Dear ASM Readers,
I’m excited to take on the role of Executive Editor for the Australian Security Magazine (ASM) and have been working hard with our publishing team to transition the business and get ready to grab your attention with the next issue, due out in August.
As the new Editor for ASM, we are preparing a very special edition in the magazine’s history of being Australia’s leading government and corporate security magazine. The focus of ASM will remain on national security and trends, but we want to take it much further and use the full potential that this magazine has to offer readers. We are supporting the revitalisation of ASM, as our lead brand, with four group websites – mysecuritymedia.com, mysecurity.com.au, securitymanagement.com.au, securityaccess.com.au – giving you access to the latest security related information, at anytime and from anywhere.
For our first edition, I’d like to commence with some personal introductions to the key industry ‘movers & skakers’, and will be launching a number of special series to address specific views and themes. I also intend giving the key industry associations an opportunity to report on what they’re up to. As done so well by Judy previously, the magazine will also be keeping an eye on a wide variety of industry trends and activities, for a national audience.
In the interim, please don’t hesitate to contact me should you wish to be involved and contribute to ASM, in the next edition or in future. We have Contributor Guidelines available and Media Kits for added exposure. Look forward to hearing from you soon at ccubbage@mysecurity.com.au
1 July 2011: This week Chris Cubbage and David Matrai of mysecurity.com.au became the owners of www.securitymanagement.com.au – as I complete the transition of the website, you will see my details disappear. I am sure Chris and David will have new and exciting plans for the site, which I had always intended as a resource for security managers. That’s all from me, folks, so I will sign off for the last time.
I’ve just posted a story about a very clever postman in the UK – I don’t think he’ll be a postman for very much longer – who won that country’s Cyber Security Challenge. It’s interesting to note that the two people who finished first and second respectively were not involved in the IT sector. The classic nerds, perhaps. What do you think? Should we stage something similar here?
It seems cyber security has moved to the top of the list of security issues of concern very quickly. The recent report by the Kokoda Foundation on optimising Australia’s response to the cyber challenge describes cyber security as a fundamental weakness in Australia’s national security. Do you agree? If you do, what steps do you think should be taken to improve Australia’s response? And who should take the lead on this?
I’ve put together a survey about various topics related to security – you’ll find details in the Jan-Feb 2011 issue of ASM – I’d like responses by mid February. If you want to get a PDF of the survey questions, please send me an email.
Art Coviello, President, RSA, The Security Division of EMC Corporation has posted a strong article in defence of the US Government’s progress on protecting the country’s critical infrastructure in the era of cyber warfare. While he acknowledges that there are challenges, he is refuting disparaging comments made on National Public Radio by a former Bush Administration official. To read his article, go to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/art-coviello/governments-earlier-failu_b_806111.html
Let’s hear what you have to say about cyber security and the challenge facing governments worldwide.
I’ll be publishing a two-page survey in ASM Jan-Feb 2011 edition covering quite a few topics. In particular, I’d like to know what people think about elevating the status of security management professionals in Australia. Is it time for tertiary qualifications to be an essential requirement in job descriptions? If so, what type of qualifications do you think a senior security manager, for example, should have? There are other elements to the survey too about cyber security, security technology and government policy. If you would like to receive the full survey, send me an email. I won’t release it though until the magazine is out in January.
In the first issue of ASM for 2011 I’m running a survey combining questions of interest to security professionals plus questions about security technology and related matters. Do you want to give me some suggestions as to what I should include in the survey. What is your hot button topic?
Bruce Maxwell has emailed an interesting topic for discussion. Bruce believes that the almost (or nearly or just arrived – depending on which vendor you talk to) Analog HD TV could be destined to become the ’8 track quadraphonic cassette’ of the CCTV industry – in other words nice technology for its type but destined to be quickly overtaken by new developments. Let’s hear what you have to say.
One of my regular correspondents Dr Chris Flaherty has posed the important topic of ‘community engagement’. Chris describes security as a ‘high street service’, but what about the rest of the community, he asks? In mass gatherings/public places it is the ordinary people who will see and have to deal with crime, terrorism and anti-social behaviour. So how do we transfer the knowledge and experience, and best thinking into the rest of the community at large, so that they are more resilient? Join this important discussion and give us your ideas. Is this important? Is it more important for the UK where Chris is currently based than Australia?
