Ambassador’s Working Breakfast-

 Raising Cyber Security Awareness

organized by www.aitglobal.com

Report and Photos By: 
Gerard Mc Keon, Xiaoxue Du /Blacktiemagazine.com

大使的工作早餐 - 提高网络安全意识

在2014年8月20日，美国AIT 协会和联合国常驻代表团合力举办了 “提升网络安全意识的-外交官工作早餐". 来自30多个国家的20位外交大使,35位外交官等50位政界高官参加了此次活动。 个人参与者包括美国政府, 国际安全协会和领军企业的管理人员。

在早餐会议中, 讨论集中在政府和私营部门的领导人需要意识到网络的潜在威胁-包括网络攻击和相对的后果, 相关的法律规定,以及针对此类攻击的防御措施.网络安全威胁和袭击涉及多个领域, 从公民社会的金融诈骗, 知识产权窃取 到一个国家的军事制度和政策妥协等.到会者意识到, 一个成功的网络攻击威胁足以降低公民对于一个机构的信心.

On August 20 2014, AIT Global with five UN Permanent Missions organized a Working Breakfast for Ambassadors to the United Nations, titled “Raising Cyber Security Awareness.”  Thirty countries, including 22 Ambassadors amongst the 35 attending senior diplomats, participated in the 55-person event.  Private Sector participants included senior executives from the US Secret Service, international security associations, and leading corporations. 

Event partners and co-sponsors included:  Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives to the United Nations,  H.E. Caleb Otto - Palau;  H.E. Robert Aisi - Papua New Guinea;  H.E. Jane Chigiyal - Federated States of Micronesia; and H.E. Mahe' Uli'uli S. Tupouniua -  Kingdom of Tonga.  The New Zealand Mission hosted the breakfast and New Zealand Ambassador & Permanent Representative, H.E. Jim McLay,
was the Master of Ceremonies.

Presenters included Executive-Level Cyber Security experts, including, Edward Lowery, Special Agent in Charge US Secret Service’s Criminal Investigative Division; Allan Cytryn, Vice-Chair of the Board of Visitors of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Columbia University; Latha Maripuri, Director, Worldwide Security Services, IBM; Tom Brennan, Global Vice Chairman Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP); Ambassador Otto; Ambassador McLay; and, Mike Lackey, Founder
and President, AIT Global.

Breakfast discussions centered on the foundation that government and private sector leaders must become more aware of Cyber-Threats and -Attacks, their consequences, notification protocols, and defensive measures against such attacks.  Cyber Security threats and attacks range from financial scams on civil society, to the theft of intellectual property, to the loss of a country’s ability to govern, to the compromise of a nation’s military systems, and more.  As attendees discovered, the mere threat of a successful Cyber-Attack is oftentimes enough to undermine confidence in
an otherwise trustworthy organization. 

Attending Ambassadors posed pertinent questions on issues raised by the speakers.  For example, how lax security measures adversely impact all levels of society from the civil, to the business, to the government sectors, and how they can quickly undermine confidence in those sectors.  Attendees peppered presenters with questions ranging from personal responsibility, to security awareness, to the need for international bodies, treaties, and processes to deal with the rampant growth of global insecurities
 and resultant calamities. 

Many of the Ambassadors’ questions sought advice, counsel, and guidance on what governments, diplomats, and international bodies can do to develop appropriate processes, policies, regulations, and actions to deal with CyberSec issues.  For example, what policy guidelines and laws exist today, what should exist today and tomorrow, and who specifically should be doing what?  How and what should governments do to better serve their people and institutions?

Virtually every attending Ambassador expressed the pressing need for more high-level Working Breakfast Conferences and Large Meetings.  They eagerly sought answers on how to deal with other segments of CyberSecurity, including Social Media and Cloud Security, and how to address the dilemma of even more personal devices being brought into the workplace. 

Ambassador Otto advised the attendees he, AIT Global, and their respective teams, would organize more Cyber Security Awareness Working Breakfasts, and consolidate a large one or two day CyberSec Meeting in the United Nations in the second quarter, 2015.  Ambassador Otto made sure to mention his partners from Papua New Guinea, Micronesia and Tonga would remain at the forefront, as would New Zealand.

Ambassador Otto and Mike Lackey, President AIT Global, will develop and distribute a short questionnaire encouraging the attending Ambassadors and Private Sector experts to advise them on issues and questions that relate to Cyber Security Awareness and Practices.  In this manner, the good works achieved by this Working Breakfast can be expanded upon and made available in collected form at the forthcoming meetings as promised by Ambassador Otto. 

Sustainability initiatives to be covered in future Working Breakfasts and Conferences include Cyber Security, Business Development and Job Creation, Sustainable Development, Green Technology, Global Partnerships, and more. 

AIT Global, established at the State University of New York (SUNY) Farmingdale in 1986, has organized over 130 large educational Meetings with the United Nations since 1988.

  Please contact Mike Lackey, founder and president of AIT Global,
 at
 mike_lackey@aitglobal.com
or 302-436-1111,
for more information on how you can become involved in future initiatives.

PRESENTERS

 Edward Lowery is Special Agent in Charge of the US Secret Service’s Criminal Investigative Division, and exercises world-wide oversight of cyber initiatives; he was appointed to the Senior Executive Service (SES) in 2012.

Allan Cytryn is Vice-Chair of the Board of Visitors of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Columbia University, a member of ISSA and ACP NYC Metro, and a former C-level Executive at Fortune 1,000 firms. He is a principal at Risk Masters, Inc., a consultancy that identifies, manages and mitigates operational and technology risks.

 Latha Maripuri is Director, Worldwide Security Services at IBM, and is responsible for worldwide strategy, product management and enablement for IBM's Security Services business line. She helps define short term and long term business strategies, the launch of new capabilities to enable IBM’s global sales, service and client support.

Tom Brennan is Global Vice Chairman with the non-profit Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP). He also assists non-profit technical committees, including ISC2 and the LegalSEC and Council of Cyber Security that are committed to “Open Internet Security.” Tom founded proactiveRISK, a consultancy that enables clients to increase productivity, efficiency, and reduce technology risk.

 Mike Lackey is AIT’s founder and president. AIT, established at the State University of New York (SUNY) Farmingdale in 1986, has organized over 130 large educational Meetings with the United Nations since