Cyber and Data Issues and Governance [Online]

18 March 2021

11:00–12:30

Online

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Please email governance@ipa.ie for further assistance

In February last year, we devoted a full Forum event to the area of Cyber, Data and Information Governance. This reflected the growing importance of these areas for senior executives, board and committee members. Just over 12 months on and their importance is arguably even greater, in the context of Covid-19, including the large scale move to remote working in a short space of time, genuine questions being asked about the future of workplaces, and the ever growing threats, developments and opportunities in this space.

We therefore again devote a full event to cyber and data governance matters, with a view to informing members of developments in terms of regulation of the cyber and data spheres, cyber and data governance threats and opportunities, information security considerations and the kind of issues and questions which should be to the fore in senior team and board/committee discussions, including the nature and extent of assurances which should be sought and forthcoming.

With the help of three highly experienced policy makers and practitioners, the event will consider issues such as:

Regulation and standards in the cyber and data governance areas;
Current and recent threats in the cyber and data areas, incl. in the context of Covid-19;
The typical work of a Head of IT/Information Systems in safeguarding the organisation and providing assurances;
Ethics, fraud and 'reasonable' assurances;
How equipped senior executives, board and committee members should be to probe assurances.

Two of our guest speakers are Jacky Fox and Peter Brown (bios below) and a third practitioner speaker will be confirmed shortly.

Speakers

Jacky Fox

Jacky leads Accenture’s security business in Ireland and has 20+ years’ experience in technology and cyber security consulting. She holds an MSc in Digital investigations and Forensic computing, a GCFA and a GICSP. She has worked across multiple industry sectors and specialises in helping organisations to understand and treat their cyber risk.

Jacky is also Vice-Chair on the Board of CyberIreland and is an adjunct lecturer for UCD on their MSc in forensics and security. In 2018, she was awarded ‘Security Champion of the Year’ in Ireland for her contribution to the Irish security industry and her mentorship and encouragement of women in security.

Peter Brown

Peter was appointed in late 2019 to the European Parliament Liaison Office in Washington DC as Senior Adviser on Technology and Space Policy. He returned to his career as a civil servant after a decade in the private sector, seven years of which were spent in the USA.

Peter's professional career since 1984 has been working in the European public service, firstly for the Council of Europe and then since 1990, for the European Parliament. His work over the years has included several functions, including Chief of Staff of the then largest political group in the Parliament; Policy Adviser to the Deputy Secretary General; and head of the service that led the Parliament’s first information and technology governance strategy. He also served, from 2005, a period of secondment as a Senior Adviser to the Office of the Austrian Federal Chancellor, before his career break.

In the private sector, he advised several Fortune 50 companies and many national governments and international organisations on technology strategy and governance; and also served as President and Chair of the Board of the “Identity Ecosystem Steering Group”, established to deliver US President Obama’s National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC).

He is a member of the Institute of Directors, author of several books and articles on the growth of European political parties as well as on issues regarding boardroom governance of technology, including most recently on governance implications of the use of artificial intelligence. His personal interests include a wide array of political, societal, cultural, entrepreneurial, scientific and technological issues, and in particular, music: Peter boasts a home studio that includes an eclectic collection of analogue, modular, and digital synthesizers.

Michael Martyn

Michael is the Head of Information Systems for Galway County Council and has over 30 years' experience in ICT in Ireland and the UK, and in a number of sectors, including the public and non-profit sectors, banking and telecommunications and global manufacturing services.

Michael is a member of the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) Cyber Security Sub-Committee, the main remit of which is policy and professional development for the Local Government Sector.