BU Research Blog

October is Cyber Security month and the Bournemouth University Cyber Security Unit (BUCSU) is at Bournemouth House today (Thursday, 30 October) from 1100-1500 to provide BU staff and students with guidance on how to keep you and your family safe online. We have a few giveaways and demonstrations, so be sure to stop by. If you can’t make today’s event, the BUCSU will also be at Bournemouth House on Thursday.

Recent high profile hacks stress the importance of ensuring effective cyber security measures are in place. Criminality in the cloud has become a prominent issue with the latest publicity around the intrusion of Apple’s iCloud and the insensitive dissemination of celebrity private and intimate photographs. Users of the popular photo messaging service, Snapchat, who used an unofficial third-party app to circumvent the anti-save function have also fallen victim to a malicious attack whereby more than 100,000 videos and photos were released online. Last month’s ‘Peter Pan virus’ brought the issue of cyber security a bit closer to home as tens of thousands of people received an email which appeared to be from BH Live, the Bournemouth entertainment company, claiming they had booked tickets to see a pantomime at the Bournemouth Pavilions. The perpetrators used a basic phishing technique to lure recipients to open the attachment, which installed a virus capable of stealing passwords and sensitive personal information.

The rapid rise in reported high profile cyber-enabled attacks highlights the need for greater awareness to cyber risks. This has been specifically recognised in the USA and Europe as October has been dubbed the official cyber security awareness month to encourage vigilance and protection by all computer users. Therefore, the Bournemouth University Cyber Security Unit (BUCSU).

If you’ve got any burning questions about cyber security….or perhaps you’ve been the victim of a cyber crime and want to know how to prevent a future attack….or maybe you simply want to pop by to check out our giveaways and demonstrations….either way, we’re looking forward to seeing you at one of the events!

The BUCSU will also be attending the ‘Putting Crime out of Business’ conference in Bovington on Tuesday, 4 November. The Unit will have a stand to promote the available business services as well as Dr Christopher Richardson presenting on cyber crime.