Dublin Conference Set to Teach Businesses about Cybersecurity

The second annual cybersecurity conference, Dublin Information Sec 2017, has officially been announced this month.

The event is set to take place on 1^st November in the RDS concert hall, a unique venue located just outside the heart of this tech hub. The conference is chaired by the Technology Editor, Adrian Weckler, of the Independent News and Media PLC (INM), a market-leading Irish media agency.

This conference will gather some of the best industry specialists the world has to offer to update Irish companies on the current concerns within data security, IoT attacks and ransomware. Also, they will touch on the human influences in data breaches in light of the imminent review of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)- a working framework that looks to set requirements for those that work within cybersecurity jobs.

The conference works as a means to inform business owners of the vital issues that could threaten their company as they operate online; a growing concern for many organisations in the information age.

So, what is cybersecurity and why is it so important?

Cybersecurity is an over-arching term that refers to the methods, technologies and measures designed to protect networks, systems and data from cyber-crime. Cybersecurity (sometimes referred to as IT security) protects the data of an organisation or individual from a cyber-attack that intends to extract this information for exploitation.

Cybersecurity has become a multi-billion-euro industry, and as such, criminals are appealed to find weaknesses within networks, systems or individuals to obtain data that allows them to gain financially. To stay ahead of the game, hackers are constantly adapting their cyber-attacks to ensure they are not easily stopped.

Cybersecurity has received plenty of press recently, with the WannaCry ransomware incident in May 2017. The attack affected around 200,000 computers across the world; as a result, many businesses made changes to their IT security to avoid such threats. Despite companies making adaptions to their security, DataSolutions, a company that specialises in IT security conducted a study into the after-effects of the attack and found that 30% of companies they talked to felt their company had inadequate cyber protection from potential threats. These results are concerning as cybersecurity becomes one of the monumental risks of online businesses. The survey also highlighted that ransomware is still a huge problem for Irish businesses, with 19% of the respondents highlighting this as an issue they have faced in the past 12 months. (If you like to read more about this survey, you can read our blog post here).

The future of cybersecurity is yet to be determined, but many have highlighted its importance within business structures for the foreseeable future and a need to build up suitable protection against impending threats. However, in good news, a recent study has highlighted that 37% of young adults (millennials) are now considering careers in cybersecurity in comparison to the year before, perhaps as a direct result of the recent global cyber-attacks. Businesses can expect in the future to have more choice and resources from specialists to build up their current cybersecurity measures.

For now, businesses and IT professionals will be best prepared by reading up on the recent news in cybersecurity, as well as hiring those with specialist and/or relevant skills that apply for advertised jobs. Additionally, gaining insights from important talks from some of the industry’s best professionals is vital in ensuring you and/or your company are staying at the forefront of cybersecurity

In addition to insights into cybersecurity, attendees to the Dublin Information Sec 2017 conference can also expect to hear talks on topics such as cloud technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Speakers include Bradley C Birkenfeld, author of ‘Lucifer’s Banker: The Untold Story of How I Destroyed Swiss Bank Secrecy’; in addition to cyber security strategist Joseph Carson and Dr Jessica Barker of Cyber.uk. A full line-up of speakers can be found on the Independent.ie website.

The conference will run from 8 am to 5 pm, and tickets are now available for those interested in attending. Ticket prices range from €350 to €500 and can be purchased by following steps on the Independent.ie website.