Ben Richardson

Lakeside Software's Simon Salloway explains why SysTrack will never cause a Blue Screen of Death incident and why SysTrack provides the best visibility for reporting on and recovering from BSOD outages in his latest blog post.

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Just in case you missed it, you can find the details of our latest release in our blog! The developers have closed another 83 tickets, bringing key fixes and enhancements to the AV report, Cyber Heal and more 🚀 Click here to read more 👉 https://ow.ly/LqVy50U0cvh #Cybersecurity #VulnerabilityScanner #SoftwareRelease

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How legally liable and accountable are software engineers and designers? The Post Office Horizon IT software inquiry this week heard four days of testimony by Gareth Jenkins, one of the designers of the system. I am not going to comment on his evidence or specifically on the inquiry, however, it has got me thinking. As a designer, or implementor of a software system how liable and accountable are you as an individual for how well it works? I think most designers and software engineers etc believe it is not them that is accountable, it is the company they work for or perhaps the organisation who requested it.  The last week, however, has shown that maybe this is not the case, maybe you as an individual will find yourself in court, perhaps giving testimony as witness or perhaps as an accused! So, who is responsible?  ·      The designer/architect? ·      Requirements engineer/business analyst ·      Project manager ·      Security engineer? ·      Software Engineer ·      Test Engineer ·      Maintenance and operations team ·      Company management/commercial teams Large software systems will have tens of thousands of lines of code, and rarely will one person work on or understand all of it, but should they ask more questions about the part they are working on?  Most engineers working on a software project will probably tell you about the pressure they get to just get stuff done and are not encouraged to challenge requirements, their job is to just implement them. Companies will have indemnity insurance for themselves and deeper pockets to cover lawyer costs, this will not be the case for most individuals in an organisation. Should individuals take out indemnity insurance or similar for themselves too? What are your thoughts?

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🎙️ Episode 3 - Getting the Full Value Out of Human Testers - is here! Penetration tests are expensive and hugely important to a companies cyber security strategy. We discuss ways to set tests up for success in the most effective and efficient way. Spotify - https://lnkd.in/eMX_rtYb Apple Podcasts - https://lnkd.in/eSjMWin2 Youtube - https://lnkd.in/eCwfVSv9 #letstalksecuritytesting #penetrationtesting #pentesting #securitytesting

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🔐 Ready to tighten up your development environment security? We've just posted a new blog on the iArch Solutions website, walking you through essential steps to remove unwanted users from accessing development environments and grant permissions only to specific admin users. Head over to our website to read the full post and get your environment running securely and efficiently. If you’re looking for expert guidance, iArch Solutions is here to help! 🔗 https://lnkd.in/g7Knxe67 #TechTips #UserAccess #Cybersecurity #iArchSolutions

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[ BLOG ] Building a delivery network An effective #accreditation scheme for your assessment or certification program’s delivery network is key to driving high standards, as this blog explains >> https://ow.ly/4oOv50QBKBr #accreditation

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ACCOUNTING WEB: What really happened in the RALC IR35 case Here's the inside story of what happened behind the curtain of an IR35 tax case, which saw an IT consultancy take on the Goliath that is HMRC. My word count was 1000, and I could say an awful lot more. What happened in Gateshead, may stay in Gateshead. HMRC are likely to "win" this case, even though the facts suggest they shouldn't, simply because HMRC have unlimited access to the public purse. They win by default - using money and law. It's all very Post-Officey, isn't it. #ir35 #offpayoll

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It's Top Tip Tuesday! Do you need to control which fields are displayed to email alert recipients to ensure they only receive information that you want them to see? To do this for automated alerts: Select 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲. Under Message includes, select Links to sheet and specific fields then select the desired fields from the dropdown list. Now only these fields will be included in the alert Simple, quick and smart. What else did you expect?

