Response to Cecil the Lion’s death is a sad lesson in the irrationality of public opinion August 4, 2015 Alas poor Cecil! Close personal friend of mine, sadly dead now. The catchphrases of the Scottish comedian Bob Doolally capture the outpourings of grief among the Twitterati at the death of the now famous lion. The mourning is mixed with incoherent rage, as long-standing opponents of torture and capital punishment demand that the American dentist [...]
Ashley Madison’s hacking affair: Is a London IPO now a fling too far after data breach? July 21, 2015 Ryainair boss Michael O’Leary is no shrinking violet, but even Ashley Madison, the controversial adultery website hacked on Monday, proved too much for the colourful Irishman. The Ryanair chief was offered €120,000 (£84,350) by Ashley Madison last year to paint its logo on one of its planes, but turned them down. The incident [...]
Unfriended is the first truly terrifying horror movie about the evils of the internet May 1, 2015 Unfriended opens with a truly harrowing sequence: grainy smartphone footage shows a girl clutching something at arm’s length. There are shrieks of panic from an unseen crowd and you realise she’s holding a gun. There’s a bang and she collapses backward; you’re watching a snuff video, and one that looks horribly authentic. As Unfriended’s protagonist, [...]
Asos UK sales soar 24 per cent after biggest ever trading week over cyber weekend December 9, 2014 Online retailer Asos said UK sales rocketed after customers rushed to cash in on "cyber weekend" deals, but gains were offset by disappointing international sales. The results Total retail sales increased by 8 per cent to £246m in the three months to November 30. However, this has slowed from the previous quarter, where they grew [...]
North Korea praises Sony hack as a “righteous deed” but denies involvement December 7, 2014 North Korea has denied it was behind a cyber attack on Sony Pictures over the studio’s new movie release which depicts an assassination attempt on the country’s leader Kim Jong-Un. The secretive country failed to distance itself from the attack which caused huge amounts of highly sensitive information to be leaked, praising the attack and [...]
Cyber Monday UK 2014: A great day for online shoppers – and for internet crime November 30, 2014 Today is Cyber Monday, the busiest online shopping day in the retail calendar, as consumers continue to cash in on Black Friday discounts and get their Christmas orders in. With consumers expecting fast turnarounds of online purchases, retailers will no doubt be concerned about supply chains and channels to market – one wrong move could [...]
76m JPMorgan customer accounts hacked in massive cyber attack October 3, 2014 JPMorgan, America's biggest bank, has been a victim to a major data breach, affecting millions. 76m households and seven million small businesses may have had their private data compromised by the cyber attack which gathered accounts holders' names and addresses. The attack targeted users of the websites Chase.com and JPMorganOnline, and the apps ChaseMobile and [...]
FBI brought in to probe cyber attack on JPMorgan Chase August 28, 2014 JPMorgan Chase yesterday said it was investigating a possible cyber attack and was working with the FBI to determine the scope of the hack. Bank spokeswoman Trish Wexler said JPMorgan was taking additional steps to safeguard sensitive or confidential information, though it did not see unusual fraud activity at this time. JPMorgan disclosed the investigation [...]
How cyber attacks could derail the fragile M&A boom August 18, 2014 IT WAS one of the darkest days for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Wall Street history. The collapse of five mega-deals earlier this month, for reasons ranging from a lack of board engagement to excessive regulatory interference, demonstrates the fragility of the current M&A boom. Already this year, 339 deals worth $428bn (£256bn) have collapsed [...]
International tensions heighten cyber security risks for business July 23, 2014 Heightened geopolitical tensions are increasing the risk of cyber attacks, an international cyber security expert has warned. As the the downing of MH17 and the ongoing hostilities in Gaza deepen global tensions, Malcolm Marshall, UK and global lead in KPMG’s cyber security practice, says that cyber attacks are rapidly becoming the new battleground of international [...]