He added there was no need to ‘kowtow to the Americans every time they wanted something done’, especially when this involved checks the US did not impose on its own domestic routes.

Most travellers would agree with what Broughton has said, is it really necessary to remove shoes and belts when going through airport security for instance?

In some cases we are now spending more time in airports ahead of our flights than the actual journey time to our destination.

However, in reaction to the BA Chairman’s comments, Stephen Phipson, President of Smiths Detection, one of the world’s leading providers of aviation security systems, makes the following points:

Smiths Detection works closely with regulators and airport operators to provide a multi-layered approach to combat ever-changing terrorist threats.

To keep the skies safe, airports must be able to detect a wide range of illegal and dangerous materials – our advanced systems help achieve exactly that.

Almost every major airport in the world uses Smiths Detection systems to screen passengers, hold baggage and cargo.

There is no one single solution to aviation security and we strongly agree that there should be common international standards.

These standards should help ensure consistency of security measures, airport efficiency and customer experience.

Examples of recent technology advances:

Our x-ray scanners have been given approval by the EU to check liquids in order to facilitate the lifting of the liquid ban across Europe.

Our eqo body screener is deployed in several airports, the only technology to give a real-time image to help detect threats on a passenger’s body.

As outlined in Deloitte’s paper “2010 FIFA World Cup. A Turning Point for South Africa,” South Africa is reaping the rewards of hosting the Cup, including infrastructure improvements, an economic boost, and an increase of national pride.

“South Africa has been likened to a mix of the developed and developing world,” said Lwazi Bam, Public Sector Industry Leader, Deloitte Southern Africa. “On the one hand, a strong technological and economic base put it on a par with the well-developed nations of the world. On the other, infrastructure shortfalls have contributed to keeping it from realizing its full economic potential. This major global event is a catalyst for much-needed infrastructure improvements.”

The need to move tens of thousands of fans, teams, and accompanying supportpersonnel rapidly from one place to another prioritized the strengthening of South Africa’s transportation system.  The country completed much of the
first section of its new high speed Gautrain passenger railway and added bus lines.  Highways were upgraded and the city of Durban was able to finish the country’s first new green field airport in five decades.  These infrastructure projects have increased employment opportunities and provided workers long-term skills and training.

One of the challenges in building the infrastructure for the event was generating power without an unduly adverse environmental impact. New stadium facilities include such environmentally-friendly features as natural ventilation and rain water capture systems.

In addition, host cities have undertaken large-scale tree-planting projects in an effort to soak up excess carbon dioxide.  As a coal-dependent economy, South African faces challenges; however, these steps move the country toward greener energy sources.

To ensure security, the minister of police has consulted with officials from more than 30 different countries whose nationals are in the country, resulting in an unprecedented level of international cooperation.

Seeking to balance a welcoming atmosphere with rigorous security standards, 40,000 police officers, 25 percent of the country’s total force, have been assigned to the Cup.  All of these activities have required a renewed spirit of cooperation between national and local agencies and departments.

Greg Pellegrino, Global Public Sector Industry Leader, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, said;

“South Africa has already realized many of the benefits hoped for by any national host of a major international sporting event. The event has provided a boost to national infrastructure improvements, increased employment during the global financial crisis, and provided a unifying rallying point for a still-developing nation. Moving the FIFA World Cup from a developed economy such as Germany, to an emerging economy such as South Africa, and to a continent that has never hosted the Cup, creates an important precedent for future hosts such as Brazil in 2014,”

Warning that victims of cyber crime during the World Cup don’t have to to be in South Africa to be conned, Symantec say that criminals will be using the furore of the tournament to suck in victims globally.

Grant Brown of Symantec says;

“We saw a 60% increase in activities like phishing, web-based attacks and other cyber crime during the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the Fifa World Cup is a considerably larger event. There will be at least one billion soccer fans actively following the event, which presents an opportunity for cyber-criminals.”

Brown says that criminlas tend to use topically related e mails to lure some of their victims, noting the recent disasters in Haiti and Chile as a case in point.

“Scam and phishing messages in February accounted for 19% of all spam. Spammers continued to use the earthquake in Haiti, and the recent earthquake in Chile, as another vector to utilise. They also used other current high-profile events, such as recent auto recalls, to deliver spam messages.” said Brown.

Symantec has launched a special website for the World Cup, where it will keep internet users up to date with related attacks.

Meanwhile they remind internet users to avoid clicking on suspicious links in email or instant messages.

Never fill out forms in messages that ask for personal or financial information or passwords, a reputable charitable organisation is unlikely to ask for your personal details via email.

When in doubt, contact the organisation in question through an independent, trusted mechanism, such as a verified telephone number, or a known internet address that you type into a new browser window. Do not click or cut and paste from a link in the message.

Figures indicate insider dealing is rampant in the UK with between a quarter and a third of takeovers being subject to so-called “informed price movements”.

Notwithstanding media speculation – fuelling investor speculation and of course semi-psychic analysts – it is clear that there is a hardcore tradition of insider dealing that as yet, has not been deterred by current regulation and penalties.

The US approach to ‘cuffing and stuffing’ may well be the way forward for the UK and would be a departure from the FSA’s use of civil prosecution into laying criminal charges.

50% of firms responding to the BCC survey had suffered crime last year ranging from burglary, damage to vehicles and other vandalism such as graffiti.

Strangely, Home Office statistics neglect to report crime against business within the British Crime Survey and Police have no definition with which to report business crime.

The net result is that nationally crime appears to be falling – when for businesses the reality is wildly different.

With the support of its members and the Conservative Party, the BCC is campaigning further for both the reporting and combating of such crime, especially in areas where leniency in punishment, on shoplifters for example, is seen as having little deterrent effect.

But what is bad for the public is equally bad for business. As well as the bad PR there are also the possibility of fines for data losses [and more bad PR], cost of resolving cases and brand damage in terms of a customer’s relations with a previously trusted supplier.

The FSA fined Nationwide Building Society nearly £1m for lax data security standards but the knock-on effect on brand and lost business is incalculable and hard to make good.

When done well, data security is something customers won’t notice; when done badly, all hell breaks lose.

The key to success in this area is to understand that data is rarely lost and falls into the wrong hands; it is just stolen – as simple as that.

Having processes and procedures in place is not enough, these must be regularly audited to ensure DPA compliance as well as robustness and currency.