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Author: Clive Catton

Clive Catton MSc (Cyber Security)

Clive is the CISO at Octagon Technology Ltd with special responsibility for data privacy and cybersecurity. The world of business technology is constantly changing and to meet this challenge he recently graduated from Edinburgh Napier University with an MSc in Advanced Computer Security and Digital Forensics - this course is certified by the Nation Cyber Security Centre. His dissertation was on data privacy and classification in small businesses using Microsoft 365 for Business.

The degree is not the end of the studying – to keep current Clive spends some of his time at work simply reading and studying the latest technology trends and threats so our clients can benefit from this knowledge. This knowledge also shapes and supports the products and services Octagon delivers to clients.

To make full use of Clive’s Master’s degree in cybersecurity, Clive and Diana have a joint venture with an international research company to get access for our clients to up to date information, schemas, analytics, templates, actionable tools and guidance. Whatever the size of your organisation if you are not approaching IT, cybersecurity and information privacy in a way that supports and benefits you, they can help, from the boardroom to the shop floor.

Clive and Diana are also working on a project to provide flexible online cyber security training for businesses at CyberAwake - Train Your Team To Protect You Against Cyber Attacks. Clive is the cybersecurity consultant for the project.

Clive has a long running personal blog at Clive's Blog. Here he publishes articles about photography, walking, camping, technology, stuff he just likes and since January 1, 2012, he posts "a photo a day" on the blog.
Posted on 26 February 202525 February 2025

When technical cyber security fails you…

hardware and VPNs

It is not unreasonable to say that ransomware is at epidemic levels, report after report says that malware, ransomware and cyber extortion is on the rise (Beaman, Barkworth, Akande, Hakak and Khan. 2021 and Oz, Aris, Levi and Uluagac. 2021), and that cyber security is important. We all take precautions …

Continue reading “When technical cyber security fails you…”

Posted on 25 February 202526 February 2025

Attcks on M365 Credentials

identity lifecycle

It still works, set up a lot of devices to just try their luck to break into as many M365 accounts as possible – it will work sometimes. In this case over 100,000 devices have been hijacked to create a botnet that also side steps MFA security using an outdated …

Continue reading “Attcks on M365 Credentials”

Posted on 24 February 202526 February 2025

At least we will be a lot safer now…

This is a follow-up article to: Encryption or Not Encryption | Smart Thinking Solutions Apple has or is going to remove the end-to-end encryption services from all UK users, so if law enforcement can show probable cause, they can now access that infomration. Apple pulls data protection tool after UK …

Continue reading “At least we will be a lot safer now…”

Posted on 21 February 202519 February 2025

Because It’s Friday – What do Mothers smell of?

Mummy

Well actually the article is about Egyptian Mummys: ‘Myrrh, conifer oil and … breakfast tea’: my sniffer team’s surprise findings on what mummified bodies smell like Mother’s Day The reason for the title was of course a way to introduce something else entirely. Mother’s Day is next month and my …

Continue reading “Because It’s Friday – What do Mothers smell of?”

Posted on 20 February 202520 February 2025

This is not a sales ploy – Windows 10 is really going!

patches and updates

I have written about this before – Windows 10 support will end in October 2025. Running out of date and out of cyber security patching support devices or operating systems is just what the threat actors want you to do. They are counting on you wanting to save money on …

Continue reading “This is not a sales ploy – Windows 10 is really going!”

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