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The logistics industry is a driving force for the UK, employing one in 12 of the UK’s working people and contributing more than $118.3bn worldwide. As technology continues to advance, businesses within the sector have increasingly automated elements of their operations, boosting efficiency and further cementing the industry as a pillar of the economy.

But despite its growing criticality and digital transformation, the logistics industry is surprisingly not held to any standard for the exchange of data under current EU regulations.

Not only does this mean that transferring data can be inefficient, necessitating logistics businesses to manually convert data back and forth for other organisations in the supply chain, but it also has implications for the security of that data.

Importantly, regulations to govern the industry’s use of data will likely become stricter after Brexit – an eventuality that logistics businesses are currently unprepared for.

The impact of Brexit

Although we can only speculate what may happen post-Brexit, it’s very possible that the UK will no longer be bound by EU rulings, and will instead be responsible for enforcing its own regulations. As such, it’s plausible that new customs regulations on the transport of goods in and out of the UK will be brought in.

In this instance, it’s highly likely that these regulations will suddenly necessitate that data becomes rigorously regulated, forcing logistics businesses to adhere to a set of minimum security standards around data. Indeed, the European Commission’s recently established Digital Transport and Logistics Forum has already begun groundwork for proposed regulation on electronic freight transport information – evidence of the potential for new regulation that will affect both EU and non-EU members.

Such regulations will likely be all-encompassing and should apply to logistics businesses whether they manually convert data from one format to another using Excel macros, via a custom piece of software or by a large-scale logistics platform. Without being able to display the due diligence necessary to comply with these new regulations, logistics businesses could be at severe risk of financial penalties, and could lose out on custom to those businesses that can.

Ensuring compliance

With these changes to regulation on the horizon, it’s important that logistics businesses realise the importance of assurance in a post-Brexit landscape. The Bunker has been a trusted partner of businesses in regulated industries for many years, and our auditable assurance can help businesses within the sector to validate, evidence and provide sufficient guarantees of compliance should these changes come into effect.

By securing this assurance now, businesses can get ahead of the competition and hit the ground running in the event of regulation changes.

The transition to a fully regulated logistics industry will likely be rigorous, but at The Bunker we can also help businesses to achieve the basic levels of technological competence that will be necessary to facilitate this change, which will future proof your business against additional regulatory and other developments in the long term.

In addition, businesses can lay the foundations for compliance with future regulations by following existing standards that may or may not apply to their business. For example, by adhering to the PCI-DSS standard, even when no credit card details are held or processed, businesses can evidence that their services are built and held to a rigorous, recognised standard.

Again, The Bunker’s IT security and auditable assurance services can help you to achieve compliance with PCI-DSS. The wider Cyberfort Group, of which The Bunker is a part of, can also provide pen testing and compliance services from sister companies Arcturus and Agenci, ultimately providing the complete solution that the logistics industry needs to prepare itself for any regulatory changes after Brexit.

Conclusion

With a huge shake up to the logistics industry potentially coming in the near future, its vital that businesses get ahead of the curve today, since being able to evidence compliance could become mandatory in just a few months’ time.

By implementing auditable assurance now, logistics businesses can be placed far ahead of the competition, whilst guaranteeing basic technological competence will serve to future proof the industry for any Brexit related changes.

To find out more about we can help you on your journey, visit: https://thebunkerred.wpenginepowered.com/contact-us/

Most enterprises and even individuals have suffered at least one data breach one way or another. Cyber-attacks are constantly evolving and Data security has become a bigger priority. Many businesses who have not previously considered it necessary to bring on board dedicated cyber security expertise are changing their minds. And going forward what this means for businesses, employees and anyone who’s connected to Internet that when it comes to security, we are going to make sure that various assets of the company get the Rolls-Royce treatment (at least, most of the time) by having effective security measures. This demands for Cyber shield and defence – A more proactive security posture and develop our own capabilities in areas such as malware analysis, threat hunting, automation and threat intelligence.

