Cyber attackers are taking aim at oil, gas and utility companies that often fail to fully shore up their IT networks

SMi's 5th annual Oil and Gas Cyber Security conference, taking place on the 30th November - 1st December 2015 in London, will feature case studies and project updates from organisations including SSE, DECC, National Grid, British Gas and more. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) November 04, 2015 - Companies in the oil, gas and utilities industries use their IT networks to both house valuable intellectual property and control large physical systems, making the energy sector an especially attractive target to cyber attackers who can both steal valuable data and damage critical infrastructure by attacking these companies (as well as making the consequences of a breach potentially disastrous). But companies in these industries have generally focused their security efforts on physical assets, rather than on the IT systems. In fact, many energy companies lack the sort of robust cybersecurity infrastructure seen in fields such as finance and government.

(Source: BizTech Magazine, 30 Sep 2015, 'Identifying Cyberthreats in the Energy Sector')

As a result, one of the sectors most likely to see a high number of intrusion attempts is also one of the least prepared to fend off these attacks since physical security and ease of use have long been the top priorities for energy companies, with cybersecurity taking a back seat. However, this is set to change with oil and gas companies now heavily investing in establishing the most comprehensive security systems for their assets and digital infrastructures as spending is set to reach $1.87 billion by 2018. Against this backdrop, SMi's 5th annual Oil and Gas Cyber Security conference will evaluate current cyber security measures with keynote presentations and case studies from SSE, DECC, National Grid, British Gas and more. The two-day programme will build on the success of the 2014 event and discuss recent efforts to bolster protection of highly valuable intellectual property and commercially sensitive information. Managing security of networks and wireless communication systems, as well as defending IT infrastructure from external virus attacks and internal compatibility threats is a top priority.

Speaker Panel includes:
• Graham Wright, Chief Information Security Officer & Head of Digital Risk, National Grid
• Deborah Petterson, Head of Energy Cyber Security, Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC)
• Joe Dauncey, Head of Information Risk and Security, SSE
• Stephanie Daman, CEO, The Cyber Security Challenge
• Henry Carver, Assistant Director, CNI and Physical Cyber, UK Trade & Investment
• Chris Gibson, Director at CERT-UK
• Chris Patten, Enterprise Architect, Technologist, British Gas
• Andy Powell, General Manager, CSC
• Duncan Page, Director of IT Risk Assurance, Cyber Security, Power and Utilities, PwC
• Thom Langford, CISO, Publicis Groupe
• Martin Smith MBE, Chairman and Founder, The Security Company (International) Ltd and The Security Awareness Special Interest Group (SASIG)
• Dr Jules Pagna-Disso, Head of Research, Nettitude Ltd

To view the full speaker line-up and two-day conference programme, visit http://www.oilandgas-cybersecurity.co.uk/1888pressrelease

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