The 9th annual Information Security South Africa (ISSA) conference will take place from 7 to 9 July at the University of Johannesburg's School of Tourism and Hospitality facility, in Auckland Park, Johannesburg.
"The conference is supported by the University of Johannesburg Business IT Department, the University of Pretoria School of Information Technology, and the University of South Africa School of Computing," explains Eloff.
He says that not only have delegate and presenter numbers been on the rise for ISSA, but interest from industry has also grown year on year.
This is largely due to the model the ISSA uses for its conferences. "What sets the ISSA conference apart is that it is not intended to generate a profit for an organisation, and it does not encourage marketing of products and services through presentations. Instead, the proceeds from registration fees are reinvested to ensure that the conference grows each year," he says.
Focus on the weakest link
Identity theft and phishing are ongoing concerns, says Eloff. "What we are now finding is that security mechanisms have become so good and are generally implemented by companies wanting to adhere to good corporate governance, so attackers are now looking to the weak link in the chain, namely the individual user."
He says that a spate of spyware is also doing the rounds, with waves of viruses still striking periodically. "Software suppliers have started stepping up to protect their users and take some responsibility for security in general and not just for their own products," he says.
The conference focuses on all aspects of information security and invites participation across the spectrum, he says, including functional, business, managerial, theoretical and technological issues." Across the three days of the conference, the morning sessions feature invited speakers from industry, while the afternoon sessions are dedicated to highlighting academic research being done in information security and its related fields."
Featured speakers will include: Dario Forte from the University of Milano de Crema; Yvette du Toit, manager of technology and security risk services at Ernst & Young; Karin Hone from Exponant; Mark Craddock, director at KPMG Advisory; Kris Budnick, director of Enterprise Risk Services; Frans Trieghaartd, director of KPMG forensics; and Pria Chetty, IT lawyer at Chetty Law
For more information, visit ISSA.
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