Tag Archive for: seat

CEO MEMO: It’s time for technology to take a seat at your boardroom table


Rising international conflict is sparking fears of serious cyber-attacks, the cost of cyber insurance is increasing dramatically and ASIC has taken proceedings against a company for data breaches: It’s safe to say that technology and cyber security are increasingly hot issues at the boardroom table this year.

Duke University Professor, Campbell Harvey, has already identified SWIFT, the global system for secure financial communications, as a potential target for Russian cyber warfare, noting that there is no ‘viable backup system in place.’ Although SWIFT is well defended, a cyberattack would potentially leave many organisations exposed.

It’s a timely reminder that, while once considered a niche skill, being fluent in technology is now a core necessity for directors. It is no longer enough to have IT support on speed dial, and ‘out of scope’ will not absolve directors from responsibility.

Feeling a little unprepared right now? You are not alone.

Our Future of the Board report found cyber security and data privacy and understanding the risks of new technology, governance and compliance are set to be the major technological disruptors by 2025.

So here’s a shortlist of some steps you can take immediately to reduce your cyber risk:

  • level up
  • be vigilant
  • insist on best practice — don’t just encourage it.

Level up

It’s time for you to evolve into the tech-savvy version of yourself because that is the leader your organisation needs. Take the small steps now to start that chain reaction. Expand your reading list, learn the terminology, and start attending cyber information sessions.

We recently held a webinar focusing on changes to privacy and cyber legislation, led by an expert panel across different sectors. With more than 300 registered to attend, it was one of our strongest events so far this year. The consistent message across the panel was: ‘keep it simple.’ IAG’s Company Secretary, Jane Bowd had this advice for directors: ‘Any deficient action by a board as opposed to taking no action at all is the worst offence… ASIC does not demand perfection for companies, but they do want to see progress and attention being paid.’

We will keep holding a…

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5 seek SC House seat vacated by retiring Rep. Chip Huggins | Columbia News


COLUMBIA — A crowded field is running to fill the seat of retiring state Rep. Chip Huggins.

The Lexington County Republican served for 23 years in the district that covers the fast growing area north of Lake Murray, and parts of Irmo.

Now, five candidates — four Republicans, who will compete in a primary run off June 14, and one Libertarian — are seeking the office.

The Republicans include: Jay Kilmartin, a businessman who owns The Melting Pot restaurant; two Lexington-Richland School District Five board members Rebecca Blackburn Hines and Catherine Huddle; and Christian Stegmaier, a Columbia area attorney.

John Davis, the lone Libertarian, runs a computer security business.

Stegmaier, a Columbia area attorney, ran for office once before seeking the state Senate seat currently held by Democrat Dick Harpootlian. He said the growth around Irmo and Chapin is what drove him to run in the current race.

“We need someone focused on building roads and infrastructure that meet our significant needs,” he said.

Stegmaier also wants to increase funding for South Carolina’s public universities and K-12 education.

Kilmartin, a first-time candidate, calls himself a “liberty-minded” Republican with a pro-business stance.

Other candidates did not immediately return calls from The Post and Courier.

In other Lexington County races, incumbent Micah Caskey faces a primary challenger in District 89, covering most of West Columbia and Cayce, as does Cal Forrest in District 39, which falls south and west of Lake Murray with towns like Gilbert, Batesburg-Leesville and Saluda.

Caskey, an attorney, has held office since 2016, taking over the seat from the influential and long-serving former S.C. House Ethics Committee chairman Kenny Bingham. After defeating West Columbia Mayor Tem Miles in a runoff, Caskey went on to win that year’s general election. 

Caskey is challenged in 2022 by Melanie Shull, a former music teacher and founder of Christian faith magazine Living Real.

Forrest also has served since 2016, defeating the then incumbent Ralph Shealy Kennedy in the primary before going on to win the General Election.

Forrest is challenged by Katie Hall of Saluda, a mother and…

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10-Inch Knife Found in Baby Car Seat at Logan Airport – NBC Boston


Transportation Security Administration officers found a 10-inch (25-centimeter) long butcher knife wedged into the side of a baby’s car seat at a security checkpoint at Boston’s Logan International Airport, officials said.

“We love babies … but not butcher knives!” TSA New England said in a post on its official Twitter account Tuesday.

State police were informed after the knife was found on Monday and it was confiscated.

“Pack your knives properly in your checked bag and you’re good to go,” the TSA tweeted.

No one was arrested, a TSA New England spokesperson said.

After the knife was confiscated, the car seat was rescanned and the woman and her baby were allowed to continue on their flight to Atlanta, he said.

It’s not clear why the passenger needed a knife, he said.

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Monthslong hacking campaign deemed grave threat to U.S. national security puts Microsoft in hot seat


The sprawling hacking campaign deemed a grave threat to U.S. national security came to be known as SolarWinds, for the company whose software update was seeded by Russian intelligence agents with malware to penetrate sensitive government and private networks.

Yet it was Microsoft whose code the cyber spies persistently abused in the campaign’s second stage, rifling through emails and other files of such high-value targets as then-acting Homeland Security chief Chad Wolf — and hopping undetected among victim networks.

This has put the world’s third-most valuable company in the hot seat. Because its products are a de facto monoculture in government and industry — with more than 85% market share — federal lawmakers are insisting that Microsoft swiftly upgrade security to what they say it should have provided in the first place, and without fleecing taxpayers.

Seeking to assuage concerns, Microsoft this past week offered all federal agencies a year of “advanced” security features at no extra charge. But it also seeks to deflect blame, saying it is customers who do not always make security a priority.

Risks in Microsoft’s foreign dealings also came into relief when the Biden administration imposed sanctions Thursday on a half-dozen Russian IT companies it said support Kremlin hacking. Most prominent was Positive Technologies, which was among more than 80 companies that Microsoft has supplied with early access to data on vulnerabilities detected in its products. Following the sanctions announcement, Microsoft said Positive Tech was no longer in the program and removed its name from a list of participants on its website.

The SolarWinds hackers took full advantage of what George Kurtz, CEO of top cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, called “systematic weaknesses” in key elements of Microsoft code to mine at least nine U.S. government agencies — the departments of Justice and Treasury, among them — and more than 100 private companies and think tanks, including software and telecommunications providers.

The SolarWinds hackers’ abuse of Microsoft’s identity and access architecture — which validates users’ identities and grants them…

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