Computer Society South Africa hosted a highly successful ICT Governance Seminar, at Midrand Conference Centre, on Thursday 29 April 2010. The event was sponsored by Microsoft. Around fifty delegates heard from four top-notch speakers, each an expert in his respective field.
The first speaker, Professor Basie von Solms, of the University of Johannesburg, and IFIP President, had as a title: “Is the information king naked?” drawing parallels with Hans Christian Andersen's “The Emperor's New Clothes”.
His message was: “Are we telling the CEO and board what we think they want to hear about information security, rather than the 'naked' truth?” He went on to say that IT professionals have an ethical duty to express concern about the complexity, and hence fallibility of computer systems, and the right of the general public to know and understand this.
The second speaker, Jason Jordaan, a digital forensic investigator, spoke on: “The governance of digital forensics within an organisation”, and explained why it is essential for “digital forensic readiness” in anticipation of the need to use digital evidence in a legal or quasi-legal matter.
Tony Parry, Executive Director of CSSA, and part-time tutor for UNISA SBL, explored knowledge management and organisational governance and asked the question: “How many organisations factor 'knowledge' as an asset into their organisational governance processes?” It was noted that many organisations may overlook this important aspect of organisational sustainability.
The final speaker, Professor Rossouw von Solms, of the Institute for ICT Advancement and NMMU, started his talk: “IT governance: the what, the who and the how”, by saying: “The board is naked,” thus tying it into the first talk. With the adoption of King III and the new Companies Act, with its provisions for IT governance, it is no longer a question of whether the board should be involved; it is only a question of how.
Computer Society South Africa hopes to hold similar events in other regions during the course of the year, and will also hold half-day seminars on other hot issues in Gauteng and other regions.
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