Appointment of two Australians to ISACA board reflects regional security expertise: director

This week's appointment of two Australian security experts to the 11-member board of directors of peak security body ISACA reflects broad recognition of Australian information-security capabilities and will offer significant new opportunities to apply them to benefit the world's security community, according to one of the new appointees.

The Oceania region “has always punched above its weight at the ISACA international levels across the practice domains and not just in relation to security,” newly selected board member Jo Stewart-Rattray – also director of information security and IT assurance at BRM Holdrich – told CSO Australia.

“It's something we do, to bring relevant certifications, frameworks and guidance to our members and constituents. The board are responsible for budgetary matters as well as forging relationships that will benefit the association and its members with other professional bodies, commercial partners and government entities worldwide.”

Also named to the ISACA board was Garry Barnes, Governance Advisory practice lead with Vital Interacts, Australia. Barnes – a more than 20-year veteran of public-sector, banking and consulting organisations – was re-elected as ISACA international vice president while Stewart-Rattray – with over 25 years' experience in IT and experience as a past ISACA international vice president and chair of several ISACA committees – was appointed as international director.

The two have known each other through ISACA for around 12 years.

Founded in 1969, ISACA provides a range of information-security educational and certification programs to its 140,000 members across 180 countries. Its Cybersecurity Nexus and COBIT business framework have been widely adopted by organisations seeking to bolster their internal cybersecurity capabilities.

With research suggesting that businesses in Australia and New Zealand feel particularly exposed to cyber attacks, ISACA recently launched security governance guides for small businesses, and this week announced a partnership with Deloitte LLP to develop virtual instructor-led training for professional training worldwide; the first course, on data analytics, will run over four days in July.

“I believe in the research and guidance that ISACA provides,” Stewart-Rattray said, “and have been involved in a number of significant research initiatives in the security space. This is my chance to serve the profession at a senior level.”

Recent ISACA research has confirmed the growing risk of cyberattacks against member organisations, with almost two-thirds of ANZ members in one survey saying they expected to be attacked this year alone.

ISACA's new board also includes representatives from Greece, the Netherlands, USA, Singapore, Brazil, UK, and India.

This article is brought to you by Enex TestLab, content directors for CSO Australia.

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Tags certificationsISACAcyber attacksframeworksindiacyberattacksSingaporeUKBrazilGreeceJo Stewart-RattrayUSACSO AustraliaGarry BarnesGovernance Advisory Practice leadBRM Holdrichthe Netherlandssecurity expertiseGovernance AdvisoryDeloitte LLP

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