In The Press (RSS)

SC Magazine - The weakest link

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

In March's edition of SC Magazine Ken munro, Director of penetration and security testing company, NCC Group Secure Test, commented on how the best laid plans of security professionals can be thrown into chaos by the acts of individual users.

"If a business trades with a domestic end user that has their identity and credit card data stolen, it is often the business that gets the blame, evenif it was the home user's PC that was compromised."

"Complex security systems are essential in this day and age, but confusing security systems will cause more harm than good. Maybe its time to take a proactive role; perhaps we should be helping our friends and relatives to keep their PCs secured, rather than reacting to the aftermath of them misconfiguring their PC security?"

Year end profits up 18% and dividend up 16%

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Six year earnings CAGR 21.9% and dividend 33.9%

NCC Group plc (LSE: NCC, "NCC Group" or "the Group"), the international, independent provider of Escrow and Assurance, has reported its final results for the year to 31 May 2010.

Rob Cotton, Group Chief Executive, commented:

"We have delivered a strong performance, despite the backdrop of global recession and continuing considerable uncertainty which has persisted for most of the last financial year.

"Over the last six years since listing, we have consistently delivered a combination of strong organic growth and cash generation. We have also acquired and integrated a number of businesses, which have considerably widened our capabilities, both in the UK and internationally.

"Overall this has resulted in the Group's six year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.6% for operating profit and 21.9% for earnings. Dividends have grown from 2.5p to 10.75p, a 330% increase or a CAGR of 33.9%.

"We have a very sound business model that will continue to evolve and develop. With high revenue visibility and over �35m of orders and renewals forecast for the current financial year, we are confident that our prospects continue to be very bright."

Visit our corporate website for full details of our Final results for the year to 31 May 2010.

John Gittins appointed Finance Director

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

NCC Group plc has appointed John Gittins as Finance Director and he will take up his appointment on 20 September 2010.

John joins from Begbies Traynor Group plc, the specialist professional services organisation, where he was Chief Financial Officer for over three years. Before Begbies Traynor, he was Finance Director at Vertex Data Science, the UK`s second largest business process outsourcer, for seven years. From 1993 to 1999, he was Group Finance Director of Spring Group plc, the UK IT recruitment and training company.

For more information please visit our corporate Investor Relations pages.

Acquisition of leading card services, auditing and compliance business for �3.0m

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

NCC Group plc (LSE: NCC, "NCC Group" or "the Group"), the international, independent provider of Escrow and Assurance Testing, has acquired Meridian Services International Limited (Meridian), a card services auditing and assurance company, for a maximum consideration of up to �3.0m in cash.

Meridian specialises in conducting payment scheme logical and physical security audits, as well as offering global strategic advisory services for card manufacturing, data preparation and card personalisation. Meridian is certified by MasterCard and VISA to carry out their logical and security audit programme on a global basis and it also provides clients with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) compliance services.

The earnings enhancing acquisition of Meridian complements the Group's existing capabilities and strengthens the current compliance offering within the Assurance Division.

The initial consideration payable on completion is �1.1m in cash, with two further payments of up to �1.9m against performance related targets over the next 26 months. The acquisition will be financed from NCC Group's existing debt facilities and internally generated cashflow.

NCC Group expects that the business should contribute over �0.6m of profit before tax on revenues in excess of �1.8m in the year ended 31 May 2012, the conclusion of the earn out period, before any investment. As at 31 May 2009, Meridian had gross assets of �381,502.

Meridian was established in 2001 and is based in Warrington, Cheshire, employing a team of 13 including management who are staying with the business. Its customers include a number of leading companies that manufacture and personalise credit cards on behalf of MasterCard and VISA worldwide.

The Company will be managed autonomously within the Group's Assurance Testing Division and will trade as Meridian Services International, a NCC Group company.

NCC Group expects to publish its IMS on 15 April 2010 and its Annual Results on 5 July 2010.

Rob Cotton, NCC Group Chief Executive, said:

"We are delighted that Meridian, the most well established and respected card Audit Company working within the global card services market today has become part of the Group.

"This acquisition is an important step as Meridian's broad range of services, extensive expertise and credentials complement and strengthen the existing offerings for Information Security, Auditing and Compliance, an area where we have seen significant growth and where we have a strategy to become a market leader."

Computer Weekly - Social media is ruining spy industry

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Rob Cotton, CEO of NCC Group, discussed with Computer Weekly how UK intelligence agencies are concerned that Facebook and other social networking tools are ruining the spy industry.

"Having a Facebook profile, you are opening up a Pandora's box of online traceability that you can't ever truly close, which extends to close associates too. There are security implications for anyone who puts personal details online, and we have long advised people to err on the side of caution should they chose to have a Facebook profile or similar.

The problem for national security staff is that once these details are out there, it is very difficult to erase them, and the wrong details in the wrong hands could actually lead to a life or death situation. For those in high-risk roles where information is like currency, something as innocuous as updating your profile could jeopardise a mission."

Interim Management Statement

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

NCC Group plc (LSE: NCC or "the Group"), the international, independent provider of Escrow and Assurance Testing, is today publishing its Interim Management Statement, covering the period from 1 December 2009 to 14 April 2010.

NCC Group's trading performance remains in line with the Board's expectations and on course to deliver the anticipated levels of growth and profitability. Whilst the economy has not materially picked up, both of the Group's divisions are trading well ahead of last year.

