Society News

On Monday 30 April the Argyll Room was the elegant setting for a highly topical briefing on cyber security. The briefing was given by James Quinault CBE the Director of the UK Government body responsible for the subject: the Office of Cyber Security and Information Assurance, which sits within the Cabinet Office.

As our economy and society rely more and more on the internet and mobile communications there is an increased risk of disruption and damage due to hacking and other forms of cyber attack. It was no surprise therefore that a large and diverse set of Corporate Partners and their suppliers were present for the briefing. The political community was also represented in the form of an Opposition front bench spokesperson. James Quinault laid out the Government’s approach for dealing with the situation based on the national strategy document published last November. He then responded to a variety of questions from the floor, highlighting the seriousness of the cyber threat in a balanced and assured manner.

Society President Elect Jenny Body OBE thanked James for the authoritative and frank coverage of a fast moving and critical issue. The speaker and the audience continued the discussions in the informal setting overlooking Hyde Park that the Argyll Room offers.  The reception was sponsored by Logica, one of the UK’s leading technology companies and with a 40+ year history of providing secure information systems to commercial and government organisations at home and abroad.

An article on cyber security by James and his staff is promised for publication in one of the Society’s magazines later this year.

To view our programme of Corporate Partner Events scheduled for the remainder of the year, please click here.