Introduction

ISSA2012 is the annual conference for the information security community that continues on the successful recipe established in 2000.We are pleased to announce, however, that from 2010, ISSA is co-sponsored by the IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society (SMCS) Chapter, a chapter of the IEEE South Africa Section. The upcoming conference is held under the auspices of the University of Johannesburg Academy for Computer Science and Software Engineering, the University of South Africa School of Computing and the University of Pretoria Department of Computer Science. 

The ISSA2012 Conference will run from 
Wednesday, 15 to Friday, 17 August at the Balalaika Hotel, Randburg, Gauteng, South Africa.

The conference has grown each year in various ways. Not only have delegate and presenter numbers been on the rise, but interest from industry has also grown and been displayed through sponsorship of the conference or aspects thereof. The co-sponsorship of the IEEE from 2010 and onwards has increased and will still increase our international visibility, since all accepted papers are published online in IEEE Xplore. We also believe that the quality and relevance of the information presented by industry practitioners and academics has also evolved over the years, as have the opportunities for senior research students to present their research to a critical and representative audience.

ISSA2012 sees the conference expanding with three workshops being hosted within the conference. This shows that the interest in the Information Security community is growing on a national and international basis. The three workshops are:

  • 4th Workshop on ICT Uses in Warfare and the Safeguarding of Peace

  • Theories and Intricacies of Information Security Problems Workshop

  • International Workshop on Digital Forensics in the Cloud (IWDFC 2012)

Conferences have become a major focus area - and often a money spinner - in many industries, so at any time you will see a number of conferences being advertised in fields such as information security. What sets the ISSA conference apart is that it is not intended to generate a profit for an organisation, and it does not encourage marketing of products and services through presentations. Instead, the proceeds from registration fees are reinvested to ensure that the conference grows each year. In exchange for their investment in the conference, sponsors are afforded an opportunity to present company-specific information that has a bearing on the conference themes, and presentations submitted by potential speakers are sent through a vigorous review process, managed by a team of respected international experts in information security.

We trust that the annual ISSA conference will continue to be recognised as a platform for professionals from industry as well as researchers to share their knowledge, experience and research results in the field of information security on a South African, but also on an international level. 

To ensure ongoing improvement, we again encourage input from all those interested in the field of Information Security, particularly those who are actively seeking to progress the field, to take part and share their knowledge and experience.  

We look forward to seeing old friends and new participants at ISSA2012.

Hein Venter, Marijke Coetzee and Marianne Loock
Conference Co-organisers

Focus

Information security has evolved and in the last few years there has been renewed interest in the subject worldwide. This is evident from the many standards and certifications now available to guide security strategy. This has led to a more clear career path for security professionals.

The convergence of technologies together with advances in wireless communications, has meant new security challenges for the information security fraternity. As hotspots become more available, and more organisations attempt to rid their offices of "spaghetti" so the protection of data in these environments becomes a more important consideration.

It is this fraternity that organisations, governments and communities in general look to for guidance on best practice in this converging world.

Identity theft and phishing are ongoing concerns. What we are now finding is that security mechanisms have become so good and are generally implemented by companies wanting to adhere to good corporate governance, so attackers are now looking to the weak link in the chain, namely the individual user. It is far easier to attack them than attempt to penetrate sophisticated corporate systems. A spate of spyware is also doing the rounds, with some viruses still striking periodically. Software suppliers have started stepping up to protect their users and take some responsibility for security in general and not just for their own products. Some of the recent past and upcoming security threats and trends, include the following:

  • The insider threat is much more than you had imagined

  • Man in the browser attacks will man up

  • Misanthropes and anti-socials: Privacy vs. security in social networks

  • File security takes centre stage

  • Data security goes to the cloud

  • Mobile devices compromise data security

  • Hackers feeling the heat

  • Cyber security becomes a business process

  • Convergence of data security and privacy regulation worldwide

  • Breaches now inevitable; it's a matter of time!

  • However, breach notifications gain greater traction

  • Cyber espionage continues

  • Mobile malware continues to increase

  • Mobile devices get anti-theft protection

  • Phishing scourge continues

  • Social engineering attacks hit social networks

  • Botnets keep infiltrating businesses

  • Code gets externally reviewed

The conference focuses on these and other aspects of information security and invites participation across the Information Security spectrum including but not being limited to functional, business, managerial, theoretical and technological issues. 

Invited speakers will talk about the international trends in information security products, methodologies and management issues.

In the past ISSA has secured many highly acclaimed international speakers, including:

  • Alice Sturgeon manages the area that is accountable for identifying and architecting horizontal requirements across the Government of Canada. Her topic made reference to An Identity Management Architecture for the Government of Canada

  • Dr Alf Zugenmaier, DoCoMo Lab, Germany. His topic was based on Security and Privacy.

  • William List, WM List and Co., UK. His topic was: Beyond the Seventh Layer live the users

  • Prof. Dennis Longley, Queensland University of Technology, Australia. His topic was: IS Governance: Will it be effective?

  • Prof. TC Ting: University of Connecticut, and fellow of the Computing Research Association, United States

  • Prof. Dr. Stephanie Teufel: Director of the International Institute of Management in Telecommunications (iimt). Fribourg University, Switzerland

  • Rich Schiesser, Senior Technical Planner at Option One Mortgage, USA

  • Rick Cudworth, Partner, KPMG LLP, International Service Leader, Security and Business Continuity - Europe, Middle East and Africa

  • Dario Forte - CISM, CFE, Founder, DFLabs Italy and Adj. Faculty University of Milano

  • Reijo Savola - Network and information security research coordinator, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland

  • Mark Pollitt - Ex Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and professor at the Daytona State College, Daytona Beach, Florida, USA

  • Prof Joachim Biskup - Professor of Computer Science, Technische Universität Dortmund, Germany
  • Dr Andreas Schaad - Research Program Manager, SAP Research Security & Trust Group, Germany
  • Steven Furnell - Head of School, School of Computing and Mathematics (Faculty of Science and Technology), University of Plymouth, UK

The purpose of the conference is to provide information security practitioners and researchers worldwide with the opportunity to share their knowledge and research results with their peers. 

The objectives of the conference are defined as follows: 
• Sharing of knowledge, experience and best practice 
• Promoting networking and business opportunities 
• Encouraging the research and study of information security 
• Supporting the development of a professional information security community 
• Assisting self development 
• Providing a forum for education, knowledge transfer, professional development, and development of new skills 
• Promoting best practice in information security and its application in Southern Africa 
• Facilitating the meeting of diverse cultures to share and learn from each other in the quest for safer information systems