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System and method for management of confidential data (2018)
Patent
Buchanan, B., Lo, O., Macfarlane, R., Penrose, P., & Ramsay, B. (2018). System and method for management of confidential data. GB2561176A

This application is for a method of data management to identify confidential digital content on a database by first receiving a management request 302 from a system 304 to carry out data management operations. These include the identification of data... Read More about System and method for management of confidential data.

The Challenges of Investigating Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain Related Crime (2018)
Journal Article
Dyson, S., Buchanan, W., & Bell, L. (2018). The Challenges of Investigating Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain Related Crime. The Journal of the British Blockchain Association, 1(2), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.31585/jbba-1-2-%288%292018

We increasingly live in a world where there is a balance between the rights to privacy and the requirements for consent, and the rights of society to protect itself. Within this world, there is an ever-increasing requirement to protect the identities... Read More about The Challenges of Investigating Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain Related Crime.

GDPR and Cyber Security for Business Information Systems (2018)
Book
Gobeo, A., Fowler, C., & Buchanan, B. (2018). GDPR and Cyber Security for Business Information Systems. River Publishers

The General Data Protection Regulation is the latest, and one of the most stringent, regulations regarding Data Protection to be passed into law by the European Union. Fundamentally, it aims to protect the Rights and Freedoms of all the individuals i... Read More about GDPR and Cyber Security for Business Information Systems.

Cryptography (2017)
Book
Buchanan, B. (2017). Cryptography. River Publishers

Cryptography has proven to be one of the most contentious areas in modern society. For some it protects the rights of individuals to privacy and security, while for others it puts up barriers against the protection of our society. This book aims to d... Read More about Cryptography.

The next cyberattack could come from sound waves (2017)
Newspaper / Magazine
Buchanan, B. (2017). The next cyberattack could come from sound waves. [https://theconversation.com/the-next-cyberattack-could-come-from-sound-waves-74716]. https://theconversation.com/the-next-cyberattack-could-come-from-sound-waves-74716

You might think your smartphone or laptop is relatively safe from cyber attacks thanks to anti-virus and encryption software. But your devices are increasingly at risk from “side-channel” attacks, where an intruder can bypass traditional network entr... Read More about The next cyberattack could come from sound waves.

US hack shows data is the new frontier in cyber security conflict. (2015)
Newspaper / Magazine
Buchanan, W. J. (2015). US hack shows data is the new frontier in cyber security conflict

More than four million personal records of US government workers are thought to have been hacked and stolen, it has been. With US investigators blaming the Chinese government (although the Chinese deny involvement), this incident shows how data could... Read More about US hack shows data is the new frontier in cyber security conflict..

When amateurs do the job of a professional, the result is smart grids secured by dumb crypto. (2015)
Newspaper / Magazine
Buchanan, W. J. (2015). When amateurs do the job of a professional, the result is smart grids secured by dumb crypto

Security relies upon good programming and correct adherence to well-designed standards. If the standards are sloppy, then security has been compromised from the outset. Smart grids, which include the smart meters being rolled out to millions of homes... Read More about When amateurs do the job of a professional, the result is smart grids secured by dumb crypto..

The future internet: a world of secret shares (2015)
Journal Article
Buchanan, W. J., Lanc, D., Ukwandu, E., Fan, L., Russell, G., & Lo, O. (2015). The future internet: a world of secret shares. Future Internet, 7(4), 445-464. https://doi.org/10.3390/fi7040445

The PKI infrastructure is crumbling, especially due to the lack of a strong understanding of how encryption actually works, and in threats around its implementation. This paper outlines an Internet storage using secret sharing methods, and which coul... Read More about The future internet: a world of secret shares.

Evaluation of TFTP DDoS amplification attack (2015)
Journal Article
Sieklik, B., Macfarlane, R., & Buchanan, W. J. (2016). Evaluation of TFTP DDoS amplification attack. Computers and Security, 57, 67-92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cose.2015.09.006

Web threats are becoming a major issue for both governments and companies. Generally, web threats increased as much as 600% during last year (WebSense, 2013). This appears to be a significant issue, since many major businesses seem to provide these s... Read More about Evaluation of TFTP DDoS amplification attack.

