Articles
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Fund Managers Focusing on "Data Leakage"
A growing number of hedge fund managers are investing in expensive electronic-security systems to protect proprietary-trading programs and sensitive data that provide their strategic edge.
These "data leakage" systems, which can cost $100,000 or more, are designed not only to wall off a fund's computer network from outsiders, but also to alert management to any suspicious activity within the firm. The threat of internal security breeches was driven home to fund managers by last month's arrest of a Goldman Sachs computer programmer, who allegedly stole proprietary software as he was leaving to join a tartup hedge fund firm.
In recent months, security-software firms such as Cyber-Ark and e-DMZ have sold data-leakage systems to some of the largest hedge fund operators. Cyber-Ark, of Newton, Mass., rolled out the latest version of its Privileged Identity Management Suite in March. Depending on the size of the client, the system can cost upwards of $150,000. Martin Ryan, vice president of sales and marketing for e-DMZ, said sales of the Wilmington, Del., company's Total Privileged Access Management system are way up since the start of the year.
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Attacking the proceeds of crime
Established in 2006, SOCA has developed its own innovative responses to tackle the changing criminal landscape, using intelligence and enforcement activity to detect, disrupt and dismantle organised criminal networks in the UK, and reduce the harm they do to individuals and communities.
The agency’s rapid evolution to deal with the changing picture of organised crime has necessitated development of a new approach and the introduction of several new techniques that have been supported and augmented with the granting of new powers that enable SOCA to be more effective, efficient and successful.
Paul Evans, SOCA’s Director Intervention, spoke at length about this during his presentation, and the former Chief of Investigations at HM Customs began by asking the audience what they thought organised crime looks like. This was his problem when he started, he said. He didn’t have an answer and nor did many others, yet they knew from the numbers that it was getting worse and that something drastic needed to be done. The question was what?
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IT Thrill Seekers: File Transfers and FTP Roulette
I've heard recently that there is a new craze for thrill seekers known as Russian Roulette parachuting - a one in six chance that the parachute might not open - but apparently this is just not close enough to the edge for some IT folks out there. It seems the latest stunt is using FTP (File Transfer Protocol) to provide access to information. You would have thought that this went out with Glitter Rock since they both showed up around 1972, but apparently there are still FTP groupies out there.
