“There have been a number of interesting events over the past year and it has been really interesting to see how government responds to those breaches and the positive changes it is intending to announce as a result. I think what will be interesting is how we move forward from understanding the problem and understanding the underlying concerns of both citizen and government.”
“Very knowledgeable, confident, reassuring.”
“The speaker panel was very good and I got the impression that the Government was really, really serious about it.”
“I thought this was a great opportunity, because given the climate all the key players would be here and indeed, from the programme and presentations so far, that is the case. Already I’ve learnt that there are a lot of big challenges for organisations, not least the challenge of delivering a higher level of security with less resources...it is a task that we simply have to crack and there can be no excuses. I’ve been to a couple of these events in the past, this is by far the most well orgnanised... I think the sheer quality of the speakers that we’ve got coming up really sets this one apart.”
“Great opportunity to discuss issues and plans across wider Government. Very useful to share approaches and concerns between Government and industry.”
“It surprised me the willingness of government departments to handle the problems that have come out of data handling, and the acceptance that that doesn’t mean that there is new money on the table. At the same time it surprised me that we haven’t engaged better between industry and government to work out the types of ways we need to contract to get that to operate effectively. But I see a lot of discussions in the margins, I see a lot of willingness to make that happen, so yes, I think this (IA08) will probably will help to progress this.”
“There are two particular challenges I face. The first is how to manage in a federated environment. And the second is how to get the governance and leadership right, because if we don’t get that right, whatever else we do frankly, we are wasting our time. Sir David Pepper and Robert Hannigan both gave presentations that I found particularly helpful. I’ve been heartened by the fact that many, many people really do get the IA agenda now.”
“Excellent networking opportunities, useful coverage of the key issues we’re currently facing and giving common direction across Government.”
“Networking with other HMG IA colleagues and exchanging war stories about the input of Hannigan was very useful.”
“Invaluable – a rare opportunity to hear the leaders in IA.”
“I think (the first morning of sessions) was very refreshing, I think there is impetus to Information Assurance now in government. Things have happened, the door needs to be closed. For the last two conferences we have been calling for action to be taken and now action is going to have to be taken.”
“Getting access to a whole raft of experts and hearing the latest thinking on the Data Handling Review was one of the prime reasons for me flying down. The one real plus point about events like this type of event is that you are working with people who are facing similar challenges and you don’t feel so isolated.”
“All the sessions I attended had quality speakers who could present well. They came from varied backgrounds and offered differing perspectives.”
“A valuable event: informative; excellent networking – illustrates continuing and increasing relevance of IA.”
“A key theme is not treating Information Assurance as something new. Recognition that Information Assurance has always been there - we have always had procedures and policies that include Information Assurance and it is reinforcing that through these latest incidents. (A key thing is) making sure that we work with industry partners and we tell them exactly what it is we’re expecting from Information Assurance.”
“If you look at the level of speakers and the kind of conversations that have been conducted, there’s clearly a much more focused attention to the whole thing. There has been a remarkably high level of speakers. Cabinet Secretary downwards, but not very far downwards because there has been a lot of other very senior speakers. ”
“Valuable use of two days to better understand Government thinking.”
“By looking at the attendance list you can see that this is now a key, mainstream issue for the government in particular and for companies in general. For us that is really reassuring given that we have such a strong business strategy focused on Information Assurance. The reassuring thing there is the extent to which government see the role of the private sector in helping them respond to some of the challenges. ”
“This conference gives an opportunity to discuss with other people the problems you know you have, but you are not sure if others have the same issues. We have just gone through a workshop looking for the ideal Information Assurance solution and that generated a lot of good discussion. Everyone’s looking at technology as a solution and really what we’re finding is that it’s the cultural issues and getting people to change that’s the most important part of this.”