was leaked on the video-sharing website.
“We’re seeing reports that some users are not able to access YouTube in Turkey. There is no technical issue on our side and we’re looking into the situation,” Google said in a statement emailed to the Guardian.
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This post was written by Helen Pidgeon
March 25, 2014 4:50 pm
Published by Helen Pidgeon
‘Companies should be forced to admit security breaches’
Labour’s shadow defence secretary Vernon Coaker has stated businesses should be forced to come forward when they have had online security breaches in order to protect national security.
He told an audience at the Royal United Services Institute yesterday: “New types of threat, such as cyber, will increasingly test the resilience of UK critical infrastructure networks. In the face of increasing sophistication, serious questions need to be asked about the nature of the cyber threat facing the UK.”
“Does the concept of deterrence apply in cyber warfare as it does in conventional warfare? And is the MoD doing enough to recruit the skilled people it needs to enhance cyber defence capabilities? Labour has already called on the government to ensure that every company working with the Ministry of Defence (MoD), regardless of its size or the scale of its work, signs up to a cyber-security charter. Building on this, we will also consult on the prospect of creating a statutory requirement for all private companies to report serious cyber-attacks threatening the UK’s national infrastructure.”
Thief threatens to kill store security worker in Chard
A man has received a suspended prison sentence after threatening to stab a security guard to death in Chard.
Robin Bristow stole shampoo and chocolate form a Boots in Chard. He then had a prolonged struggle with the guard, stamping on his feet, headbutting and punching him in the face. He then claimed to have a knife on him and threatened to stab the guard to death.
Mr Bristow appeared in court in Yeovil. He pleaded guilty to stealing shampoo and chocolate worth £11.09 from Boots on January 21 and to assaulting Phillip Harries by beating him. District Judge Matthews stated: “He threatened to stab him to death and Mr Harries did not know at this point if he had a knife or not, although one was never produced,”
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This post was written by Helen Pidgeon
