65. Worshipful Company of Security Professionals - Lord Imbert Lecture.


On the evening of Wednesday 26th of April I attended the above lecture at the Army and Navy Club, Pall Mall. The guest speaker was Professor Alison Wakefield who led a wide-ranging discussion around the multifarious cyber-security risks facing companies and countries. This tied in very well with what Robert Hannigan (former director of GCHQ) told us at our Michaelmas Lunch. 

A number of insights came from the discussion, including the particular worry when existing employees (due to family or life events) become radicalised and disaffected; this is often something that is overlooked and indeed can difficult to detect.  Alison also pointed out that different companies and systems could be categorised as fragile, resilient, or anti fragile in the face of cyber threats: anti fragile ones learn and get stronger when attacked; resilient ones survive; fragile ones need to worry! 

The event was a classic example of the breadth of the city livery movement and its ability to convene serious debate. The membership of the Security Professionals includes many practitioners from the industry and their outlook is forward looking. In many ways they are like ourselves. It will be good to build on the relationship established.

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