Here’s your Risk Digest for the Week Ending 6th January 2017
Information Security
UK schools targeted by web fraudsters.
Online criminals are targeting schools claiming to be from the Department of Education, sending emails with file-freezing malware attachments. UK police have urged educational establishments to be vigilant.
Web-based databases targeted by cyber thieves.
Thousands of web-based databases have been deleted by cyberthieves seeking a ransom to restore the data. Gigabytes of medical, payroll and other data held in MongoDB databases have been taken by attackers, say security researchers.
Tech
CES 2017: Solos smartglasses help cyclists get fitter.
A specialised type of smartglasses designed to help cyclists get fitter is on show at the CES tech show in Las Vegas.
CES 2017: Intel reveals credit card-sized modular computer
Intel has revealed a computer that is roughly the size of a credit card. The Compute Card can operate as a PC or act as the brains of other electronics.
Health & Safety
Construction Company fined after contractor receives life changing injuries
A Lincoln based Construction Company, specialising in fitting mezzanine floors were prosecuted after a contractor fell 3.5 metres onto a concrete floor.
Public first aid training for terrorism incidents “needed”.
People need to learn lifesaving skills in case they are caught up in a terror attack in the UK, a team of senior military and civilian medics has said. An app has been developed for fast-response training (this article contains scenes some viewers may find distressing).
Food
Veganuary: Is following a vegan diet for a month worth it?
The Veganuary campaign, encouraging people to try a vegan diet for the month most commonly associated with resolution and change, is under way, with a record 50,000 people signed up.
Pepsico recalls Doritos Lightly Salted over undeclared soya and wheat (gluten)
Pepsico is recalling some batches of Doritos Lightly Salted Corn Chips because they contain soya and wheat (gluten) which are not mentioned on the label.
Environment
Huge Antarctic ice berg set to break away
An iceberg expected to be one of the 10 largest ever recorded is ready to break away from Antarctica, scientists say. A long-running rift in the Larsen C ice shelf grew suddenly in December and now just 20km of ice is keeping the 5,000 sq km piece from floating away.
Atlantic Current on verge of collapse, Europe faces potential sub-zero temperatures
A shock study has revealed the current is weakening and is at risk of collapsing. If it does, temperatures in parts of Europe could become almost unbearably cold.
Energy
Green Energy UK offers first electricity tariff based on time of day
Customers will be charged 4.9p per unit of electricity from 11pm to 6am but up to five times as much during peak demand times.
Record number of oil and gas firms go bust as renewable energy revolution begins to bite
The world’s largest private power production company warns the sector that renewables could drive the oil price as low as $10 a barrel.
Wellbeing
Toxic Boss: Leaders with psychopathic traits could transform you into an office bully
A new study found that bosses with dark, psychopathic or narcissistic tendancies create workplace bullies and makes employees take advantage of others and claim credit for their work. It also found that roughly one-fifth of top corporate professionals have ‘extremely high’ levels of psychopathic traits.
Size 14 cover model backs healthy living and exercise over dieting.
After backing a magazine’s New Year Challenge plan, model Iskra Lawrence asks the magazine to pull the eating plan for promoting an overly restrictive attitude and explains her approach to healthy, happy eating and exercise.
Brexit
UK’s new EU ambassador to be a ‘tough negotiator’
Downing Street has called the UK’s new ambassador to the European Union a “seasoned and tough negotiator”, who will bring “energy” to Brexit talks.
Law needed to limit Brexit’s environmental impact say MP’s
Brexit poses a huge risk to UK wildlife and habitats and a new environmental law will be needed, MPs have said and warn that even where EU law is incorporated into the UK’s legal framework there could still be problems.
Migrant farm workers will be allowed to stay after Brexit.
The environment secretary says she is “absolutely committed” to ensuring that British farmers have access to migrant workers after Brexit.
Alex Brummer discusses Britain’s stability since the referendum, despite big players being convinced the opposite would occur.
May’s pledge: We take back control of our borders – what’s muddled about that Sir Ivan?
Britain will withdraw from the EU’s single market unless the country is allowed to regain full control over its borders, Theresa May is expected to say in a keynote speech.
The Lighter Side
Belfast chip shop becomes online hit after fulfilling unusual order request.
A fast food restaurant in Belfast has become a social media hit after a posting a photograph of unusual request on its Facebook page. Feeley’s Fish and Chip shop received a delivery order on December 30, but only because the customer was “dying” from a cold.
105 year old cyclist sets world record 14 miles in an hour.
At 105-years-old, Robert Marchand is a world record holding, yellow jersey wearer with a difference. The Frenchman has set the record for the furthest distance ridden in an hour in the 105-plus age category (a category created just for him), after clocking up 14 miles, or 92 laps, inside a Parisian velodrome.
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