Where have all the dolly birds gone?

Infosec blog Infosec's second day witnessed the departure of most of the promotion girls that made the show more colourful than it otherwise might have been. This is a shame because many people only come to the show for one day and spend that lugging their luggage around from stand to stall.

That's not to say Olympia is without its publicity stunts. Arbor Networks put out a release at the show announcing the debut of two pilot episodes of a planned 12 part dramatic podcast series called Secure the Core.

This "first-ever" technology-focused drama podcast series, will take listeners on a journey into the world of a company under attack by a hacker in order to bring to life the impact of network security threats on businesses. As first sight this sounds like a plot for an episode of the IT Crowd, the UK technology sitcom, albeit one with a bit more depth than usual and fewer shoes.

Arbor said the show will offer a combination of entertainment, expert commentary, and practical information, so it's likely to be a lot more accurate than Hollywood's attempts to portray hackers in films, we hope. New three to four minute episodes will be released every Tuesday. The basic plot involves a fictional credit card company that receives an email demanding $5m in return for regaining control of its network. Dismissed by the company as a hoax, the network begins to fall apart piece by piece.

Secure the Core is part of Arbor's multimedia marketing campaign. The podcast follows the recently-launched interactive security game, official Arbor blog, and the company repositioning around the new tagline "Security to the Core. Performance to the Edge".

Someone who knows about hackers only too well is Microsoft's chief security advisor in the UK, Ed Gibson. "ED the Fed" as he's still known, joined Microsoft after retiring from the FBI, where he has held senior positions as a special agent for 20 years. From 2000 until 2005, Gibson served as the FBI’s assistant legal attaché in the UK. Gibson is enthusiastic about his new role, which involves user education and liaising between customers and Microsoft developers. "Microsoft has a buzz. I can make a positive difference without bureaucracy," Gibson told El Reg. "After nine months at Microsoft I'm about to give birth."

Although Microsoft's work on initiatives such as Get Safe Online will continue with the NHTCU's (National High Tech Crime Unit) successors, the Serious and Organised Crime Agency, Gibson didn't have much information to share on his impressions of the new agency just yet. Those diplomatic skills he gained at the US embassy have obviously not deserted him. ®