Webinar on ‘Cyber Security and Digital 19’ today

Ajith Nivard Cabraal

Indrajit Fernando

Alok Tiwari

• The parley with Daily FT, Strategic Insurance and Mega Trading seeks opportunities out of pandemic

Abhyudaya Das

Ramal Jasinghe

 The Forward Conference hosted by SIB and Uniba Partners on ‘Cyber Protection from the Digital 19 Outbreak in the New Normal World’, is a timely and pertinent but unique first time feature this year.

‘Digital 19 Outbreak,’ and ‘Cyber Protection in the New Normal’ are the two presentations at the plenary sessions of the Forward Conference, signifying the (Chartered Accountant’s) Institute’s drive and dedication towards having the country see the ways out of the COVID-19 pandemic induced economic crisis. 

The Forward Conference will be held on 2 December, under the patronage of State Minister of Money and Capital Market and State Enterprise Reforms Ajith Nivard Cabraal who will deliver a keynote message. The Strategic Partner SIB with a strength of a century empowered by UNIBA Partners is sponsoring the event. 

The input of Cabraal who himself has been a pioneer Corporate Governance Advocate, — with the Cabraal recommendations along with codes such Cadbury being formulated while he was a Past President of CA Sri Lanka — is immeasurable. He is now one of the chief architects of the plans for economic resurgence, and his participation is seen as a key pointer towards the orientation of this event, which is held in extraordinary times of economically induced stress.

“Businesses must realise that the pandemic-driven ‘new-normal’ will demand a quick transformation to new processes and methods if they are to remain relevant,” said Minister Cabraal, making a broad brush statement about the Forward Conference, and predicting the way its agenda is set to intersect with the economic imperatives of the day. “Issues such as how and why Sri Lanka’s corporates and banks are better prepared for operational resilience, should be deliberated and proper responses provided to the stakeholders,” he added.

“Cyber protection is the only guarantor of economic sustainability in our wired age, and the relevance of the topic will harness the power of this brainstorming meet-up,” said Strategic Insurance Brokers Director Indrajith Fernando.

“Risk management without resilience is no longer sufficient — organisations need to be ready with a Plan B to deal with high-intensity long-duration risk events. Resilience is becoming a critical attribute for withstanding severe risk events and bouncing back. Plan A alone no longer works,” said the presenter on Digital 19, Alok Tiwari, CEO of Aptivaa Global Inc.

The speaker at the webinar on Cyber Protection Abhyudaya Das, Chief Marketing Officer Strategic Insurance Brokers Ltd., underscored: “Cyber insurance can provide three important Instant Benefits namely Cyber Health Check, Financial Assistance in the face of attack, incident reporting anytime and free incident response within first 72 hours. Cyberattacks whether genuine or threats, aborted or not, need an instant response team to mitigate and arrest the arising substantial losses.” 

“The new normal ushers in an era of much activity in cyberspace, consequently making system protection the main asset of an enterprise irrespective of scale or size. We are all vulnerable to cyberattacks and data piracy in these unusual times. In this backdrop cyber insurance is probably most valuable protection taking pride of place well over conventional property insurance which has for centuries protected our assets. Let’s gear up to the new normal where new trends and emerging assets will need a new set of insurance solutions,” said SIB Chairman Ramal Jasinghe.

The Cyber Security Sessions will also be optimally webcast this year with a limited invitations strictly on a first registered basis to enhance the conviviality of the event. As the conference gets underway at a time social distancing and other such factors that prevent more direct interactions are still in force, it gives participants and others a starker picture of the general atmosphere of economic crisis in which the sessions are being held, the organisers said.

SIB collaborates with Uniba Partners, the client-centered global brokering network.

Strategic Insurance Brokers Ltd. (SIB) is a global leader in insurance and reinsurance broking and risk management, based in Sri Lanka. The company helps clients from Sri Lanka and especially those having international operations all over the world to quantify and manage risks to unlock new opportunities for growth.

With operations spanning over several decades, SIB which was founded by a leading conglomerate with over a century of success, has diverse experience operating as an IRCSL registered Composite insurance and reinsurance broker in Sri Lanka. The company manages insurance and reinsurance affairs of insurance companies, individuals, financial institutions and other corporate entities in Sri Lanka.

The Daily FT is Sri Lanka’s first and only national daily business paper. With its value proposition ‘Be Empowered,’ the Daily FT caters to the new economy of post-war Sri Lanka, with a sectoral focus as well as coverage of local and global politics, business, social issues, sports and lifestyle aspects. Mega Trading Ltd. markets quality high value wine from around the world. Daily FT is the sole print media sponsor and Maga Trading is the sponsor of the fete i.e. ‘good spirits’.