Mytob virus spreads in hospitals

There is something ironic about three hospitals in London being severely hit by a virus which has nothing to do with the human immune system.

And yet the Mytob virus, which has brought down networks and systems at Barts and The London NHS Trust, has everything to do with patients.
The virus, with the official name of W32/mytob.gen@mm, plants a Trojan horse which could put confidential personal data at risk, said Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at IT security supplier Sophos.
Hackers could exploit the virus to gain control over infected networks and computers, and potentially access confidential information on patients without the knowledge of the trust's security and IT specialists.

The virus was first detected at Barts and The London on Monday 17 November in what Barts described as a "major incident". By Thursday some parts of the network were still down. Ambulances were diverted to neighbouring hospitals and doctors reverted to using paper records and making requests for x-rays on paper. The incident has caused backlogs of work and delays in care and treatment.
And once the systems have been disinfected, staff will need to key in information from paper to update the electronic records. The hospital declined to comment on the backlogs of work, the effects of the virus on patients or on the running of the hospitals. And it is unknown how much it will cost to cleanse IT equipment.

"There are two real pains here," said Cluley, "One is that doctors and nurses will not be able to access electronic patient records which could interrupt treatment. Also hackers could potentially be able to access confidential records. When the hospital took down networks that was a very sensible thing to do - hackers would not be able to access records." This could explain why the networks were down for days.

Barts said it is disinfecting desktop systems one by one.

"If they have just one computer still infected, even if they have cleaned up 99% of the other computers, that one computer could re-infect the rest of the network. It is like a biological virus. One individual with a virus could give it everyone else," said Cluley.
Barts is an "early adopter" of LC0, a London-specific version of Cerner Millennium Care Records Service which has been installed by BT as part of the NHS's £12.7bn National Programme for IT. Barts' networks and systems have to be of a high standard to connect to the Care Records Service.

Experts say the three most likely causes of the attack are that anti-virus software was not installed on one or more devices on the network, anti-virus software failed to detect all of the hundreds versions of Mytob, or not all systems were running the latest version of anti-virus software. It was perhaps unfortunate for IT security staff at Barts that anti-virus software suppliers have categorised Mytob as a "low-risk" for corporate users.
For hospital IT staff the threat of viral attack - and the possible loss of confidential patient data - is increasing, in part because of centralisation and regionalisation of IT. The National Programme for IT is intended to replace fragmented networks and systems with central databases and large, complex networks. Yet fragmented systems, if infected, have caused only isolated or localised disruption.

Labyrinthine networks that allow patient data to be widely shared could make the difference between life and death. But viruses are such powerful opponents to central databases, and large complex networks, that they may never be wholly beaten or overcome.
What is Mytob?

Anti-virus software suppliers McAfee and Symantec describe the risk of infection by Mytob as "low". Symantec describes it as a "mass-mailing worm that uses it own SMTP engine to send an email to addresses that it gathers from the Windows Address Book on the compromised computer". The worm also has the ability to "open a back door and spread through the network by exploiting vulnerabilities".

It may send repeated network messages to trace other computers to infect, which will generate masses of irrelevant network traffic, bringing systems to their knees. A Barts spokesman has conceded that its networks have been overloaded with viral messages. The virus may also send information to hackers about the configuration of each infected computer and what data is accessible.

The presence of the virus poses a risk that hackers could control the network and devices on it, and possibly access confidential patient information.

Computer Weekly asked McAfee why it (and other suppliers) had categorised Mytob as low risk when it had caused a major incident at three London hospitals. A McAfee spokeswoman said,"McAfee classes threats based onthe speed of attack, the damage caused and its prevalence. A rating as 'low' is not to say that a threat is not damaging but ratings are comparative and based on all criteria.

"When rating the generic variation of this particular threat, the fact that it does not damage the hard drive or delete files, as some other threats have been seen to do, is taken into account. With updated anti-virus protection in place, organisations should not find themselves impacted."
Whitelisting - a solution for viruses?

Is it possible for IT security staff to block all viruses when anti-virus software suppliers are faced with understanding and tackling 20,000 new pieces of malicious code every day, one piece every four seconds?

Some suggest whitelisting -allowing on the network only approved applications and devices. But even then approved systems could be hit by viruses. Experts say that organisations need to block from the network any devices that are not running the latest version of anti-virus software, and that software must defend against all known threats.

* - Article from Computer Weekly

Looking for IT Work

In the present climate of job uncertainty are you looking for a new job in the IT or Information Management sector?

