Public Sector Cyber Security Scotland 2022

The Scottish Government’s recently published Cyber Resilient Scotland Strategic Framework highlights how the past two years have challenged how our society runs and the ever-increasing important of digital technologies in our daily lives. With this shift to digital comes an added need for security and resilience. This session will focus on the current landscape of cyber resilience in the public sector and give an overview of how Scotland is dealing with cyber security in the midst of a global pandemic.

While there are no silver bullets in cybersecurity, understanding the foundational strategies to protect your organisation is paramount. 

What actually is Zero Trust? Does this apply to my organisation? What's the Cyber Assessment Framework? What's the next shiny box to save us from Ransomware? Instead of looking for the next big thing, we can improve what we have!

Join us in this session to learn how Palo Alto Networks’ customers have taken a novel approach to cybersecurity.

Providing and managing critical infrastructure and many vital services to a large, local community, Public Sector organisations are a prime target for cyber-attacks.

Last year was an extremely disruptive year, with ransomware cyber-attacks remaining a considerable threat to public sector organisations. With the impact of continued uncertainty and the shift to remote and hybrid working models, threat actors are also increasingly compromising IoT devices and using them as part of wider attacks, from utilising IoT devices as part of (D)DoS style attacks to providing an initial point of compromise into home or business’ internal networks.

Now is the time to evaluate your organisations’ security posture and Incident Response readiness – but knowing where to start can be daunting. In this scenario-based workshop, we will walk through a cyber security incident, including what actionable first steps you can take today to be better prepared and how to get the most out of your IR plans.

In today’s dynamic workforce, people access applications from different locations using a variety of devices and at a time that works best for them. Organisations are modernising their services to meet the requirements of such a dynamic environment. 

Join Pranam Condur, Okta’s Senior Solutions Engineer to:

- Discuss the latest trends and adoption techniques 

- Learn about the common challenges we are all faced with when it comes to securing a dynamic workforce

- Find out how some of our customer’s have modernised and secured their digital services using an identity centric strategy.

The last year has seen a handful of major public sector organisations face sophisticated ransomware attacks, including the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and the University of the Highlands and Islands. This worrying trend demonstrates the need for strong, organisation-wide cyber security readiness. This session will consist of a panel discussion between experts examining areas of improvement and best practices, such as regular incident response practice, in order for organisations to be prepared as possible for evolving cyber threats. 

Scotland’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy, published in March 2021, recognises the opportunities that artificial intelligence and machine learning has within the cyber security sector. These cutting edge technologies can be employed to create safer security systems and protect organisations from suspicious activity or unwanted intrusions. This session will examine the current role artificial intelligence and machine learning play in the Scottish public sector, as well as further potential and possible challenges to incorporating the technology within cyber security. 

This session will focus on the next generation of cyber security workers and how Scotland is actively looking to expand the workforce through programmes and workshops focused on the industry. Experts will engage in a panel discussion looking at different aspects including the growing number of females in cyber security leadership roles, the effort to engage with the younger generation about the industry and skills development, and the untapped potential of neurodivergent individuals within cyber security.

If even after significant preparation an attack occurs, how can organisations limit the aftermath and impact of these cyber threats? Public sector organisations must know how best to react in order to respond and recover successfully. This session will examine best practices for resilience and how Scottish organisations can efficiently react so as to maintain delivery of services to the public.

The past two years have challenged how society runs and highlighted the ever-increasing important of digital technologies in our daily lives. This shift to digital brings an added need for security and resilience, and in order to achieve these feats a practice of collaboration amongst sectors must be developed. The recently published National Cyber Strategy 2022 highlights the importance of this by placing it as one of the three core pillars of the strategy. The closing session of Public Sector Cyber Security Scotland 2022 will welcome an senior representative from the UK National Cyber Security Centre who will broaden the scope and look at the approach to cultivating a UK-wide ecosystem of collaboration regarding cyber security.