Leading the way for physical and information security professionals and law enforcement, are the Security Professional Information Exchange (SPIE) and local chapters of the High Tech Crime Investigation Association (HTCIA) and ASIS International. This year the three security organizations have combined efforts with the annual privacy conference hosted by the University of Calgary, Centre for Information Security and Cryptography (CISaC). The Tri-Lateral Security Conference will be held June 19-20, at the Deerfoot Inn & Casino in Calgary, Alta.

It makes sense that the hosting organizations work together in this age of convergence. Bringing together different security silos into one comprehensive security strategy with consistent goals encourages collaboration. It prevents inefficiencies, decreases the threats from social engineering, prevents overlap, lowers staffing costs, and improves vital communication flow, which is critical to security awareness. This is especially important at a time when threats to critical infrastructure, privacy issues and security risks are at the top of the list for most corporations.

These are messages that the hosting organizations understand. ASIS International is the world’s largest organization of security professionals from a wide range of organizations and industries worldwide. The High Technology Crime Investigation Association (HTCIA) promotes and facilitates the interchange of data, experience, ideas, and methodologies relating to investigations and security in advanced technologies and Calgary’s Security Professionals Information Exchange (SPIE), is a non-profit member-based organization representing the interests of local security professionals who attend monthly meeting to learn about security issues. CISaC is a multi-disciplinary research centre at the University of Calgary devoted to research and development towards providing security and privacy to information communication systems.

Some of this year’s speakers include Stewart Bell, a senior reporter at the National Post who covers the national security beat. He is the author of two books on terrorism; the national best seller Cold Terror and The Martyr’s Oath. 

Susheel Gupta, is a special advisor to the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority. Previously, he spent seven years as a computer crime advisor and prosecutor, working on many unique cases in Canada including the first mod chip case, the first spam case and the first copyright act case that resulted in a jail sentence.
A special keynote speaker is Ronald E. Plesco Jr., an internationally renowned information security and privacy attorney with 14 years experience in information assurance/privacy, identity management and computer crime law.  He is now the CEO of the private sector and federally-funded National Cyber Forensic Training Alliance Foundation (NCFTA) in Pittsburgh.

 For more information on the conference, visit www.trilateralcalgary.ca