Multiple events today to highlight importance of cyber security

Tuesday, 25 June 2013 09:39 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A first-of-its-kind three back-to-back events will be held today to flag off the importance of cyber security at national, corporate and individual levels under a multi-stakeholder initiative spearheaded by the Daily FT. The flagship event will be the full day summit titled ‘EC-Council Cyber Security Summit’ from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo whilst prior to that a Leadership Forum involving top CEOs and Chairmen will be held over breakfast at the same venue from 7 a.m. onwards. The thrust of creating awareness on cyber security will reach a climax in the evening from 6:30 p.m. onwards with an event titled ‘Night Hack,’ an informative session with live demonstrations on cyber-related vulnerabilities.

The summit with over 200 participants is scheduled to be headlined by Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development Gotabaya Rajapaksa as Chief Guest and Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal as Guest of Honour. A good mix of international and local experts will deal with different subjects focusing on the threat of breaches on cyber security to organisations, both public and private as well as personal devices. Held under the aegis of the US-based EC-Council, the world’s largest vendor-neutral cyber security education provider, the events are co-organised by the Daily FT and CICRA Consultancies, a premier cyber security education provider in Sri Lanka. EC Council President Jay Bavisi will deliver the keynote address whilst the inaugural session will focus on national preparedness against cyber attacks. It includes a panel discussion with speakers Cabraal, Bavisi and Dialog Axiata Group CEO and Director Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya as panellists. Other experts who will make presentation are Cisco India and SAARC Head of Security Business Diwakar Dayal speaking on ‘Cloud and virtualisation: Cutting costs vs. cyber threats’; LIRNEasia Founding Chair Prof. Rohan Samarajiva on ‘Trust in electronically mediated environments: Why we need cyber security,’ Business Software Alliance Consultant, Sri Lanka Committee Shalini Ratwatte on ‘Piracy: The unexpected cause of cyber security risks’ and CICRA Consultancies Ltd. Head of Consultants and Master Trainer Krishnan Rajagopal on ‘Securing the Code: Penetration testing beyond compliance’. The Central Bank’s Deputy Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe will focus on the banking sector and dealing with cyber security and initiatives. Breaches in cyber security have increased and more recently, Sri Lanka had been identified as world’s eighth most vulnerable for attacks as the use of computers, internet, intranets, emails, social media, and mobile devices and overall technology grows rapidly. The threat of cyber security is no longer the area of concern for IT departments only but affects all functions in an organisation, all sectors across the economy and individuals alike. In that context the three back-to-back events today will provide participants insights into best practices in acquiring, implementing, managing and measuring information security postures of their organisations and countermeasures. They will also highlight the latest flaws in information security that affects the global community including private sector corporations and governments. Discussions and presentations will revolve around some of the most malicious attacks and potential cyber threats. The EC-Council is the owner and developer of the world famous Certified Ethical Hacker course (C|EH), Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator program (C|HFI), License Penetration Tester (L|PT) program and various other programs offered worldwide. These certifications are recognised globally and have received endorsements from various governments including the US Federal Government via the Montgomery GI Bill. The Pentagon in US has also selected the EC Council as their training partner for Cyber Security. Considering the importance of enhancing awareness and available remedial actions at public and private sector level via the national summit, the event has drawn widespread support. ICTA has endorsed the event as strategic partner whilst international industry organisation Business Software Alliance is lending its support as advocacy partner. Cisco is the Principal Sponsor, Dialog Axiata is the Platinum Sponsor and HSBC is the Official Bank. The venue of all three events, Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo, is the Hospitality Partner and Union Assurance is the Official Insurer. Creative Partner is Triad Digital and Electronic Media Partners are TV Derana, FM Derana and www.adaderana.lk.