Building Utopia | Weekly Newsletter | Fri, 4 Nov 2022

Hello friends,

On October 30th the Mail on Sunday reported that our ex-Prime Minister, Ms Truss’s personal phone had been compromised; it said that unknown malicious actors stole up to a year’s worth of messages, including discussions about weapons for Ukraine and gossip about Boris. This significant issue has undoubtedly raised many questions about security protocols at No 10.

The truth is, a similar attack on her government-issued phone would have been more difficult - perhaps even close to impossible. But those government phones are, apparently, cumbersome to use. They come with long passwords that must be entered every time the phone is handed, ministers can only install apps with the permission of the IT department, and even their chat app also has a tedious two-factor authentication enabled for each use.

There are two key lessons that I take from this.

1. You probably already know where your security hole is. In the case of No. 10 - The IT Department must have known that ministers have two phones and prefer using their personal phones. Your data is only as secure as your weakest link.

2. For security to be adequate, it must be easy to use - otherwise, users will find a way to circumnavigate the security and create a weakness. In this case, by sending data to their personal phones.

Securing our technology is increasingly important and something we take very seriously at Utopia. Thankfully partners like Kingston help us do that quickly and painlessly.

Please get in touch if you'd ever like advice on how Utopia can help keep you more secure.

Cheers,

Craig - MD @ Utopia

🤖 Tech Highlight of the Week

CRN A-List - A bit of a personal one, but this week I got included in the CRN A-List of the top 125 Tech Execs in the UK! I was very humbled as many of the people on the list are those I look up to for inspiration. With that, I want to thank you, as without your support, I would not be in the lucky position I am in today! Want to read more, I’ve dropped a link to the list below: https://link.edgepilot.com/s/b34c94ec/61z-CT2gjEeCAJPZL8u18g?u=https://www.channelweb.co.uk/news/4059356/welcome-crn-list-2023

❤️ On My Headphones This Week

Case63 - Spotify - Not one to listen to a lot of fiction; this caught my eye when Spotify recommended it - TBH I didn’t even know Spotify had fiction podcasts! Regardless, a great little story that is well-produced and provides some nice downtime.

Testing Burning NVIDIA 12VHPWR Adapter Cable Theories (RTX 4090) - Gamer Nexus - Some online users report issues with the new RTX 4090 power cables. This is an issue Utopia is keeping a close eye on. Gamer Nexus goes in depth with some serious testing to conclude with some very reassuring results.

📖 From My Bookshelf This Week

Turn the Ship Around - L. David Marquet - The author, an experienced naval officer, shares how, by challenging the Navy’s traditional leadership approach, he propelled his ship, within one year, from worst to best in the fleet. How? He rejected leader-follower as their model and challenged his team to question authority and take ownership of their actions. I revisited this book, having first read it a few years ago. At Utopia we empower each team member to, “do the right thing.” This book was very helpful in the implementation of this value.

💬 Quote of the week

L. David Marquet - “I imagine a world where we all find satisfaction in our work. It is a world where every human being is intellectually engaged, motivated and self-inspired.”

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