AusCERT2008 to push security and privacy

In its sixth consecutive year the AusCERT Asia Pacific Information Security Conference, which is held annually in the Gold Coast, will continue in its merits of combining the country’s leading IT security professionals with global and local security experts.

However, this year, there will be an over-riding focus on privacy and security and the relationship between the two, according to conference general manager Graham Ingram.

“The important thing to realise is that there is a relationship between security and privacy,” Ingram said. “It’s all good and well to say people should have the right to Net privacy but I think increasingly [that’s] being questioned.”

“[Instead], the Internet is almost the reverse of privacy with information widely available and over time security people are the ones being called upon to try and build in those privacy issues.”

Furthermore, Ingram said the relationship between security and privacy has a considerable impact on e-business and e-government and it’s less than well understood.

“That’s why we’ve been trying to get some people who are perhaps thought leaders and certainly thinkers in this area. Plus all those people on the coalface who are trying to get that level of understanding increased,” he said.

One such thought leader, Scott Charney who is corporate vice president at Trustworthy Computing, Microsoft, will discuss end-to-end trust and the need to comprehensively approach security and privacy.

“I’m glad we’ve got Scott,” Ingram said. “He’s very difficult to get hold of and he’s one of Microsoft’s leaders in the whole idea of secure computing and protecting privacy plus the confidence in the Internet and that environment."

Ingram also pointed to Alexander Seger from the Council of Europe.

"He is [part of] an international community that is actively working to help protect cross-border users in things like cybercrime," he said.

In a year where Federal Privacy Laws are set to evolve, delegates will have the opportunity to hear from Prof David Weisbrot from the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC).

Weisbrot will bring together the linkage between security and privacy and provide the ALRC’s view of privacy law review.

Ingram added: “One of the things I think people appreciate about the AusCERT conference is that we do try to push the envelope. Internet security is a huge topic; there are certain aspects that we like to focus and emphasise to our delegates."

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