As part of Cyber Scotland Week, IFB is offering a Cyber Security review for Aberdeen businesses and organisation to help them better understand their cyber security posture. The event is designed for business owners, CEOs, IT, and finance teams understand the cyber security risks and processes involved in securing their operations and moving it beyond just and IT problem and to treat it as a business threat at board level.

IFB understand the importance of cyber security for all businesses and where we are already helping many customers better understand the risks and more importantly the steps  involved in improving their security and maintain business productivity. We want to use these skills and findings to offer our Cyber Security review to a wider audience and to spread the benefits so we can give Aberdeen businesses the tools and knowledge they need to stay protected.

The event is part of the Tech Showcase series in Aberdeen supported by Opportunity North East and will take place at ONE TECH HUB  from Monday, February 27th to Wednesday, March 1^st. Individual 1:1 slots are available to book with members of IFB’s Tech Team.

During the private, 1:1 review sessions, our team will provide guidance and support and deliver insights on how secure organisations external and internal networks are, as IFB’s team can scan their network externally and advise on gaps and potential risks.

The next gathering of our Scotland Women in Cyber group is taking place as part of Cyber Scotland Week 2023 on Wednesday 1st March.

Scotland Women in Cyber aims to create a community of female cyber leaders working in Scotland, in order to share challenges, advice and insights with a like-minded group.

Hosted by Abertay’s cyberQuarter, this session will have plenty of opportunity for networking, as well as brilliant guest speakers.

We will be joined by Juliette Wilcox, UK Cyber Security Ambassador, Department of International Trade, who will discuss:

• What roles are available for women in cyber
•  Comparison between tech/non-tech roles
•  Are there tech roles that women avoid due to out of hour work commitments – for example – SOC

Plus Jordan Schroeder, CISO at Barrier Networks, will give his ’Suez Canal’ talk on the importance of cyber security in the supply chain, followed by a fireside chat with Juliette, Jordan, My Empire Group’s Alex Woerndle and ScotlandIS CEO Karen Meechan. 

The event is not only for women; any male allies that are interested and supportive of our purpose are more than welcome!

To secure your spot, click the ‘Learn More’ link below.

ScotlandIS have launched a project to improve Scotland’s cyber resilience by working with IT Managed Service providers.

This marks the fourth in a series of events across Scotland to build a network of ITMS providers to share best practice and address key challenges faced by the community.

The event is designed for ITMS providers and interested/associated Cyber and Digital organisations, as well as members of the ScotlandIS Cyber Cluster who have an interest in building Cyber Resilience and providing trusted services across Scotland.

Our fantastic presenters will provide insight on topics that have been requested by the ITMS community.

Agenda:

1400-1425: Welcome – Tea and Coffee

1425-1435: Beverly Bowles, ScotlandIS ITMS Project Lead – ITMS Cluster and Charter

1435-1455: Neil Furminger, IASME – Cyber Accreditation

1455-1520: Alex Woerndle, My Empire Group – When things go wrong

1520-1540: Dr. David J. Day PhD MSc BSc CCP, Brightsolid – Containment and recovery

1540-1550: Comfort Break

1550-1610: Amanda Stewart, Illuminate-IT – Women in Managed Services and Developing an MSP

1610-1630: Steve Ross, Shackleton Technologies – Skills, recruitment and flexible working

1630-1650: Jordan Schroeder, Barrier Networks – ‘The Suez Canal’ – Importance of the Supply Chain

1650-1700: Final Questions and Closing remarks

1705-1800: Networking and drinks

Join this Summit held at Robert Gordon University as part of Cyber Scotland Week 2023.

Every year we see a rise in attacks on cyber-physical systems, and in 2021 we saw our adversaries becoming ever smarter, more efficient and increasingly successful at penetrating industrial networks. This was seen with ICS operators reporting more security incidents to the authorities than in any year previous.

The risk posed by cyber threat actors transcends sectors, highlighting the importance of our mission to continue to grow the multi-industry consortium that brings together a variety of industry and government stakeholders in an effort to improve the state of cyber security on both a domestic and international level.

The focus for this year has been to highlight the scope of industries that must tackle the risk that unprotected cyber physical systems have to an organisation, and this is shown by the support and attendance we receive from an ever-increasing range of sector experts, from Energy, Oil and Gas, Critical National Infrastructure and other industries impacted by threats to their industrial control system.

This webinar for students held as part of Cyber Scotland Week 2023 will offer advice and tips on how to secure a job in the cyber industry from a company that hires skill sets just like yours.

Ryan Watson, People Lead from BJSS, will lead this session, covering the following topics:

• C.V. writing  
• Interview Tips  
• Who is eligible to work in Cyber 

Attendees will obtain a greater understanding into the cyber job search, and learn that it’s ok to be yourself in an interview process. Gain insights from someone who has reviewed 10,000’s of C.V’s into what most organisations are really looking for. 

As part of Cyber Scotland Week 2023, the ScotlandIS team are holding a community drop-in session in Clackmannan to educate the public about online safety.

