Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
I actually spoke to a few of my contacts in the NHS on Friday the 12th of May and they said they had “disconnected form the N3 for safety” as they had not yet been infected but knew if they stuck around they would be. That statement in itself says all that needs to be said about the N3. It should not be a trusted entity. There is a solid argument for the devolution of trust inside that boundary and that message to be hammered home to the individual trusts by NHS Digital. So could the NHS have done more? Yes, of course in hindsight, but at the time those trusts made decisions based on risk, the risk to life, not that corporate risk assessment you make and feel all warm and fuzzy about. Actual loss of life. So before you start to rip into the NHS or try and push your silver bullet down their throat, spare a minute to think about it. This has been a RANT sponsored by the “Security is a vocation not popularity contest” Party. Written by Jay Abbott Executive Director Falanx Group https://twitter.com/jabawokjayuk/status/864407308054523904
Prevent malware execution – (a) The manufacture said if we install anything on the box it will crash. (b) we tried, it crashed, (c) We tried, it didn’t crash So let’s look at 4c for a minute. According to the cyber security vendor world they all have a product that would have stopped WannaCry and any other unknown malware dead in its tracks. Sounds great. First problem…. These tools hook the kernel and or low level drivers and end up interfering with any number of things they haven’t been tested with, say for instance like a very specific piece of MRI scanner software, of which there are only 34 copies installed in the UK. Second problem, let’s assume that it works with everything and really is the answer…. A typical NHS trust has 10’s of thousands of users / endpoints. For instance, we regularly run phishing campaigns for NHS trusts and it’s not unusual to be given 20,000 email targets in a single campaign. These silver bullet anti-malware execution solutions are expensive and licensed per seat so the cost of deploying it into an NHS trust can be more than the available annual budget for that trust to maintain what they have! It’s a simple economics equation. My challenge to those vendors that all have “the solution to malware” do the right thing and donate it to the NHS, after all you will probably need them one day and it would be ironic that if on the day you did, the systems were offline with a ransomware attack. In fact, 4c is the main underlying problem. I have seen trusts with entire Cisco infrastructures that are 100% TrustSEC complaint end to end, and all they would need to enable some of the most advanced packet level manipulation in existence is a simple license. But that cost of that license is so prohibitive, they just can’t switch it on? How crazy is that? Come on Cisco, your big and bad enough to let that one go! Next up I want to tackle the N3. The N3 is the backbone that connects every trust to every other trust and provides carrier internet connectivity as well. It also provides the secure email for the NHS and many other core network services. There is a common conception within the trusts that the “N3 protects us from bad things” and to a certain extent it does. But the flip side of that statement is that it has nearly 1bn endpoints on it! That’s a small internet!!! I mean seriously, 1bn endpoints that all trust each other? Are you crazy? with that sort of scale trust is not possible. The irony is most trusts actually have their own firewalls, but they trust the N3 and each other so they are essentially fire-windows. This is why WannaCrypt and Conficker before it tore through the N3 taking trust after trust out along the way. Even trusts that are more restrictive than others and trust no one, still have to trust common shared infrastructure that allows infections to easily jump from trust to trust. I actually spoke
Jay Abbott Executive Director Falanx Group Don’t attack the NHS! May 16, 2017 • More than anything over the last few days I have seen some of the so called industry professionals I have to consider my peers, wax lyrical about how the NHS should have done better. I want to take a minute to explore that statement and offer my own experience and opinion. For the record, if parts of this article offend you, tough. Over the last 10 years I have had the pleasure of working with a large number of different NHS trusts in the context of a supplier and partner. During this time, I have made a number of observations that make me proud and sad in equal measure. Firstly, during my entire time, I have not met a single IT or Security Professional in the NHS that does not put patient care or clinical excellence first. They truly understand the impact of a bad decision far more than the average equivalent in the private sector. This is a good thing, but can lead to a higher than normal level of risk aversion. This risk aversion however, has led to some of the most advanced, and amazing network architectures I have ever seen. I have personally worked in network architecture for many years and worked on some very interesting networks with very specific needs so I know what “good” looks like. I actually remember walking into my first NHS trust to do an independent