If you are then a move into the Public or Not-For-Profit sector might be the right move for you! Often renowned by candidates as being a bit behind the times, not paying enough and moving a bit slowly for their liking, the Public and Not-For-Profit sector must surely now be seen as the way forward.

It has always been the friendlier sector and now with e-Government projects, NHS IT Projects, Government Data Security Projects, Education sector E-Learning projects and various general IT upgrade projects in abundance and the whole sector to embracing technology this is definitely the time to move into the Public and Not-For-Profit sector.

This innovation, targets, projects and drive to move the whole sector forward means there are great opportunities out there for IT and Information professionals. Add to this the current economic climate and the fact that the Public and Not-For-Profit sector will escape relatively unscathed compared to the Private sector and you almost have that dream move you wanted sorted.

The final icing on the cake is the reduced gulf in salaries between the Public and Private sectors.

So if you want to move into the better sector and you are an IT and Information Professional or if you are already in the sector but are looking for your next challenge then please do send your details through to info@ggrecruitment.co.uk as soon as it is convenient.

If you have any questions regarding the sector or our current roles do contact us.

G & G Recruitment - loving the Public and Not-For-Profit Sector.

Application Support Analyst - Current Vacancy

Application Systems Officer with SQL Server Database Administration experience, data warehouse support and development and experience of managing and developing databases in MS SQL is urgently required.

You will support, manage and optimise the use of all software applications used by the group and contribute to the Group s drive to improve data management and integrity. You will be responsible for Application Support (2nd & 3rd Line), Systems Administration, Project Support and Database Administration.

Any experience within a Housing Association would be highly desirable.

This is an excellent permanent position, so please do send through a technically detailed CV asap.

G & G Recruitment are working as an Employment Agency.

The 10 projects at the heart of NHS IT

It's the world's largest health IT project, its projected cost has doubled in its lifetime to £12.7bn, and parts of it are running four years late: welcome to the National Programme for IT (NPfIT).
While the NHS's NPfIT has already outlasted several heads of IT, its chequered track record is not surprising given the ambitious scale of the project: replacing an ageing patchwork of 5,000 different computer systems with a nationwide infrastructure connecting more than 100,000 doctors, 380,000 nurses and 50,000 other health professionals.

Find out more about the 10 key NHS IT projects

♦ NHS Care Records Service
♦ Choose and Book
♦ The Electronic Prescription Service
♦ N3 national broadband network
♦ Picture Archiving and Communications System (Pacs)
♦ The Spine
♦ The Quality Management and Analysis System
♦ GP2GP record transfer
♦ NHSmail- a central email and directory service for the NHS
♦ Secondary Uses Service

The NPfIT faced considerable scrutiny since its inception. A National Audit Office report in May this year highlighted serious delays in introducing the electronic care records system at the heart of the scheme due to technical challenges, while suppliers Accenture and Fujitsu pulled out of delivering the system and one trust halted implementation of the care records service.

Meanwhile, technical issues in implementing the Cerner and Lorenzo patient administration systems (PAS), which will be the basis of the future rollout of the care records service, have resulted in only 130 PAS being deployed in 380 health trusts.

Richard Bacon, a member of the parliamentary spending watchdog the Public Accounts Committee, said of the project's missed deadlines and immature systems: "The programme is a reflection of the poor project management as a whole when it comes to government IT. A lot of public money has been squandered on the National Programme for IT."

The NHS IT body Connecting for Health (CfH) counters that the programme is more focused on making sure systems work properly rather than rushing them in to meet deadlines.
CfH says the programme is already starting to pay for itself, citing the £1.1bn savings expected by 2014 highlighted in the NAO report.

A spokesman for CfH said: "Collectively, the early adopter trusts, strategic health authorities, NHS CfH and CSC recognise the need to achieve the necessary quality criteria for go-live and view this as more important than a particular date."

Paul Cundy, former chairman of the British Medical Association's IT Committee, believes the project has overall been a mixed blessing for UK healthcare.

"It is a real mixed bag - those projects that worked very well have been clearly defined as delivering the best benefits to users, where the users have had input and where there has been political support for them.

"The ones where there is bad political interference, where there is no user input into design or are doing things that users do not want, those are the ones that predictably fail," Cundy told silicon.com. "The key is to ask people what they want."

silicon.com first put the core NHS IT projects under the microscope in early 2006.
Much has changed since then, however, and silicon.com has decided the time is ripe to revisit each of the major projects in the programme to get the latest on their highs and lows, and find out just how far away the NHS is from its interconnected dream.

