I’m sorry if a lot of my recent blogs have been about cyber security yet it is occupying a lot of my time these days. Ever since COVID struck, the majority of my other kind of work dried up and my cyber stuff has expanded to fill the void. Nature abhors a vacuum and so … Continue reading UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration (UKC3)
#CyberFest 21 -Why you should go to Cyber Security – It’s a Rural Issue as well
When we read about cyber security in the press or on social media, it is the big companies that get the headlines. Everyday it seems that some major corporation is under attack, from airlines to healthcare, from hotels to big oil. Even nation states aren’t immune. In truth though it is the smaller companies that … Continue reading #CyberFest 21 -Why you should go to Cyber Security – It’s a Rural Issue as well
Vanishing briefs
Excuse me but I wrote this a few weeks back. I can’t begin to imagine how busy the Prime Minister is. It must be a full on twenty four hour a day job and of late you can see the strain on his face as he tries to grapple with global events. it would seem … Continue reading Vanishing briefs
Wash your hands
I learned a lot at last month’s North East Fraud Forum conference, it was a great event. One of the things that has stuck in my mind though was a simple but clever idea from the police presenter. His issue was that the word fraud somehow downgrades or sanitises what it actually is. Fraud is … Continue reading Wash your hands
More holidays than Thomas Cook
I’m going to have to stop using that joke, the one that goes ‘He has more holidays than Thomas Cook’. Perhaps I can insert the name of another travel agent, Hays would be a good fit. Not that the demise of the UK’s oldest travel company is anything to laugh about. The passing of any … Continue reading More holidays than Thomas Cook
A fair day’s pay at Brewdog
I think it is a sign of the times when I was walking down Dean Street in Newcastle to the Quayside I noticed an A board outside the Brewdog pub. On it was written ‘We are a real living wage employer’ in capital letters. I was so taken by the sign that I took a … Continue reading A fair day’s pay at Brewdog
Learn your lessons
If you have come to the end of a project it is always a good idea to have a review. Hold a meeting to see if there are any lessons that can be taken away and applied to other projects either now or in the future. The temptation however is to only do this when … Continue reading Learn your lessons
This application is rubbish
If there is one thing I have found out about software it is that all applications are rubbish when you know nothing about them. Companies buy software tools in the hope that they will sort out their business processes yet don’t put the effort in to really understand how they work. Huge swathes of useful … Continue reading This application is rubbish
Building momentum
Building a consensus is hard work, building momentum is even harder. I have been developing a couple of ideas around the Dynamo cyber cluster, CyberNorth, for a few months now. I am sure I have mentioned them before. The first is to create an incubator for cyber startups in the region under the working title … Continue reading Building momentum
Continuous blood
‘We are sorry’ said the text ‘but your session is running late.’ Great I thought as I was already parked up and walking into Morpeth Rugby Club to give blood. ‘Please allow 30 minutes extra for your donation today. Could you please still arrive at your appointment time’ the text continued helpfully. This was the … Continue reading Continuous blood
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 