13 May 2002

Some of the world’s leading IT security experts will be taking part in a conference on the Gold Coast from May 19-22.

The AusCERT Asia Pacific IT Security Conference 2002, to be opened by the federal Attorney-General Daryl Williams, is being organised by the Australian Computer Emergency Response Team (AusCERT) based at The University of Queensland.

Highlights include the May 20 release of the 2002 Australian Computer Crime and Security Survey – a project involving AusCERT, the New South Wales Police and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.

AusCERT General Manager Graham Ingram said the survey is the most authoritative and valuable of its type in Australia.

“Involving some of the biggest organisations in the country, it is based on the frequently cited annual CSI/FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey,” Mr Ingram said.

Keynote speakers at the four-day AusCERT2002 conference at the Marriott Resort in Surfers Paradise include:

* Art Money - former US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence. Mr Money has more than 40 years of management and engineering experience with the defence electronics and intelligence industry.

* George Kurtz – co-founder and CEO of Foundstone, one of the world’s most successful private security companies; and

* Eugene Spafford - Professor of Computer Sciences at Purdue University, Indiana, USA. Professor Spafford is also the director of Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security.

Mr Ingram said AusCERT2002 is designed for business and technical managers from government, universities and industry and has already attracted delegates from a broad range of industries worldwide.

“As well as providing a rare opportunity to hear from the world’s leading experts on IT security, AusCERT2002 is designed to give participants a better understanding of the vital security issues affecting their organisations.”

For more details visit http://conference.auscert.org.au, or contact the conference secretariat (telephone
07 3378 5499, fax 07 3378 9513, email: auscert2002@mlaa.com.au).

Media: For more information, contact Graham Ingram (telephone 07 3365 4417) or Peter McCutcheon at UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 1088).