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Is it worth it? Had an enquiry last week from a client about doing something new and additional to their very bespoke ecommerce site. This would need some major changes to the preview and configuration system for one of their products. My response was yes, I can do it and the cost would be £x. As I manage the system and am allowed to do this by my client, I took a look at the aggregate sales figures by product. My response went on to say, however, the sales of that product are not big, a small fraction of overall sales, are you expecting a significant increase in those sales or, as a minimum, a sufficient increase as a result of the work that will justify the investment? The answer was, on that basis, that we shouldn't do it, which I believe to be the correct answer. This is important. I love tech, I love building new solutions and additional features for clients BUT those solutions and features have to have a real business case. So whether you are looking for a software/cloud-based solution or upgrade always look at the business case. Will it directly generate additional profit? Will it improve efficiency and productivity? Is there some other financial/business benefit? There is always a cost, so make the decision based on a cost-benefits analysis and not "wouldn't it be nice if ..."

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⚠️ Windows 10 End of Life: Act Now ⚠️ Microsoft will no longer support Windows 10 after October 14, 2025. The NHS cyber attack underscored the dangers of using outdated software. Don't let your business be the next victim. Upgrade to Windows 11 with idash. As a Microsoft partner, we ensure a smooth transition, keeping your business secure and efficient. Contact us today to discuss your upgrade strategy! #Windows10EOL #Windows11Upgrade #CyberSecurity #MicrosoftPartner #idash

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Excellent post here from Adam Silver where he debunks a few myths about GDS and GOV Design. I am in 100% agreement about the use of JavaScript in critical government services. Complex frameworks hinder user experience. Simple HTML forms often suffice for most user data input. The key is to prioritize user needs over developer preferences. Lean, accessible services benefit everyone, especially those users with limited resources, e.g. slow devices, poor internet connectivity, restricted data plans.

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Season 1, Episode 1 🎙️ Be sure to tune into the first episode of Martin's #EdTechStuff podcast, starring our Senior Cyber Security Auditor, Ian Stockbridge! 🙋‍♂️ Start your week with some #CyberSecurity ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e_SzbZsx #NewPodcast #CyberSecurityTips #CyberHelp #InternetSafety #SecureSchools

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Here's an update on #LeadTracker (30 sec demo 👇 turn volume on if you can 🎧) I'm excited we're nearly done with changes to the tool! So what's changed? 🐞bugs are being fixed - thank you testers for your time 🦋enhanced dashboard eg you can see the value of your wins at the top of your dashboard 🦋introduced tagging to your channels so you can create sub categories for each channel and search leads based on tags, thanks Chris Bantock and Cherryl Martin for your brilliant idea! 💡you should be able to import and export your contacts from your CRM into LeadTracker and vice versa, collect as much or as little info on your leads as you wish, and more... We're currently reviewing and testing it internally, but it looks like we're on track with the roll out of LeadTracker in May 2024 If you'd like to give it a go, it's free to sign up ➡️ https://lnkd.in/ejBFZEQb ❓What's LeadTracker? LeadTracker is a simple tool we've developed that does ONE thing for your business - it helps you track, measure and analyse all your Lead Generation activities, online or offline… So that you and your team will make data driven decisions on the marketing activities to invest your time, energy and money on. #leadgeneration #marketingmetrics #marketingROI #marketing #networking

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New legislation will help counter the cyber threat to our essential services. The announcement of the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill is a landmark moment in tackling the growing threat to the UK's critical systems. Read the full blog below #solutionspt #ncsc #cyber #security #ot #critical #systems

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Following on from my question earlier in the week about return on investment from general privacy awareness training, I'm going to take a dev angle for it. Coming from a dev background, and working with clients in this space day in and day out regarding privacy - I believe it's VITAL that your developers (or at least those writing your specs) are getting role-based training as to what to look for in terms of privacy risks. You should be drawing up privacy related test cases, and for these, you need to get some awareness in place. For the dev folks in my network, are you incorporating privacy from design through to QA? Or is it more of a band-aid afterwards? Any stories of rework you'd care to share?

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🧑‍🏫 Got a couple of hours on a Friday afternoon and keen to see how you can use Zapier to create no/low code process automation from Pinpoint Applicant Tracking System (or any system that has webhooks and an API!)? * Send new starters to IT * Find out when a specific applicant is hired * Add new jobs to a Google Sheet * Update status of jobs in internal project management tools https://lnkd.in/eeGye6bn 🤓 (API key has been deleted!) #RPA #integrations #ats #lowcode #HR #HRTech #zapier #talentacquisition

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