Finally I can say that ethically I am allowed to fight Cyber-crime as I have successfully completed my Cybersecurity Scholarship Program with Cisco and recently passing my final exam with flying colours has honoured me ‘Cisco Certified Cyber Ops’ – big whoop to me. It has taken last 6 months sleepless nights, sacrificing weekends & personal plans and most importantly dedication and hard work to come this far. I am really happy that I had an opportunity to be part of this scholarship program while the world is facing skill gap in Cybersecurity especially when Cyber-attacks are becoming more prolific. I am now really looking forward to applying my new skill-set in the real world and at work place to educate people around me and to protect the valuable properties. I am sad this program has come to an end as I will miss my mentors and colleagues and friends I have made for life from around the world but it has been very exhilarating and an incredible experience.

I cannot thank my team enough at The Bunker for all their continued support. I hope this can inspire others to follow their goals and achieve anything they strive for. Cyber security is important and growing priority for every business because government, military, corporate, financial and medical organizations collect, process, and store unprecedented amounts of sensitive data on computers and other devices. ‘The Bunker’ as a company and the managed security provider understands its clients and the protection of their business and valuable possessions beyond anything else and they are the leaders in Cybersecurity as part of the ‘Cyberfort Group’ and are data-driven, automated security solutions.

‘Cyberfort Group’ are committed to helping businesses protect themselves and their customers from the perpetually evolving range of Cyber threats and their solutions are a combination of security intelligence, analysis of applications, state-of-the-art technology and consultancy together with continuous investment in research and development to meet the objectives of reducing Cyber risk. They emphasise on reducing time and costs spent on security, stages simulations of attacks to test whether the company is sufficiently prepared, and of course, develops the best responses to security breaches.

It is an exciting journey out there and sometime you just have to grab the opportunity. I have really enjoyed writing this final blog and hope you have found them insightful. That is me signing out and wishing you all in advance ‘A Happy Christmas’ and ‘Happy Holidays’

Every day logistics companies are leveraging new technologies and in no other sector are the benefits of streamlining basic operations, improving agility and creating a competitive advantage more evident.

Here, we will take a look at the direction in which the industry is moving by looking at three of the main considerations that developers and logistics pioneers need to be aware of as the sector, and the technology powering it, continually evolves.

The growth and reliance on data

With 2.5 quintillion bytes of data being produced every day and the number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices  estimated to reach 50 billion by 2025, there’s no doubt that this data explosion will continue to expand for the foreseeable future.

The logistics ecosystem contributes a significant amount of this data as it moves towards embracing cutting-edge technologies. With the uptake in automation across the sector, and revolutionary trials of platooning technology taking place across the world, particularly in Los Angeles and the Netherlands, we can only expect it to embed itself into the fabric of the industry even more.

Volvo Group is one leading organisation which is exploiting the possibilities of fully-automated trucks, with one vehicle in full use at a mine in Kristineberg, Sweden. The company has already uncovered some of the valuable benefits that automation brings, including increased safety, reduced fuel consumption and emissions, and it’s inevitable that many in the industry will soon follow suit.

But connected devices and automation aren’t the only innovations powering the data boom in the industry – advanced technologies such as Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are relieving the burden of data analytics and offering critical insight for businesses in the sector, whilst also adding to the data produced. Both technologies are also vital in streamlining processes across the supply chain – from tracking and transporting packages across a warehouse using robotics, to using ML and AI to predict demand in the supply chain.

Global skincare company, Olay, is a prime example of a household brand using these technologies to its advantage through its Skin Advisor app, which performs facial analysis using ML algorithms to identify an individual’s skincare needs. The helps to shed light on buying behaviour and consumer demand of skincare and beauty products, which will then feed into the supply chain by highlighting which products are likely to be most popular.

Data is the driving force behind the future of logistics, but to sustain these advancements, it’s essential that the technology underpinning them remains agile and resilient as data sets continue to grow.

Increased adoption of hybrid cloud

With the rapid growth of tech-savvy business and an increasing demand for flexible IT solutions, hybrid cloud is becoming an increasingly attractive option for logistics innovators. One of the main benefits that can be drawn from it is that this flexible infrastructure allows for capacity to be switched between private and public cloud when there is an increase in traffic, ensuring that interruption is kept to a minimum. This is particularly key for logistics organisations to help processes run smoothly.

Having a hybrid infrastructure also allows businesses to configure relevant processes to be fed through to either their public, private or on-premise environment – whether a dedicated environment is needed to run static and predictable workloads, or the cloud is necessary to react to unpredictable and fluctuating demands.