security architecture review and genuinely being blown away by the equipment they had deployed, the overall architecture and way it was managed. Unlike some people have been saying, your typical trust has better connectivity than your average enterprise. Now, I am not saying every trust is like this as they are all run independently and some invest more than others, but in my personal experience it’s the norm to be on the latest and greatest kit. Where the infrastructure tends to fall down is on the endpoints. Why? Simple. Because when you spend a million pounds on an MRI scanner and it comes with a windows XP machine, then XP stops being supported and the equipment manufacturer wants an astronomical amount of money for an upgrade, what do you do? Who is really at fault? The NHS or the huge multi-global equipment manufacturer? So, a good trust does what it does and proceeds to put in numerous countermeasures to isolate and ring-fence that machine as best it can while still allowing patient care and clinical excellence to be its priority. So let’s look at those countermeasure options: Patch it – Nope, can’t, doesn’t exit Isolate it in a dedicated LAN – Sure, but I have 30 doctors in 6 clinical departments on 14 campuses that need to access its data and none of them understand technology enough to deal with any form of air gap, so yeah, if by isolate you mean limit, I’m all in! Firewall it, see 2. Prevent malware execution – (a) The manufacture said if we install anything on the box it will crash. (b) we tr
The point is that even before the cyber attack Falanx was on track to be profitable and cash generative this year ( to March 31 2018) on the basis of sales hitting c£5 million. And following a £2 million placing the other day its balance sheet is in great shape. But it seems a slam dunk cert that there will be other attacks so this issue will stay in the spotlight and hat means that my forecasts are almost certainly going to be increased materially. With a 65% gross margin on its in-house IP the operational gearing could be massive.. At 9.5p the market cap is c £12 million. So the upside is clear. Having said all of that with no hard numbers on how big this is, if the excitement really takes off I am sure that top slicing for we patient long term shareholders may be in order. I see that the Mail on Sunday was tipping a soon to float cyber security firm valued at multiples of where Falanx is and this could be a case where one is investing in a place which just becomes really "hot" and all normal valuation metrics go out of the window. So are we top slicing yet? No. Will the shares end this week higher than where they are now? Yes. Is it possible to say how high? Er no. One cannot say where this is going but one thing is for sure the shares will head higher.
Falanx & the Cyber attacks & the £100 million political scandal By Tom Winnifrith | Monday 15 May 2017 We own Falanx (FLX) shares and are currently well over 100% up on our investment with stock at 9.5p mid. HotStockRockets readers are now 100% ahead on the share tip too. So with the stock surging on the basis of the massive cyber attack that started on the NHS on Friday what to do? First realise that this is a political scandal. I've swapped emails with the company over the weekend and spoken to it today. It is desperate not to be seen to be profiting from what is a ghastly crime so will not be going on a media blitz. But it is clearly very well placed. I refer you to the last statement on trading: Continuing Sales growth is being driven by the newly formed Sales and Consultancy team. In addition, access to over 2000 potential new Cyber Security and Intelligence clients is provided by highly regarded channel partners, including; -- CDW Corporation: The $9bn NASDAQ technology solutions provider, who recently bought Kelway, one of the UK's leading IT suppliers; -- NASSTAR Plc : The AIM listed, managed IT services provider; -- Sentronex: One of the UK's leading Financial Services IT solutions providers; -- Mersey Internal Audit Agency and Audit Yorkshire: providing access to over 100 NHS Trusts in the UK. Ends. So right now Falanx derives very little revenue from the NHS. But it is fair to say that it is very well positioned now that even the NHS realises how vulnerable it is and that action needs to be taken. All MPs seem to be saying that the NHS must spend more on cyber security and it is hard to see how Falanx will fail to benefit in a very material way. But MPs in the party led by the IRA supporting communist Corbyn, saying that the wicked Tories must give the NHS more dosh to spend on cyber security are missing the real scandal here. In 2016 the 15 NHS Trusts that were deemed most vulnerable to cyber attacks were given £100 million to tackle this threat. They have the cash and guess what? Not a cent has been spent. They have just sat on it. This is nothing to do with politicians goofing it is to do with sheer management incompetence within the NHS. In the private sector the managers responsible for this would be picking up black bags this morning. But this is the NHS and so whether it is failing to spend cash allocated for tackling cyber security or stopping Dr Shipman from killing his patients, no grossly overpaid managers ever take responsibility for failure. That is the real scandal. You can bet that those Trusts and all others across the UK are today reviewing their options and will be taking action. Of course there are many players and Falanx is just one of them but it has an in house solution which it can deploy rapidly. So will it get a lift from this? You bet. The point is that even before the cyber attack Falanx was on track to be profitable and cash generative this year ( to Ma
