Agenda 2021
9.00am
Welcome & Cyber Ireland Update
Minister's Opening Address
The European Cyber Security Directive & Ireland
This session featured a Cyber Ireland update from Paul Walsh, Cyber Ireland Chairperson and an address from Minister Ossian Smyth, Minister of State for the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Bart Groothuis, MEP & Rapporteur – Europe Cyber Security Directive, provided a special message for all conference attendees.
Paul Walsh
Chairperson, Cyber Ireland
Dr. Eoin Byrne
Cluster Manager, Cyber Ireland
10.00am
During this session, we launched the Cyber Security Sectoral Analysis. This important piece of research aims to understand the size of Ireland’s cyber security sector, its economic contribution and the potential growth of the sector over the coming 10 years.
Session 1 delivered some thought provoking discussions and 96% of surveyed conference attendees found this session highly engaging or engaging. The panel provided exceptional insights as well as their own opinions on what the Irish Cyber Security community should aim to achieve over the next ten years.
Chairs
Victoria MacKechnie
IDA Ireland
Dr Eoin Byrne
Cyber Ireland
Speakers
Pat Larkin
CEO Ward Solutions
Sam Donaldson
Director, Perspective Economics
Eoin Hinchy
Founder & CEO Tines
Emer O’Neill
Director VMware Security Response Centre
11.00am
Coffee and Networking Break
11.15am
Collaborative Responses to Cyber Attacks
Given the increasing number of cyber attacks and the HSE Ransomware attack this year, how can Government and Industry work together to address these challenges and improve Ireland’s cyber security preparedness.
Coordination and collaboration are, without doubt, especially important in the fight against cyber crime. Learn from the experts at the forefront of national cyber security how they came together to share information and resources when hit by a cyber attack.
Chairs
Jacky Fox
Accenture
James Caffrey
NCSC
Speakers
Paul Cleary
Detective Chief Superintendent Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau
Nicola O’Connor
CISRO, AIB
Steven Wilson
CEO Cyber Defence Alliance
Dr. Richard Browne
Acting Director, NCSC
12:30am
Lunch, Networking & Ethical Hacking Demo
Ethical hacking is a process of detecting vulnerabilities in an application, system, or organisation’s infrastructure that an attacker can use to exploit an individual or organisation. They use this process to prevent cyberattacks and security breaches by lawfully hacking into the systems and looking for weak points.
Ethical Hacking Demo
Owen Pendlebury Head of Cyber Resilience at Bank of Ireland | Global Board of Directors @ OWASP Foundation
Elena Donea Security Testing Lead, Kontex
Mark O’Sullivan Security Testing Lead, Bank of Ireland
Jamie Scanlan Security Specialist, Accenture
1.30pm
Solving the Cyber Security Skills Shortage – Industry Perspectives
A Cyber Security Skills Report was conducted with Cyber Ireland members to provide a better understanding of the current cyber security labour market in Ireland. The survey found;
- 62% of the companies surveyed would hire in 2021
- 46% of security teams are understaffed or significantly understaffed
- 48% of organisations have open or unfilled cyber security roles
How are organisations addressing these skills shortages, and what can your company do? Learn from leading organisations (large and small) who are creatively solving their cyber skills shortages through collaborative programmes with academia and training providers.
Chairs
Carmel Sommers
Technology Ireland ICT Skillnet
Dina Vyapuri
Techfindr
Speakers
Mathieu Gorge
CEO Vigi Trust
Liam Varley
Senior Manager Cyber Defence, State Street
Heather Riccutio
Academic & Talent Outreach Program Manager – IBM
Matilda McVann
Global Head of Cyber Response, Zurich
2.30pm
Coffee and Networking Break
2.45pm
Building an R&D Ecosystem
For Ireland to become a leading location for cyber security innovation and solutions, we must build a strong national R&D ecosystem.
This panel was made up of representatives from leading international research centres and companies in Ireland engaged in collaborative R&D.
Prof. Donna O’Shea Munster Technological University
Dr Tom Newe University Limerick
Speakers
Diarmuid O’Connor
R&D Funding Manager at Lightsource BP
Judith Millar
Business Development Manager, CSIT
Sarah Hayes
Commonwealth Cyber Initiative, Virginia Tech
Dr. Shanchieh Yang
Director of Global Outreach, Global Cybersecurity Institute
Brian Danaher
Senior Director Architecture & Shared services – CIO-CTO, VMware
Locknote & Conference Close
The final session of the Cyber Ireland National Conference featured Michael Daniel CEO & President Cyber Threat Alliance as Keynote speaker. Prior to joining Cyber Threat Alliance in February 2017, Michael served from June 2012 to January 2017 as Special Assistant to President Obama and Cybersecurity Coordinator on the National Security Council Staff. In this role, Michael led the development of national cybersecurity strategy and policy and ensured that the US government effectively partnered with the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and other nations.