Clink on the links below for more details of each of the main NHS IT projects - and their progress so far.

The projects:

NHS Care Records Service

Choose and Book

The Electronic Prescription Service

N3 national broadband network

Picture Archiving and Communications System (Pacs)

The Spine

The Quality Management and Analysis System

GP2GP record transfer

NHSmail- a central email and directory service for the NHS

Secondary Uses Service

* - Article from Silicon.com

IT Infrastructure / Network Manager - Current Vacancy

IT Network / Systems Manager technically skilled with Windows 2003 server, Active Directory, Exchange, LAN/WAN, Windows O/S, VOIP and Cisco is urgently required.

You will be responsible for managing a team of two IT Technicians but will also be required to be technically "hands-on." You will be responsible for maintaining and support the servers, monitoring network performance, researching new technologies and producing KPI reports.Any qualifications (MCSE, MCP, CCNA, CCA, HND, Degree etc) would be beneficial.

This is an excellent position within a friendly forward thinking organisation so please do send through a technically detailed CV asap. G & G Recruitment are working as an Employment Agency.

Technical Communications / Specialist - Current Vacancy

Telecommunications Specialist skilled with Cisco & ASA Firewalls, HP 5300, 5400 & 2800 series switching, NMM & ProCurve Manager is being urgently sought.

You will have at least one years project management experience (knowledge of PRINCE2), be Cisco Certified Network Administrator (CCNA) or equivalent and be Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Foundation qualified. The Telecommunications Specialist will be responsible for the management and provision of technical support in accordance with Service Level Agreements (SLA), primarily on communications based problems, to existing and new computer users. This includes the installation, configuration and operational management of a large number of diverse, complex, integrated communications systems dispersed geographically throughout the county (Berkshire). You will also participate in major projects and the management of changes to these services to ensure that our client base of approx 4500 users have the most modern, efficient, protected and reliable communications systems as necessary to carry out their duties effectively. You will ensure the management system is fully updated.

This is an excellent permanent opportunity, so please do send through a technically detailed CV asap. G & G Recruitment are working as an Employment Business.

Data Protection and Freedom of Information Officer - Current Vacancy

Data Protection and Freedom of Information Officer required for 1 or 2 days a week. You must be fully competent in both Acts with extensive Local Authority experience. This is a fast moving role, so please do send through a detailed CV as soon as possible.

G & G Recruitment are working as an employment Business.

IT / Systems Support Officer - Current Vacancy

Systems Support Officer skilled with Windows 2003, Exchange, Orchard Housing Management System, SQL Server and Citrix is urgently required.

You will be responsible for the support of ArcHouse users, ArcHouse upgrades and maintenance, attending regular user group meetings as well as administering, creating and maintaining reports using Business Objects. You will also be responsible for supporting the IT Manager in providing support and administration of the network and all applications. You will deal with day-to-day enquiries and support calls.

Finally you will also be responsible for assisting in the development and expansion of the organisation’s network and IT services. This is an excellent opportunity to gain employment within a friendly environment, so please do send through a technically detailed CV.

G & G Recruitment are working as an Employment Agency.

Defence Cryptosecurity Authority selects two bidders for UK's government IT security solution

Two bidders have been selected by the Defence Cryptosecurity Authority (DCA) for the Assessment Phase of the CIPHER programme. The purpose of CIPHER as specified in the Single Statement of User Need is to “provide the capability for a security management infrastructure for all grades of devices necessary to meet the needs of UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and wider government.”

It covers the provision of all high grade cryptographic devices for UK MoD to meet the communications confidentiality, availability, interoperability and data integrity needs of the UK MoD for Defence Business and Operations, and will enable the provision of a pan-Government security management infrastructure.

Logica is leading a consortium comprising QinetiQ, Serco and Ultra Electronics, all of whom bring extensive experience of security within the Defence, Public Sector and Commercial markets.

During the initial 26 month phase, the Logica consortium will carry out a comprehensive assessment of the technologies, processes and methodologies to establish how best to deliver the CIPHER programme in the future, while maintaining a vibrant UK market for the manufacture and supply of cryptographic equipment. It will also have the opportunity to bid for the subsequent delivery phase of CIPHER.

Sean Mallon, the CIPHER Programme Manager for the DCA, said: “CIPHER is an ambitious programme that seeks to exploit the skills and experience of the UK sovereign industrial base to deliver Information Assurance Components and their management over the next decade and beyond. I am looking forward to a compelling competition over the next two years that will yield the best solution for defence and wider HMG as a whole.”

