INTRODUCTION
The
ISSA2002 conference is the second annual conference being held by
the Information Security Special Interest Group (ISSIG). ISSA stands
for Information Security for South Africa and
is focused on the information security professional. The
ISSA2002 conference will run from 10-12 July 2002 at Misty Hills
Country Hotel in Muldersdrift, Gauteng.
In
recent years, many South African delegates have been active in participating and
attending various international Information Security conferences. Traveling abroad to present or to attend is a very costly endeavor and not always possible for
many people
interested in Information Security.
Many
professionals from industry as well as researchers have expressed a need for a
local platform to share knowledge, experience and research results in the field of
Information Security. The
Information Security Special Interest Group (ISSIG) affiliated to the Computer
Society of South Africa (CSSA) has taken up this challenge and is in an ideal position to coordinate and
facilitate such an opportunity.
In
2001, the first ISSA conference was hosted in Magaliesberg. The conference
was well attended by both industry professionals and academics with over 90
delegates taking part. This is interpreted as a good intendance as the
information security community in South Africa is relatively small compared to
our overseas counterparts. Papers presented
maintained a good balance between all the information security topics and there
was something for everyone. The reviews received were generally good with
some constructive criticism on how to improve for this year.
In
2002, we hope to improve on the baseline that we have now set for
ourselves. This can only be done with input from all those interested in
the field of Information Security. A few people commented that there were
not enough papers presented by people from industry. We therefore would
like to urge more professionals in industry to take part and share their
knowledge and experience.
The long-term goal
of ISSA is to
host an annual Information Security conference with an increasing number of
South African Information Security professionals and academics participating and
attending as delegates. It is the objective to provide an open platform as far
as possible stimulating the participation of all interested.
The
ISSA conference should not just be “another conference” as the local market here
in South Africa is currently over saturated with conferences covering topics
such as e-Commerce, Disaster Recovery, Information Security and Risk Management.
Rather, we undertake to make it a positive “experience” where delegates can share
and present valuable Information Security knowledge. As the intention is to make
this a local South African conference, the organising committee will endeavor to
select, as far as possible, interesting and affordable venues.
We
have decided that every year should carry a theme to make us aware of the
natural treasures we have in this country. One of these assets is our
wildlife. Since the conference made such a strong start in 2001, we felt
that the rhino would best represent our efforts.
We
look forward to seeing new and old acquaintances at ISSA2002.
Les
Labuschagne
Secretary: ISSIG & WG11.2 of IFIP
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