The necessary processes involved in utilising a hybrid environment, such as pseudonymisation – the separation of data from all identifiers – mean that it’s often a more secure way for organisations to store sensitive information. This is particularly important for businesses in the logistics sector who have to negotiate regulatory or data sovereignty requirements.

To ensure compliance, logistics companies need to use the right platforms for the right services, whether through public, private or on-premise solutions, or a combination of the three. Hybrid cloud also provides developers with good environments to carry out development, testing and proof of concept assessments in dedicated environments, which in turn can help bolster the integrity of software and platforms developed and used across the industry.

Emerging cyber threats

With new technology comes new security considerations, especially as the data created and used throughout the supply chain, increases. Because of this, the logistics sector is becoming an increasingly lucrative target for cyber criminals who come armed with more infectious malware and stronger methods of attack, powered by technologies such as AI.

The sector will remember the NonPetya attack all too well, which targeted organisations across the globe, including the world’s largest shipping company, Maersk, as well as logistics and postal companies, Deutsche Post and Deutsche Bahn. Attacks such as this are simply driven by a desire to compromise valuable data gathered by the industry as it propels forward on its digital journey.

As a result, security remains a prevailing issue for the industry, especially as organisations need to meet an increasing number of compliance standards as a result of holding greater amounts of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and the data accumulated across the supply chain. This is something the industry needs to have front of mind when developing and adopting any technology, whether for use internally or externally.

How we can support your future

Whether you were born in the cloud, or operate a combination of on-premise, private or public cloud, balancing the adoption of emerging technologies with evolving security needs is a massive challenge for forward-thinking organisations that are keen to modernise their operations.

The Bunker understands the importance of keeping up-to-date with cutting-edge technology and what is needed to ensure that all of this is continuously upheld.

With our military-grade ultra-secure data centres, alongside our industry-leading expertise, we arm you with the tools you need to scale, boost efficiencies and functionality, and also meet your necessary security and compliance requirements.

Here at The Bunker, security is in our DNA.

When our founders- a team of security professionals led by world-renowned cryptographer and author of Apache SSL, Ben Laurie- first experienced the former-military facility in Ash, its heritage and fact that security was embedded into every fibre of the site made it the perfect place for the team to pursue their mission of revolutionising the technology industry.

Purpose-built to protect the people inside from every disaster scenario, our Ash site was acquired from the UK Ministry of Defence in 1998. Having been selected as the location for a ROTOR air defence radar station in the early 50s, in response to growing tensions after World War Two, the site later transitioned to become a Ground Environment Operational Evaluation Unit. In the mid-90s, the site was fully re-fitted, making it one of the last of the cold war bunkers that was made fully operational before the war ended. Operations were eventually shut down in the late 90s, providing the opportunity for The Bunker to reenergise the site with a new purpose.

Later, the team extended with a second site in Newbury. A fortress complete with concrete reinforced walls, steel doors and tempest shielding, the site originally served as a command and control centre.

Fast forward to today, where we have taken advantage of the best physical security available and used it to protect one of the modern day’s most important assets. We’ve pumped millions of pounds worth of investment into each site to ensure that both have the best infrastructure to power our data centres continuously.

Because of this, we are able to boast the fact that we are home to two of the most secure data centres in the UK. From our nuclear and bomb-proof walls, to the barbed wire fence surrounding the equivalent of 18 football pitches, security is at our core.

But it’s not all concrete and steel reinforcements. If you look beyond the barriers you’ll see that the continuous buzz of the site’s operations that was evident all those years ago, still lives on today.

Whether it is at the crack of dawn or in the dead of night, our service desk team works around the clock to answer all of our clients’ calls and ensure that their critical infrastructure remains secure. The combination of our dedicated team and our unique facilities means that there is no safer place for your data.

As well as ensuring that business-critical data is properly safeguarded at all times, we are also the facility of choice and training ground for other critical security services.

The military-grade security of our sites is the perfect testing ground for emergency services to carry out new procedures in a real-life environment. It isn’t unusual to hear gunshots on site or loud commands and barks from deep within the depths of The Bunker. Our metal staircases are often used by police forces to train their dogs, while fire and rescue units conduct exit exercises by taking advantage of our unused extension within our underground bunker.