The Defence Cryptosecurity Authority is the part of the Ministry of Defence responsible for the development and in-service support of high-grade cryptographic equipment and electronic key management systems and the provision of key material and crypto policy.

It provides a single focus within the MoD for the acquisition and support of all cryptographic equipment, along with the provision of key material, policy advice and assurance of all projects that require a crypto solution through the Project Cryptographic Plans.

* - Article from publictechnology.net

Lets hope that this plan has a bit better luck at ensuring data security than some other organisations within the Public Sector have had recently.

More people and firms going bust

There has been a sharp rise in the number of people and companies being declared insolvent in England and Wales, government figures show.

Individual insolvencies went up by 8.8% in the third quarter of the year to reach 27,087.
Corporate liquidations also went up by 10.5% in the same period, to 4,001.
The increases have been widely predicted because of this year's sudden economic downturn and the consequent rise in unemployment.
The rising trend started this year as the economy stated to slowdown under the impact of the credit crunch.

Corporate

The number of firms being liquidated is now up by 26.3% on a year ago.

"The dramatic increase in corporate insolvencies in Q3 2008 continues a trend that we believe will accelerate well into 2009 as companies are hit by the dual blows of a continuing credit squeeze and depressed demand," warned the accountancy firm Ernst & Young.

Many more corporate liquidations appear to be in the pipeline.

The number of receiverships, administrations and company voluntary arrangements, which are normally an attempt to rescue an insolvent business rather than shut it down, rose to 1,444.
That was 65% higher than a year ago, the government's Insolvency Service said.

"The increase over the year is fairly evenly spread among the different types of procedure," said Catherine Matthews, a partner at the insolvency firm Tomlinsons.

"But there is a definite trend towards procedures instigated by directors as they try to deal with their problems themselves," she said.

Personal

Among the individuals going insolvent, there were 17,341 bankruptcies and 9,746 individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) in the last quarter - 4.6% more than there were twelve months ago.

Individual insolvencies had in fact fallen in the second quarter of this year, but are now rising again.

"For bankruptcy orders there has been a pronounced shift towards debtor's petition bankruptcies [people declaring themselves bankrupt] and away from creditor's petitions in recent years," said the Insolvency Service."

Catherine Matthews explained that this might be linked to the reduced length of time that people stay bankrupt.

"This is possibly due to the cut in the bankruptcy term to 12 months, and the general downturn in the property market which has undermined the only asset some people might have had."
A leading economic consultancy predicted that bankruptcies would continue to rise.

"With the full effects of the credit crunch and rising unemployment yet to be felt, bankruptcies are set to soar over the coming two or three years," said Capital Economics.

"We expect the number of personal insolvencies to rise from around 110,000 this year to around 140,000 in 2009 and even further thereafter."

FORMS OF INSOLVENCY

Bankruptcy: The traditional way of escaping overwhelming debt. Ends after one year, but you are likely to lose all your assets including your house to pay something to the creditors
Individual voluntary arrangement (IVA): A deal between you and your creditors, overseen by an insolvency practitioner. Less stigma, less chance of losing your home, but involves paying some of your debts in one go or over a number of years

* - Article from the bbc

Tips to succeed in recruitment during the Credit Crisis

It's quite simple really. A lot of recruitment agencies are going to go under in the next year. Why? Because there will not be enough jobs to keep them all going.

Its unfortunate as there will be some agencies (generally the smaller ones) who will go under, not because they are bad at their business but because their cash flow cannot handle the bad times. However, more often than not it will be the agencies that don't offer their client that little bit something special.

During these tight times it is essential that you keep your current clients and the new clients you get come back to you. In essence you must create client loyalty. The way to do this?

• Excellent service
• Excellent customer service
• Honesty
• Ensure you do what you say

Ive said it many times before that in recruitment the services that are offered by different agencies is about the same. Therefore it is the people within these agencies who are going to make the difference. Who is going to work harder for their client?, who is going to offer the better service to the client? (this isn't just getting the right candidate, its the whole process, listening to what they want giving them the Service they deserve) Who has the flexibility to keep the client happy? Who knows the market / Industry better? It may even come down to small points like who has the better telephone manner!

So ensure your staff know this, are trained up and raring to go. It isn't going to be easy!

