An address from Charles Farr, director-general of the Office of Security and Counter Terrorism is part of a business and terrorism 2011 event in central London. Itโs run by City and Financial, in association with the Henry Jackson Society.
Other invited speakers at Copthorne Tara Hotel London Kensington, W8, on June 28 include former British American Tobacco head of security David Burrill, now director of consultancy Burrill Green; the former Home Secretary John Reid; Cheryll Hennell, Head of Security and Information Assurance, BT Openreach; and Chief Insp Patricia Foy, Deputy Head, UK Police National CBRN Centre.
Organisers say that the death of Osama bin Laden has resulted in security officials around the world warning of the dangers of reprisal attacks and the Foreign Secretary urging the country to be even more vigilant. This with the fact that Britain will host the Olympics in 2012 plus our involvement in Afghanistan, the political uncertainty in the Middle East and the existence of splinter groups hostile to the political dispensation in Northern Ireland are political realities that potentially make the UK a target for terrorists.
While there is a much greater level of awareness than there was only a few years ago, the threat has also been rapidly changing its nature. This is most apparent in the field of cyber terror where there have been recent high profile attacks on various countries’ internet operations. Only in November 2010, the Government announced that cyber terrorists are one of the most serious threats to UK security, second only to physical attacks, and it is taking the risk seriously with an extra £500m ear-marked for increased cyber security.
This conference aims to be informative and practical so it will have three overall themes: the nature of the threat, the implications of cyber-terror for businesses and how companies should prepare for possible terrorist attacks.