And as if that wasn’t enough, The Bunker also acts as a safe environment for wildlife.

Our expansive, wild surface has recently become home to The Bunker Bees who joined our Ash site earlier this summer as part of an initiative to offer a safe haven for a number of endangered honey bee colonies and create a more sustainable environment for nature to thrive. While our team on the night shift are often kept company by different nocturnal creatures, the most recent being a family of badgers.

We’re proud of the history that surrounds our Ash and Newbury sites, and how we’ve evolved the purpose of these facilities to fulfil the needs of modern society. There’s no doubt that The Bunker is truly one of a kind.

Cybersecurity is an ever-changing industry today because of IoT, where we learn something new every day with an awesome community of collaborators. I would like to share my experience on getting a place on the ‘Cisco Global Cybersecurity Scholarship’ after a 6 months wait. Life always feels good when your hard work pays off and shapes your goal. To help close the security skills gap, Cisco introduced the Global Cybersecurity Scholarship programme in 2016. Cisco has invested $10 million in this programme to increase the pool of talent with critical Cybersecurity proficiency. I am honoured to be a part of this programme and to be one of the carefully selected 2000 candidates from all over the world out of thousands of applicants.

I heard about the Scholarship through social media and it intrigued me to see how far I could improve my knowledge and portfolio in the internet security world. I applied towards end of last year and 5 months later Cisco Systems emailed me with hope saying ‘I met the requirement to progress further with the application’ and invited me to attend phase-1 & phase-2 of this process, which involved going through a number of questions and a highly competitive technical exam. I needed 75% to be accepted and I excelled with 84%. A few days later Cisco congratulated me on being accepted for the programme and now my exciting journey into Cybersecurity begins in July. Cisco are going to sponsor me throughout for all training, mentoring and coaching including study guides and follow up exams through their very talented resources. Knowing that this is the final one has made me even more determined.

Working at The Bunker as a Network Consultant for the last 10 months has given me an incredible platform and the goal to strive for excellence in security as The Bunker as a business values its client and their security above anything else and they are the leaders in Cybersecurity as part of the Cyberfort Group. The Bunker and my fantastic team has kindly offered to support me in every way possible throughout this scholarship, which I cannot thank enough and I am very humbled.

I am really excited and looking forward to my scholarship programme to further develop my skills in Cybersecurity. More updates to follow in future so watch this space – See you people in Cohort 7

What started out as two people on a single trip to put a water supply into an orphanage near Kampala, Uganda in 2012, with £3K raised from donations, has expanded exponentially. Having completed many projects across the country over the last six years, our director Paul Lightfoot and his team are back from their 2018 venture to Uganda and he has shared their update below:

‘We have been working in Uganda since 2012. Our water and sanitation projects have diversified somewhat over this time and we have built and renovated several school buildings in the past 3 years. Each year we transport donated goods to Uganda for distribution to the 4 schools we are working with. These goods include Football Strips, School Uniforms, Toothbrushes, Mosquito Nets etc.

Our team of 5 for the 2018 Trip was spread across 4 schools in 2 regions over a 24 day period and we were able to carry out the following tasks:

In the north of Uganda on the South Sudan Border, life is very tough due to a 20 year occupation by the LRA which ended in 2011. Since 2013 there has been an influx of 1.5M refugees from the South Sudan war. We worked at St Peters School in Adjumani and Brookland Community School in Dzaipi,  putting a roof on a new boys dormitory, supplied and trained 120 girls with reusable sanitary towel kits and supplied football kits to St Peters and the Dzaipi village teams.

In the south just north of Kampala in a village called Kitezee we installed a children’s playground, built a new Pit Latrine. We also provided bunk bed mattresses, mosquito nets and football strips to the boarders and orphans of Mount Zion School and were pleased to be able to move 3 orphans to a new boarding School (Nansana Senior Secondary) and pay all their fees for the next year.

Our intention is to return in mid 2019 to check on progress of the current projects and construct a 3 classroom building at a village called Minike on the Sudan border who are currently using the village church as their school.

It’s worth noting that the average daily wage in Uganda is $1.25 per day which would not buy half a pint of beer over here!

We would like to say a big thank you to all contributors and donors to our projects without whom our work would not be possible.’

