Letters to the editor
The cyber threat
[Re: Technology alone can’t save businesses from the threat of cyber criminals, yesterday]
I want to thank Tom Burton for his excellent article. I wonder if the secrecy culture with which the anti-cyber crime industry surrounds itself, for fear of educating the criminal, is not actually hurting its cause. Having worked in audit and on financial systems for some time, it seems that it’s quite difficult for those building and maintaining the basic systems to gain an awareness of best practice. I’d be interested to know what the industry, possibly with help from the regulators, is doing to drive up professional standards and improve knowledge in this vital area.
Neil Langridge
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Web of benefits
[Re: Vested interests will fight to block necessary spending cuts, Wednesday]
A simplified benefits system is crucial. It’s crazy to spend huge amounts of money on administration in the Department for Work and Pensions, when this money could be saved if the benefits system was less complicated. 9m households receive some sort of benefit, and the circumstances of all these will need to be checked at least once a year. This likely totals at least 18m individual transactions a year, covering a multitude of benefits – each with its own qualifying criteria. No doubt this also leads to hundreds of thousands of queries and complaints, requiring an army of staff to deal with. And none of this is really necessary.
Roger Jeffreys
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BEST OF TWITTER
To Americans thinking of expressing a view on an EU referendum for the UK, I say “read your Declaration of Independence.”
@SteveBakerMP
We must reform the EU, but we can’t let the UK sleepwalk towards the exit door. This is where the Prime Minister risks taking us.
@ChukaUmunna
RBS, owned by the UK taxpayer, will pay fines for fixing Libor. Who pays what to whom?
@SteveCarter001
Sir Mervyn King said he wanted to make monetary policy boring and he’s succeeded. Longest period of unchanged bank rate since just after the Second World War.
@asentance