Communications cybersecurity to be top of agenda at CCV

Ensuring the cybersecurity of mission-critical communications and industrial systems will be top of the agenda during the Comms Connect Virtual Conference Series in November.

Spearheading the online discussion on Thursday, 5 November will be leading local and international speakers, including:

• Dr Ian Oppermann, Chief Data Scientist with the NSW Department of Customer Service and Industry Professor at University of Technology Sydney
• Bill Fisher, Security Engineer with the US National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE), part of the US National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST)
• John Beltz, Cybersecurity Lead with the Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) Division of NIST
• Peter Jackson, Director of Cyber Security, ECL Cyber
   

Dr Oppermann, who has 27 years’ experience in the IT and radio communications fields, will address society’s increasing dependence on ever more complex systems and the growing complexity of keeping data safe.

Dr Oppermann will tackle of the question of whether the mission-critical communications sector is lagging behind other tech sectors in preparing for and dealing with cybersecurity challenges.

Fisher and Beltz, both of whom are senior researchers with the world-leading technology and cybersecurity agency NIST, will outline how federated identity systems are the key to secure information sharing. Federated identity solutions enable user accounts from multiple organisations to access services from multiple service providers.

In particular, emergency services agencies face the problem of interoperability and information sharing between agencies and among first responders on the scene of a disaster, especially when disparate communication systems are in use.

Fisher and Beltz will highlight the research that PSCR and the NCCoE are conducting to support identity federation efforts in the US.

Industrial environments are increasingly considered to be part of a nation’s critical national infrastructure, a point made clear by the disruption caused during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Jackson’s presentation will outline the work he and his colleagues have been doing to improve cybersecurity for industrial organisations, with a focus on operational technology (OT) security rather than IT security.

Jackson will outline best-practice OT security and give real-world examples of the good, the bad and the ugly, along with some insights into the New Zealand ICS Cyber Technical Network.

Full session details and registration information are available at https://www.comms-connect.com.au/event/comms-connect-virtual-conference.

The Comms Connect Virtual Conference Series will comprise two-hour sessions, held each Thursday in November between 10 am and midday (AEDT), with a different theme each week:

• 5 November: Cybersecurity and critical communications — is the sector lagging behind?
• 12 November: Private LTE — ensuring coverage, capacity and control for the future
• 19 November: Location-based services — practical integration tips
• 26 November: Next-generation land mobile radio systems
   

Registration is only $75 per session, or you can book four sessions for the price of three.

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