Visit the NCC Group site to access the full Interim Management Statement today.

Crains Manchester Business - NCC Group wins tender

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

John Redeyoff, Commercial Director at NCC Group, has spoken to Crains Manchester Business about the company's success in securing a place on a government framework agreement covering the provision of ICT consultancy services to the public sector.

The company was one of five suppliers selected to deliver security consultancy & delivery services as part of the government's Buying Solutions ICT Consultancy & Delivery Services framework agreement. The win allows NCC Group to offer IT security and consultancy services to public sector bodies such as the NHS, local authorities and emergency services organisations.

Redeyoff said: "This is a fantastic win for the group which will help strengthen our position as a trusted advisor to the public sector.

Public sector contracts are always well-contested, particularly during a downturn. We're delighted to have been selected and look forward to working with a range of public sector bodies on some exciting projects."

SC Magazine - Shaken and stirred

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

In January's edition of SC Magazine Ken Munro, Director of penetration and security testing company, NCC Group SecureTest discussed how the social networking world makes it harder for the intelligence services to recruit a spy without a profile.

"The UK's intelligence agencies are worried. From schoolchildren on Bebo, through Facebook-obsessed young professionals, to well-networked CEOs on LinkedIn, having an online presence is a must in this day and age. But with the explosion of social networking sites, it has become virtually impossible to find recruits who don't have some sort of online trail."

Munro concluded: "You could consider becoming ex-directory, have yourself removed from the edited Electoral Roll, delete any social networking profiles. And Google yourself, to see where you pop up. Sadly, though you'll struggle to remove yourself from the register of births, deaths and marriages."

Acquisition of leading testing services business for �15.0m

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

NCC Group plc has acquired SDLC Solutions Limited (SDLC), a testing services provider for a maximum consideration of �15.0m in cash.

Based in Wilmslow, Cheshire, SDLC employs over 70 full time staff, most of whom are testers and over 60 associates. It will be managed autonomously within the Group's Assurance division by SDLC's existing management team and will trade as SDLC Solutions, a NCC Group company.

Over the last five years NCC Group has secured a leading position in security research, testing, advice and forensics as well as web site performance and load testing through a combination of organic and acquisitive growth. The earnings enhancing acquisition of SDLC complements the Group's existing information security and testing capabilities within its Assurance Division.

The acquisition of SDLC widens the Group's assurance capabilities by providing a complementary range of software testing services, including business analysis, project management, test resourcing, network and application performance analysis, functional and non-functional testing, test automation, software testing and tools training.

SDLC will benefit significantly from access and exposure to NCC Group's client base and the opportunities to grow its business as part of a much larger and well established listed group.

This acquisition also complements the Group's recent purchase of Meridian Services, a card services auditing and assurance company, that specialises in conducting payment scheme logical and physical security audits, as well as offering global strategic advisory services for card manufacturing, data preparation and card personalisation.

Rob Cotton, NCC Group Chief Executive, said:

"SDLC is one of the UK's most respected testing services companies. Its addition to the Group will enable us to provide a total assurance service by including functional testing. We are now able to offer our clients the ability to mitigate risk throughout every stage of their IT infrastructure, software and information security decision making.

"Introducing our information security services and clients to SDLC's extensive expertise will further strengthen our position, whilst we will be able to provide a wider range of services to SDLC's client base. We are confident that the management team will continue to maintain their excellent track record of revenue and profit growth, supported by our resources and the Group's wider client base."

For more details of this and other aquisitions, please visit the Investor Relations area on the NCC Group website.

SC Magazine - Shreds and patches

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

In May's edition of SC Magazine Ken Munro, Director of penetration and security testing company, NCC Group Secure Test discussed how once a fairly straight forward exercise, patching in the mobile era has become fraught with complexity.

"So you've bitten the bullet, identified your business-critical systems,
implemented a staging environment and tested all the patches before deploying on live systems using something like WSUS. No blue screens, everything works, nice and secure - and that should be
the end of the story. But what exacdy did you patch? The operating system alone may not be enough anymore.

We all know how to patch and we all know how important it is to do patching on a regular basis. We now need to ensure we have considered everything everything that should be patched, consider the risk of each - and prioritise. My advice would be to design your network along the "defence in depth" principle - that way, if the systems you don't patch are compromised, it's not the end of the world."

Who's to blame for 'Hotmail-gate'?

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Hackers access 20,000 names and passwords in Hotmail phishing scam.

"The news that hackers have access to almost 20,000 more names and passwords than previously thought, in today's 'Hotmail-gate' scandal, should not really come as a shock to anyone.

What is shocking, however, is the fact that despite a constant stream of warnings from almost every imaginable source, people are still leaving themselves open to such simple attacks. How many times do people need to be told not to click on suspicious links or open emails from unknown senders?

As long as it remains so easy to compromise our accounts, the miscreants will keep on doing it. It's an individual's responsibility to maintain personal security on the internet - you wouldn't go to an area known for pickpockets without securing your wallet or handbag, so why would you leave yourself open online? It is exactly the same but we don't seem to be getting the message.

This is obviously a massive problem but as far as I can see, we have no one to blame but ourselves. The warnings are out there, start taking notice. Users need to start taking responsibility for their own security."

Rob Cotton, CEO, NCC Group