Digital technology is touted as the answer to revenue growth, profitability and many other fundamental areas of business. Sales people the globe over preach about how their technology enables enhanced productivity, more effective collaboration, a better customer experience, deeper insights and so on. Any new technology is exciting and similarly I enjoy kitting out my home with the latest gizmos and gadgets, bells and whistles. Yet before I focus on spending money on these enablers, I need to ensure I have locks on the doors and crucially – a power supply.

Whilst a power outage at my home doesn’t typically have any greater consequence than a heightened blood pressure. The same cannot be said for the loss of power at a datacentre. For a datacentre, and for any company hosting servers at that datacentre, any power loss or ongoing interruption can result in crippling revenue losses, damaged IT equipment and even worse; irreparable brand damage. Power is often taken for granted, and understandably, in the same way many approach their health, funding flows towards finding a cure rather than prevention. It is only when these risks are actually realised and/or quantified that it really hits home. In 2016 a study by Ponemon Institute found that the average cost per minute of an unplanned datacentre outage across all industries came to $9,000 per minute.

At The Bunker, we are fortunate to operate our datacentres out of two ex-military sites built to an exacting power infrastructure standard. This gives us the ability to offer power at each bunker from two independent feeds, with two generators on standby ready to provide power indefinitely should the other feeds fail. At our Ash Bunker we uniquely benefit from one of it’s power feeds being dedicated and subterranean. This gives us enhanced resilience since the power runs underground, directly from the national grid, serving only The Bunker. All this put together provides a physical fortress in the UK, that many companies desperately depend upon as a first line of defense, hosting their critical applications and data.

It isn’t new technology and it doesn’t generate much excitement. But rest assured, making sure the lights stay on might save you and your company many thousands of pounds per minute. Now that’s a powerful thought.

www.purewaterprojectuganda.co.uk

What started out as two people on a single trip to put a water supply into an orphanage near Kampala, Uganda in 2012, with £3K raised from donations, has expanded exponentially. Having completed many projects across the country over the last six years, we are excited to tell you about the venture we will be embarking on this year.

The area in the north of Uganda is a difficult place to live. Under the control of Joseph Kony and LRA for 20 years up to 2011, it is now overrun by several hundred thousand refugees fleeing the civil war in South Sudan. Coupled with a recent crop failure the local population the Madi Tribe have tough lives, with the majority forced to live hand to mouth on a daily basis. The average wage is less than a dollar a day and the locals live under the threat of a return by the LRA. Elements of Al Shabab and Boko Haram also operate close to the border with Kenya. Our projects aim to improve the daily lives of the children and families who live there.

The most ambitious project we have completed for the northern community was in 2015, building a school in Dzaipi on the Sudan border in 13 days from the ground up. Other projects we have completed over the last six years at 4 locations include; building a new boys dorm, building a new kitchen, refurbishing a girls dorm and connecting 2 kilometres of water pipe, which pumps from a well into our school in Dzaipi. The expansion of the project was unexpected but the success has been evident.

This year, we have recruited three more volunteers to join us on our projects this March in three schools. Alongside the facilities that we provide and maintain, we are also sponsoring three orphans through secondary school and hopefully onto university. Our two main sponsors are The Bunker and Brookland Primary School in Kent with whom we have also twinned two of the schools (Dzaipi and Kitezee).

The 2018 trip has several projects which will be spread between the five of us, with 4 weeks in total on the ground:

1. New pit latrine facility and playground at Mount Zion Brookland Kitezee (Near Kampala).
2. Re-usable Sanitary Towel kits for girls at St Peters School in Adjumani (Shockingly, some girls currently miss one week in four of their schooling totalling 360 schooling weeks per year).
3. Maintenance visit to Mount Zion School Dzaipi.
4. School Fees for Moses and Rachide who are attending Stafford High School Kitezee and enrolment for Wilbrod into Makarere University in Kampala to study Accountancy.

As with all of our trips, the funds we raise go directly into the projects, to buy materials and pay local workers. Our philosophy is simple; we pay for our own flights, food and accommodation and unlike many other charities our operating costs are zero. We are looking forward to this year’s trip and we will provide a full update on our return.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/may/01/end-joseph-kony-hunt-fears-lords-resistance-army-return

In the past the term cloud has made the security conscious professional nervous as it implied convenience over security.