Research reveals public sector leading the way in eLearning

Public sector organisations are leading their private sector counterparts in the uptake of eLearning tools and instruments, according to a new study commissioned by IMC (UK) Learning.

The study, ‘Staff training during an economic downturn – opportunities and threats’, was designed to establish the views of HR professionals, in both the public (35%) and private (63%) sectors, regarding the importance of training and learning in uncertain economic times. It also sought to discover what eLearning tools and instruments organisations are already using and what they are planning to use in the future.

The research found that four in five (80%) respondents from the public sector state their organisation is using bespoke eLearning content, with 67% using eLearning authoring tools and 65% using learning management systems. These results are significantly higher than those from respondents in the private sector, which were 58%, 44% and 46% respectively.

When asked which training instruments respondents’ organisations already use, again the public sector leads the way. Whereas there was little significant difference between the public and private sectors for the use of online communities (28%; 26%) and virtual classrooms (24%; 20%), the same cannot be said for audio/visual content (59%; 44%), web based training (59%; 43%) and podcasts (20%; 8%).

Dr Dirk Thissen, managing director at IMC (UK) Learning Ltd comments: “Training in the public sector seems to be bounding ahead of the private sector when it comes to eLearning. The use of bespoke eLearning content and rapid authoring tools within the public sector is encouraging. It allows organisations in the sector to develop and adapt content quickly and efficiently to meet its changing needs. Perhaps most importantly in the current economic climate, these tools provide a cost effective way to train staff, despite budget cuts.”

* - Article from PublicTechnology.net

Northgate completes its acquisition of Anite Public Sector

Northgate Information Solutions, a provider of services to the public sector and utilities markets, yesterday completed its £54.3m purchase of Anite Public Sector Holdings Ltd as part of its long term strategic expansion programme in supporting public service transformation.

The deal comes seven months after the acquisition of Northgate Information Solutions plc by private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR).

The acquisition is part of a long term strategy to broaden and strengthen Northgate’s capacity to meet its clients’ changing needs for citizen-centred services. It builds on the Northgate Public Service strong track record of successfully integrating seven acquisitions in the last five years. The acquisition strategy has generated profitable growth through promoting a performance culture, driving through innovation and putting quality at the heart of everything the company does.

The new organisation will have an expanded capability to deliver business-focused change programmes and integrated services to the local government, social housing and police and criminal justice public services markets. Northgate will add to its position in revenues and benefits and housing by providing a comprehensive range of services including social care and enhanced document management services.

David Meaden, Chief Executive of Northgate Public Services, said: “I am delighted that we have completed the deal which will bring real benefits to our clients, our employees and to our company as a whole. It marks an exciting new stage in our development and we look forward to the opportunities that will come as a result.

“Our ambition for our company is matched by our ambition for public services. We are fully committed to supporting public service transformation through innovation and the development of new forms of performance partnerships.

“This acquisition broadens and strengthens our capacity and our capability to successfully respond to large scale, strategic and complex procurements and deliver realisable outcomes. Successful transformation requires services which place citizens’ needs at their heart. This deal enhances and extends our ability to support our clients in achieving this crucial change.”

The deal was completed for a total cash consideration of £54.3 million, subject to the settlement of a £3.8 million receivable owed by Anite to Anite Public Sector and a working capital adjustment following completion. The Board of Anite announced that the resolution to approve the disposal of Anite Public Sector Holdings Limited, as detailed in the circular sent to shareholders dated 1 August 2008, was passed at a General Meeting on 29 August 2008. The OFT cleared the acquisition on 27th October 2008.

* - Article from Publictechnology.net

Women in IT believe they are paid less than men

More than half of women in IT believe they get paid less than their male colleagues, according to a survey by the IT trade association Intellect.

The 21% pay gap in IT is larger than the 17% national average, and a survey of women in the industry found 53% of them either believe their pay is not comparable to their male colleagues, or do not know.

Intellect's Perceptions of Equal Pay survey questioned 330 women on pay. Of the group, 57% do not think their company has a transparent pay structure.

There was a slight increase in the number of companies carrying out equal pay audits. Eight per cent of respondents said their company had carried out an audit - this was double the figure in the last two years.

Gillian Arnold, technical manager at IBM and chair of Intellect's Women in IT group, said, "We still have a pay gap of 17% for full-time women [in all industries], and that gap is wider, at 21%, for women working in the IT Industry.

"Whilst many women still believe that they are paid less than their male colleagues, they are aware that their companies are starting to do something about it."

* - Article from Computerweekly