We’ll have an informal stand at Clackmannan Development Trust from 2-4pm on Friday 3rd March, with resources from Police Scotland, where we hope to engage with everyone from the elderly to parents and school kids, to ensure they know how to best protect themselves online and stay secure.

You don’t need to register; if you’re in the area and interested or know a friend or relative that is, feel free to come along!

The Digital Skills Network event with BCS is supported by Skills Development Scotland and will bring together representatives from across industry, education, local government and policy makers, who will come together to discuss their experiences of digital transformation so far, their strategy for the future and the opportunity to build an inclusive and diverse talent pipeline.

This event will come to life with talks, discussions, and perspectives across a wide range of digital skills topics including:

• The existing initiatives in Scotland to bridge the gap between education and industry.
• How to meet industry demand with a supply of diverse, skilled talent and the inclusion of underrepresented groups through a range of programmes and pathways into employment.
• You’ll get to hear about the digital skills growth within emerging sectors.
• Policy makers and educators will discuss and respond to the discussion points made on the day.

The event will close with a fireside chat in support of International Women’s Day with ScotlandIS CEO Karen Meechan taking part, followed by networking drinks.

To view full agenda and register, visit the ‘Learn More’ link below.

The Department for Business & Trade (DBT) North America team will be holding a free 12 UK city roadshow promoting US & Canada export opportunities to UK businesses, visiting Scotland on Thursday 9th March in Edinburgh.  The Roadshow is targeted at UK SMEs and other companies looking to level up their business.

The Roadshow will offer updates on trade negotiations with the US and Canada, including US State MOUs and economic outlooks.  The sessions will also offer practical advice from UK Export Finance, legal, banking and tax experts.  Also, the US National Association of State Procurement Officials will try and demystify US State procurement.  In addition, DBT North America sector specialists will provide deep dives on the opportunities available to UK companies in key growth sectors.

Register via the ‘Learn More’ link below.

The Department for Business & Trade (DBT) North America team will be holding a free 12 UK city roadshow promoting US & Canada export opportunities to UK businesses, visiting Scotland in Glasgow on 10th March.  The Roadshow is targeted at UK SMEs and other companies looking to level up their business.

The Roadshow will offer updates on trade negotiations with the US and Canada, including US State MOUs and economic outlooks.  The sessions will also offer practical advice from UK Export Finance, legal, banking and tax experts.  Also, the US National Association of State Procurement Officials will try and demystify US State procurement.  In addition, DBT North America sector specialists will provide deep dives on the opportunities available to UK companies in key growth sectors.

Register via the ‘Learn More’ link below.

Holyrood Connect is delighted to announce the return of the portfolio’s newest annual event, our Public Sector Data Summit, to be held on Tuesday, 14 March 2023 at COSLA, Edinburgh. After a wildly popular inaugural event, the 2^nd annual Public Sector Data Summit will continue to establish itself as one of the premier events for Scottish public sector data professionals.

This year’s event will focus on providing real-life examples of data use within the public sector for delegates to learn from. These stories of challenge, persistence, and collaboration will hopefully inspire delegates as well as offer them a sense of community that leads to greater understanding and growth. The event will provide delegates with the opportunity to hear the latest developments around data sharing, maturity, strategy, and analysis, as well as to network with leading figures, peers, and industry representatives. Throughout the day, audience members will be able to include their own voices in the discussion through Question & Answer portions. Sessions of a variety of formats, including panel discussions, case studies, and plenary presentations, will delve into elements such as:

• Reflections on data’s role within the Scottish Government’s Digital Strategy as well as the overall state of data within the Scottish public sector.
• The complexity regarding the sharing and security of health and care data.
• The needle being threaded around the ethics of data use with regards to privacy, ownership, and intention.
• Examples of fellow public sector organisations’ data use challenges and the process of overcoming them.
• Further details regarding resources such as the Data Transformation Framework and the Data Intelligence Network.

This event is free-to-attend for those working in the public or third sectors. Register now to secure your place. If you work in the private sector, please email us to be added to our waiting list.

ScotlandIS have launched a project to improve Scotland’s cyber resilience by working with IT Managed Service providers.

This marks the final event in our roadshow across Scotland to build a network of ITMS providers to share best practice and address key challenges faced by the community.

A managed service provider covers those offering services such as network, application, infrastructure and security, via ongoing and regular support and active administration on customers’ premises, in their MSP’s data centre (hosting), or in a third-party data centre.

This event is designed for ITMS providers and interested/associated Cyber and Digital organisations who have an interest in building Cyber Resilience and providing trusted services across Scotland.

Our fantastic presenters will provide insight on a number of topics that have been requested by the ITMS community, including a cybersecurity exercise demonstration and a real-life horror story of what can happen when your business isn’t protected.