My company chat at UKI did make one thing clear: this is the last legal challenge so the all-clear there is the last hurdle. I’m sure there will be other bits and pieces along the way to do with building designs/permissions etc, but for the overall project the starting pistol is loaded and ready. The uncertainty over timing might give rise to some concerns about dilution until the company can cash in. And of course some will be put off by the need for patience, with an undefined wait for that all-important court decision to be announced formally. Given the long record of delays it is hard to offer an outright buy recommendation, even if I hold a fair chunk of this stock myself. After all the false dawns, one has to be alive to the possibility of another bout of extended hanging around. On the other hand, if/when confirmation of court success comes it is game on. My company chat left me with an expectation of news by the end of this month and whilst there are no guarantees on timing, the company has had long enough experience to be realistic over the factors governing the release of the news I’d like to see so that I can cash-in some profits in short order. This isn’t a trade which can be finessed. If/when the news lands – and that could happen at any time without warning - it will be too late to get in. If you believe that delivery is imminent then the shares look to be a screaming buy. If not, they are a walk-on-by. You pays yer money……
My company chat at UKI did make one thing clear: this is the last legal challenge so the all-clear there is the last hurdle. I’m sure there will be other bits and pieces along the way to do with building designs/permissions etc, but for the overall project the starting pistol is loaded and ready. The uncertainty over timing might give rise to some concerns about dilution until the company can cash in. And of course some will be put off by the need for patience, with an undefined wait for that all-important court decision to be announced formally. Given the long record of delays it is hard to offer an outright buy recommendation, even if I hold a fair chunk of this stock myself. After all the false dawns, one has to be alive to the possibility of another bout of extended hanging around. On the other hand, if/when confirmation of court success comes it is game on. My company chat left me with an expectation of news by the end of this month and whilst there are no guarantees on timing, the company has had long enough experience to be realistic over the factors governing the release of the news I’d like to see so that I can cash-in some profits in short order. This isn’t a trade which can be finessed. If/when the news lands – and that could happen at any time without warning - it will be too late to get in. If you believe that delivery is imminent then the shares look to be a screaming buy. If not, they are a walk-on-by. You pays yer money……
iMinoan – still waiting for notice of legal clearance, short-term trading opportunity or avoid? By Nigel Somerville | Monday 15 May 2017 Disclosure: I own shares in one or more of the stocks mentioned. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from *************). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. AIM-listed wannabe holiday resort developer Minoan (MIN) has tested the patience of even the most saintly of saints for years and years. It has a plan to build a resort in northern Crete which has been going through Greek permitting and legal processes which make our own UK planning environment look as nimble as an Olympic gymnast. Of course, the misery has been about to come to an end for years, but perhaps now the green light really is imminent. Is it worth a punt? Almost everything is in place for Minoan to start the process of cashing in on the project, with the Presidential Decree in the bag. But a fly in the ointment soon emerged after that seemingly final and critical bit of paperwork was received last year – an appeal to the Greek Supreme Court. At the end of March it emerged in the Greek press that the appeal had been thrown out, but the company needs formal notice of this – and rather than a simple bit of paper signed by the judge arriving in the post, we are all waiting for a formal Gazette-style notice. It still hasn’t come. This may be no great surprise after the “fast-track” application process took rather more than the few months promised – and all the other delays. But chatting to the company on 1 April at UKI it became clear that this wait was fully expected, with notice anticipated to take anything up to two months from then. So maybe, just maybe, we are in for a pleasant surprise in the next fortnight. You can read the excellent analysis offered by the HotStockRockets team HERE which suggested a price target of at least 16p on confirmation that the appeal had been thrown out, and rating the shares a buy at up to 11p. With the shares currently trading on a spread of 9.75 – 10.5p a return of 16p plus on a two week view looks very attractive indeed. But that, of course, is only the reward part of the investor’s consideration: what about the risk? Will the confirmation actually come any time soon, or will we be left waiting for yet more weeks/months/years ahead? On past form it is hard to be sure – which is why the shares are not already 16p. But if the press reports back in March were true (and we have no reason to doubt it) then this is very much a case of a when and not an if. The issue is how long the “when” will take. How long is a piece of string?! My company chat at UKI did make one thing clear: this is the last legal challenge so the all-clear there is the last hurdle. I’m sure there will be o
