Though more attention has come to the security industry, cyber crime continues to challenge defense. Cybersecurity can no longer be ignored. In case you missed the press release last week, we’re letting you know that (ISC)² announced an open call for expert cybersecurity speakers for our 2018 Security Congress. In fact, there was lots of news coming out of (ISC)² last week. We are also welcoming nominations for the 2018 Information Security Leadership Award – Government. It’s the end of the year, which means the start of a new one. With the new year comes the promise of growth and change, but first organizations need to recognize the reality of the risks to business inherent in cyber crimes. Many agencies and organizations

This week saw the first-ever (ISC)² EMEA Information Security Leadership Awards (ISLA) take place at Secure Summit UK in London. The awards offered the chance for our community to recognise peers going the extra mile to enhance security in the region. Individuals could be nominated in four categories: Senior Information Security Professional, Information Security Practitioner, Up-and-Coming Information Security Professional and Woman Information Security Professional; with submissions being judged by members of the Europe, Middle East and Africa Advisory Council (EAC). Impressively, over 200 submissions were received and after much deliberation, the nominations were shortlisted down to the four winners; after the judges scored against the following criteria: Expertise, Dedication, Impact, Innovation, Leadership and Community Engagement. The ceremony itself was presented

(ISC)²’s 2018 Security Congress will take place October 8-10 in New Orleans. Last year’s sold-out event was in Austin and included 185 speakers and 2,000 attendees. We expect Congress in the Big Easy, as New Orleans is called, to be even bigger! “Security Congress is built by the most prominent professionals in the cybersecurity industry – our members,” said (ISC)² Managing Director for North America Brian Correia. “It’s an annual event that’s uniquely aimed at the day-to-day cybersecurity practitioner. We had record attendance last year at our first independent Security Congress with 2,000 attendees, and we hope to grow the event tremendously in 2018.” The theme for conference is “Enrich. Enable. Excel.” – which will encompass not only Security Congress,

Understanding which certification is right for you can be a daunting task. (ISC)² itself has a portfolio of credentials related to cybersecurity, with specializations in certain areas. Credential Engine hopes to help people navigate the sometimes-cloudy world of certifications. Launched on December 7, 2017, Credential Engine is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting transparency and literacy in the credential marketplace, to make it easier for people to figure out what certification is best for them no matter where they find themselves in their career. The organization came out of the Credential Transparency Initiative (CTI) which started back in 2013. While Credential Engine on its registry will list certifications in all fields – not just cybersecurity – their goal is to

Name: James Packer Title: Security and Cloud Specialist Employer: Big 4 Firm Location: London, UK Education: Information Technology and Security Years in IT: 10 Years in Cybersecurity: 5 Cybersecurity Certifications: CISSP, CCSP, CIS F ISO27001   How did you get in to a career in cybersecurity? I’d say I’m like countless security professionals out there, I first started in IT and security was just a part of my job, inherent in every role I performed. I started in desktop support, progressing through the service desk lines to a managerial role, before moving in to projects and architecture- “solutionising” as I call it. This was when security for me, upped a gear. As my career matured, I also started working for larger