ICS honory fellow on Cyber risk: who, how and why

International expert to detail the current threat landscape for greater understanding

ICS

Cyber Risk International's Paul C Dwyer (Image: CRI)

8 May 2020

The Covid-19 crisis has seen renewed activity among cyber criminals seeking to take advantage. There have been increasing reports of hacking attempts, malware attacks and general probing of defences to see what might be unprotected at this time of grave concern.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) in April reported a five fold increase in cyber attacks and phishing scams against its personnel, while security service provider Cynet tracked a near four fold increase in phishing attacks in Italy in March, even as it struggled with an horrific public health emergency.

However, no organisation can protect itself against all threats and attacks all of the time. As the Covid-19 induced recession bites, resources will be tighter than ever, leading to an increasing risk-based approach to cyber security.

A key step in implementing a risk-based approach to cyber security is being able to assess and understand cyber risk for the organisation. This not only means assessing the threat landscape, but also understanding the motivations of the threat actors, their methodologies and behaviours.

Paul C Dwyer, author of The Art of Cyber Risk Oversight, will examine the who, the how and the why of cyber risk in a free digital session, in partnership with the Irish Computer Society, on 22 May at 12:00.

Entitled Cyber Threat Actors in 2020 and Why We All Play a Part in Defeating Cyber Evil, Dwyer will be picking up on the recent warning from Christine Lagarde, president of the ECB, that the impact of a cyber attack may cost in the region of €500 billion, and potentially cause a liquidity crisis.

“We look at ‘what’ we can do to disrupt and defeat the ‘bad guys,’” says Dwyer.

An honorary fellow of the Irish Computer Society, Dwyer is approved by the National Crime Faculty and the HTCN High Tech Crime Network, having worked extensively around the world in a career spanning more than 25 years working with military, law enforcement, and the commercial sector.

The session is free for members, and €25 for non-members. See ICS.ie for more information and registration.

TechCentral Reporters