Two Emergency share tips in one PUBLISHED: 09 May 2017 @ 14:00 This was unplanned but we present to you two new share tips. We suggest you buy the shares today as tomorrow may well be too late. Both can deliver 50% offer to bid gains within weeks if not sooner. The second share tip is Egdon Resources (LSE:EDR) at a 7.75p offer. The shares have been slammed by one institution, JP Morgan, dumping its 8.3% stake in a particularly cackhanded manner. The company is well cashed up and its portfolio of onshore UK operations should deliver a pretty exciting newsflow over the summer. The house broker (VSA again) reckons that the shares would hit 15p without any approvals for fracking but if that occurs 30p is on the cards. We would just point to the chart which shows that 7.7p is a long term support level which held. The shares have indeed started to bounce off that line and we would expect the rally to continue with the cackhanded selling cleared and ahead of newsflow. The trade is to buy at up to 8.5p with a target to sell of 12p+.
Hi Delboy,this must be one of the best known trades at the moment,we know the appeal rejection is in the bag,we know the official Docs take around 8 weeks from the appeal decision,we know the sp will spike on the RNS day,what we don't know is by how much but from arond the current sp i would expect at least 4p/5p so i personally will be hoping to sell around the 15p area on the day of the RNS.What happens after that is down to what the BODs have lined up.
TF you say "You maybe right-its a trade for you but if this goes the wrong way," if you mean by that the appeal going the wrong way i have it on very good information the appeal rejection is in the bag,you can believe me or not on that one,i also have good information on why it's taking a while,again you can believe me or not on that one also,i was told these things around 3 weeks or so ago and was also told at that time it would be around a month to get the Docs through so in my reckoning any time now,we will see.But your own logic should tell you the appeal wont go the wrong way because lets face it the Greek press have never failed us punters before by being wrong.So again i say i really don't give a monkeys were MIN take or what they do do with the project after the official docs arrive as i will have sold and wait to see what pans out i'm in it for the spike and that's all for now anyways.Bought i few more this morn(my last lot now)not even showing yet after 2hrs or so.
TF you don't get it do you,i really don't give a s*** what happens or doesn't happen in the future with MIN,all shares are just another vehicle to try and make money.Your judgement is clouded by your hate of MIN and as been for a few years.The point being that when they get official confirmation of the appeal dismissal (which could happen any day now)the sp will spike and anyone in will make a nice bit of money i would think at least 4p per share from were the sp is at the moment so on 50k of shares a nice £2k profit. Whether shares are loved or hated there is always a time to make money on them.Do you actually think i'm positive on MIN for the future,think again ;))
http://tinyurl.com/lrw5mb9 Right click on article and translate to English Could be from that article a few weeks back saying they were going to complete a acquisition after Easter.
http://www.insider.co.uk/news/five-scottish-shares-worth-taking-10353005 Minoan Group - 10.12p per share Christopher Egleton, chairman of Minoan Group A surprising choice considering the higher profile of the other picks on the list, but there is plenty of potential in the Glasgow travel company. After nearly a year sitting with share prices under 10p, the group saw a 68 per cent increase in their shares in March, after the announcement of the holding company's results and reports in the Greek media that suggest the company's "transformational" resort project in Crete has likely been given the go ahead. A luxury holiday resort of a 26 square kilometre site at Cavo Sidero on the island, the Crete project has been described at company chairman Christopher Egleton as one which could make the next twelve months "likely to be the most value enhancing in the Group's history". At just over 10p a share, we recommend you get on this quickly. This time next year, it could be worth a fair profit.
It will be updated either in CoE decisions or Announcements,now whether you'll manage to see it there before MIN get the official docs is another question :) but if you do it'll give you the edge to buy more before the herd.Just a thought ;))