Ashley Madison breach reveals the rise of the moralist hacker (2015)
Newspaper / Magazine
Buchanan, W. J. (2015). Ashley Madison breach reveals the rise of the moralist hacker

There’s value in more than just credit card data, as Avid Life Media (ALM), parent company of the extramarital affair website Ashley Madison, has found out after being raided for millions of their customer’s details. All sorts of information that isn... Read More about Ashley Madison breach reveals the rise of the moralist hacker.

Apple and Starbucks could have avoided being hacked if they'd taken this simple step (2015)
Newspaper / Magazine
Buchanan, W. J. (2015). Apple and Starbucks could have avoided being hacked if they'd taken this simple step

Apple and Starbucks are two of the world’s most trusted companies, but their reputations were recently tarnished thanks to some novice cybersecurity mistakes. Both setup systems that could have allowed hackers to break into customers' accounts by rep... Read More about Apple and Starbucks could have avoided being hacked if they'd taken this simple step.

Vulnerability analysis. (2015)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Buchanan, W. J. (2015, May). Vulnerability analysis. Presented at Advanced Threat Protection

The current generation of threats against enterprise networks are more targeted, more persistent and more sophisticated than ever. Sony, eBay and JP Morgan are among the biggest names to fall victim in the last 12 months. The result is that massive a... Read More about Vulnerability analysis..

Identifying areas of vulnerability. (2015)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Buchanan, W. J. (2015, April). Identifying areas of vulnerability. Presented at Scot-secure 2015

Using penetration testing to highlight areas of weakness with practical steps for improving the security of your organisation.

Lenovo’s security debacle reveals blurred boundary between adware and malware (2015)
Newspaper / Magazine
Buchanan, W. J. (2015). Lenovo’s security debacle reveals blurred boundary between adware and malware

A widely disliked habit of PC vendors is their bundling of all manner of unwanted software into brand new computers – demo software, games, or part-functional trials. Faced with shrinking margins vendors have treated this as an alternative income str... Read More about Lenovo’s security debacle reveals blurred boundary between adware and malware.

If Obama is talking about securing the net, it should be on everyone else’s lips too. (2015)
Newspaper / Magazine
Buchanan, W. J. (2015). If Obama is talking about securing the net, it should be on everyone else’s lips too

We have spent years promoting the need for change in our approach to internet infrastructure, forcing politicians to recognise it as a serious issue. So it’s great to see Barack Obama tackling the issue in his State of the Union address. You may agre... Read More about If Obama is talking about securing the net, it should be on everyone else’s lips too..

If you seek to ‘switch off’ encryption, you may as well switch off the whole internet. (2015)
Newspaper / Magazine
Buchanan, W. J. (2015). If you seek to ‘switch off’ encryption, you may as well switch off the whole internet

Prime Minister David Cameron has stated that the UK government will look at “switching off” some forms of encryption in order to make society safer from terror attacks. This might make a grand statement but it is impossible to implement and extremely... Read More about If you seek to ‘switch off’ encryption, you may as well switch off the whole internet..

Codebreaking has moved on since Turing’s day, with dangerous implications. (2014)
Newspaper / Magazine
Buchanan, W. J. (2014). Codebreaking has moved on since Turing’s day, with dangerous implications

We have always been been intrigued by keeping secrets and uncovering the secrets of others, whether that’s childhood secret messages, or secrets and codebreaking of national importance. With a film, The Imitation Game, reprising the life of Alan Turi... Read More about Codebreaking has moved on since Turing’s day, with dangerous implications..

Better locks to secure our data are the inevitable result of too many prying eyes (2014)
Newspaper / Magazine
Buchanan, W. J. (2014). Better locks to secure our data are the inevitable result of too many prying eyes

Robert Hannigan, the new head of British signals intelligence agency GCHQ, has accused technology companies of aiding terrorists and criminals by providing them secure communications through their products and networks. Far from adopting a conciliato... Read More about Better locks to secure our data are the inevitable result of too many prying eyes.