Basic cybersecurity hygiene measures could have helped prevent ransomware attack, says Edinburgh Festival Fringe boss at Glasgow event
03 March 2023
Good afternoon and welcome to the weekly Futurescot Newsletter, keeping you up-to-date with news and analysis across the public technology and innovation sector.?
In our lead story today, we bring you news of a ransomware attack that significantly disrupted the Edinburgh Fringe. The incident in January last year caused serious IT issues for the charity behind the world-famous festival, and its deputy chief executive told Futurescot's Cyber Security conference this week that multi-factor authentication could have prevented it.
Read that piece in full below, which includes a summary of the conference in Glasgow, and check out our other stories from the week. Don't forget to also register for upcoming Futurescot conferences.
If you have news or a story get in touch on?[email protected]?or send a tweet or DM to?@futurescot_news,?and?don't forget to share with colleagues.
CYBER
Basic cybersecurity hygiene measures could have helped prevent ransomware attack, says Edinburgh Festival Fringe boss at Glasgow event
Basic cybersecurity hygiene measures such as multi-factor authentication could have prevented a costly ransomware attack against the Edinburgh Fringe, a senior executive for the charity behind the annual festival has said.?Lyndsey Jackson, deputy chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said that the organisation could have potentially withstood a crippling attack which knocked out its internal systems, if it had two-stage authentication measures protecting its Office 365 administration software. MORE?
Upcoming events
CYBER
Public sector organisations need to ask how their cybersecurity functions can enable delivery of new products and services
Partner Content:?I see cybersecurity as a business enabler, but what exactly do I mean by that? Our ambition at Registers of Scotland (RoS) is to be a digital registration and information business trusted for our integrity. We face unique challenges on our journey to transform some of the world’s oldest land registers into reliable, secure data sources that support our customers today, and meet the challenges of the future.?MORE?
The power of partnerships
With organisations more digitally connected than ever and the threat of cyber attacks always looming, being prepared for when (not if) one happens is vital.?The Cyber Security Longitudinal Survey recently highlighted how nearly three-quarters of businesses (74%) and eight in 10 charities (81%) had experienced some form of a cyber security incident in the past year.?MORE?
Cyber collaboration for stronger resilience
Partner Content:?Cyber resilience is an increasingly important issue for all individuals and businesses as society relies increasingly heavily on technology across both the public and private sectors.?The ability to effectively respond to and recover from a cyber attack is essential for protecting Scotland’s services – including government, private businesses, and critical national infrastructure from the potentially devastating consequences of a cyber incident.?MORE?
BUSINESS
Leading female business figures to discuss women in entrepreneurship report
A group of leading female business figures are to come together to discuss the findings of a new report aimed at boosting the number of women entrepreneurs.?The new Scottish Government-commissioned Stewart Report will be the focus of a debate to mark International Women’s Day on Wednesday next week, March 8.?MORE?
IoT
Scotland’s ‘smart things’ accelerator adds financial clout to startup growth mission
Scotland’s accelerator centre for internet of things (IoT) companies has signed a deal with a specialist wealth management firm to address the funding gap for early stage startups.?The Smart Things Accelerator Centre (STAC) in Glasgow is to work with Murphy Wealth to try and make it easier for young companies to access vital growth capital.?MORE?
SKILLS
领英推荐
Almost nine out of 10 students could not afford digital skills course without industry backing, says CodeClan
Almost nine out of 10 students at Scotland’s digital skills academy could not afford the course fees without the help of industry, new research has revealed.?A study released by CodeClan has shown that 89 per cent of students on coding, software development and data courses are unable to cover the costs of their education.?MORE?
DATA & AI
CEO of The Data Lab recognised as ‘influential data leader’ in power list
The chief executive of Scotland’s innovation agency for data and artificial intelligence has been recognised in a UK power list for the data sector.?Brian Hills, CEO of The Data Lab, has been included in the DataIQ 100 for the second consecutive year, following an annual awards ceremony.?MORE?
From launching ‘legitimate’ weather balloons in Antarctica to encouraging more girls into STEM subjects, Emma Philpott charts her course from oceanography to connectivity
Emma Philpott
I never planned a career in telecoms or digital connectivity. At school, my passion was science, and I followed that path to university and a degree in oceanography and chemistry.?After university I worked and studied in New York for a year through the Mountbatten Program which gave me time to think about what really interested me, as I made lots of coffee and ran errands for senior executives.?MORE??
TECH BRIEFING
DATA
Unlocking the value of public sector data for public benefit: terms of reference
The Scottish Government has published its terms of reference for unlocking the value of public sector data. The purpose of the programme is to aid decision-making by data controllers regarding the release of, or provision of access to, public sector personal data by the private sector, for public benefit.?MORE??
TRANSPORT
Future of Rail. Digital tools aid upcoming blockade on the West Coast Main Line
Digital tools have been used to manage the risk and plan Scotland’s largest rail enhancement project – now work is about to begin on site in earnest.?From tomorrow (4 March), train passengers who travel regularly to Glasgow or Edinburgh on the West Coast Main Line (WCML) might notice slightly different scenery as they reach Lanarkshire.?MORE??
PUBLIC SECTOR CONTRACTS
Scottish Government establishes digital technology and cyber services 'dynamic purchasing system'
The Scottish Government is establishing a collaborative Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) for Digital Technology and Cyber Services. A key objective of this DPS is to offer a straightforward, flexible route to market for all Scottish public sector organisations with a requirement for digital technology and cyber services across four lots:
- Digital Technology Projects and Services
- Digital Technology Resources
- Digital Training Services
- Cyber Security Services.?MORE??
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