Our speakers include:

• Beverly Bowles, ScotlandIS – Introduction to the ITMS Cluster and ITMS Charter
• Neil Furminger, IASME – Cyber Essentials Accreditation – Workshop
• SBRC – Exercise in a Box Masterclass
• Alex Woerndle, My Empire Group – When Things Go Wrong
• Mike Smith, SBRC – Incident Response
• David Massey, The Apprentice Store – MSP Supporting the Development of Young People
• Jordan Schroeder, Barrier Networks – The Supply Chain and ‘Zero Trust’

Cybercriminals don’t operate 9-5, so enterprise security services shouldn’t either. We keep our customers secure with our three, 24/7, UK based Security Operations Centres. It’s the skills and experience of our teams, their round-the-clock monitoring and immediate response to threats that make us market leaders in keeping organisations, and ourselves secure.

It’s nothing new that security continues to remain the biggest threat to organisations; Managed Detection and Response (MDR) is the fastest growing solution to that problem. Gartner predict that by 2025, 50% of organisations will be using an MDR solution to protect their business*. MDR enables customers to act as fast as possible to detect, investigate and mitigate any threats to their organisation.

Join us in March as we bring our team of MDR and Security experts to you. This will be an opportunity for you to ask questions, to take away tangible outcomes that increase your security posture and to learn about best-practice in 2023:

• Peer sharing: through our roundtable format, understand the challenges faced and the solutions deployed in other organisations.
• Insight sharing: what we’re seeing from our customers and conversations
• Market insight: why Gartner predict such a drastic rise in MDR
• Build your understanding: what is MDR from Proact?
• Cyber Resilience: what is your final card to play should the worst happen?

We’re having more conversations than ever with organisations, of every size and sector, that are confused by the MDR landscape; what is MDR, the responsibilities of internal vs external teams, is XDR the same as MDR and if not what’s the difference?

Our roundtable events are formatted to be as interactive and beneficial as possible – not to be talked at, but to share experiences with and learn from others. Save your place and share your questions – this way we can tailor our content to you and your organisation.

Do you want to help young people learn about technology? Are you keen to share your digital skills with the next generation of app developers, games designers, creative technologists, and robotics engineers? We’ll show you how you can get involved with volunteering at technology clubs for young people.

What will you learn?

Whether you want to start up your own group, or lend a hand at an established club – we’ll share tips and tricks for what makes a successful club. You’ll get an insight into what it feels like to run a technology club, and what approaches work well.

We’ll explain the different options open to you (including Code Clubs, CoderDojos, remote volunteering, and volunteering in schools) and the next steps you need to take.

Who should attend?

You don’t need to be a technical expert. This session is ideal for anyone interested in starting up or supporting a technology club for young people. Including all technology workers, interested students, youth workers, and teachers in the Highland area.

Volunteering at a technology club is a great way to sharpen your own technical skills, confidence, and make an impact on the lives of young people.

When is it?

This event will run on two different dates, 17 March and 27 March. You only need to select one date as both sessions will cover the same content.

The session is organised by Skills Development Scotland. The training will be led by Craig Steele. Since 2012, Craig has set up and supported technology clubs for young people across Scotland, and has trained hundreds of volunteers to support them.

Scotland’s Cluster Ecosystem Conference is back. Building on the success of its first three years, it returns to celebrate the achievements from across the Scottish clusters and the tech community in 2022, and to focus on the opportunities coming in 2023.

The conference will highlight opportunities and bring insights from across the tech ecosystem. The day will look at opportunities outwith Scotland as well as highlighting numerous initiatives being launched within Scotland’s tech sector.

Full details here.

Meet USA trade experts for a virtual ‘whistle-stop’ tour of Scotland’s top export destination. We will offer you advice on opportunities for your products and services. You will also gain practical tips and guidance which will help you to set up, grow and develop your business from those who have made that journey and continue to do so.

The USA continues to be Scotland’s top international trading partner with around 17.1% of all our exports entering the States, worth £5.5 billion. The USA’s size alone, covering four time zones across 50 states and vast cultural differences across regions means it has to be treated as a series of regional markets, with different characteristics and business practices.

This Scottish North American Business Council event, delivered with partners including US Tax and Financial Services, Delta Air Lines and US Consulate Edinburgh will offer a quick, practical introduction to international trade opportunities in the USA. Significant opportunities exist for Scottish firms across a range of key sectors, spanning across: Life sciences, Electronics, Technology, Financial Services, Food and Drink.

On the day you’ll learn more about the support available for companies like yours considering trading with America. There will be opportunities for you to pose questions and identify professional service providers if you are wanting to establish or expand into the United States. The states attending include Iowa, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Wisconsin. You can get your questions answered by an expert panel and hear first-hand from business professionals based across the US who have an affinity for Scotland and are willing to share their expertise. Additionally, Scottish companies who have already achieved success across the Atlantic will be present and will happily share their experiences and top tips for you to learn from.

The event will focus on all aspects of trading with the USA including: how to identify routes to market, financing your trade and getting paid, legal aspects of trading in the USA, protecting your intellectual property and cultural differences to consider prior to expanding into the US.

Book via the ‘Learn More’ link below.