ITU Asia Pacific Senior Advisor to keynote FT-CICRA Cyber Security Summit next week

ITU Regional Office Asia-Pacific Senior Advisor Sameer Sharma

International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Regional Office Asia Pacific Senior Advisor Sameer Sharma will deliver the keynote address at the third annual Cyber Security Summit next week organised jointly by the Daily FT and CICRA Consultancies Ltd.

Sharma is currently a Senior Advisor responsible for sustainable development through ICTs by providing technical assistance and creating conducive policy and regulatory framework for South Asian countries covering India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and the Maldives.

He is also the regional focal point for the Asia Pacific region on cyber security and assisting countries in developing national cyber security strategies and establishing CIRT and Child Online Protection (COP), working with partners including UNICEF/UNESCO and industry stakeholders.

Sharma will join a team of high profile foreign and local experts to share key insights on the latest developments and future trends in cyber security which has become a major issue for countries and corporates alike. 

Among the experts are high profile international IT security experts including those who have worked with Interpol and Fortune 500 companies.

The summit on 29 September at Cinnamon Lakeside comprises a Cyber Security Summit for IT professionals targeting senior officials from the private and public sectors, and a ‘Night Hack’ – an innovative and informative evening, showcasing the immediate and potential threats and dangers posed by cyber criminals today. There will also be a separate evening meeting on 30 September for CEOs of the top corporations on cyber security.

The main objective of the summit is to create awareness on the importance of cyber security and to provide top officers in the Government, top private sector leaders and IT professionals with best practices in acquiring, implementing, managing and measuring information security postures of their organisations and countermeasures.

The summit will also highlight the current flaws in information security that affect the global community, including corporations and governments. Discussions and presentations will revolve around some of the most malicious attacks and potential threats in the security field.

Sharma has assisted several countries in migration from Legacy Networks to Next Generation Networks, Conformance and Interoperability, designing Broadband Policy Framework and Wireless Broadband Master Plans for over 16 countries including countries from the Pacific Islands and ASEAN. He also actively works with UN/developmental agencies e.g. UNESCO, WHO, UNICEF, UNODC, UNESCAP, APT and other organisations such as GSMA, ICANN, etc.

Sharma worked extensively on digital inclusion, including developing policy framework on ICT for people with disabilities in Afghanistan, Nepal and India and ICT for empowerment of women in India. He also assisted countries with an emergency communications framework and network restoration including Nepal, India, and Timor-Leste. He organised a leaders’ summit attended by Prime Ministers, Minister and Regulators’ Roundtable, International Training Programs, ITU Centre of Excellence training sessions and several regional events for Asia-Pacific countries.

Before joining the ITU, he held several senior positions such as Advisor, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), Malaysia, General Manager, Corporate Strategy, Celcom, Malaysia. He also worked with Indian regulator (TRAI) responsible for the introduction of IP Telephony, quality of Service, Interconnection, convergence and regulatory framework for development of ICT in India. He has extensive experience in television and radio broadcasting including satellite and microwave communications. He also worked with Siemens. 

CISCO Microsoft are strategic partners of the Summit whilst ICTA is the National Partner. The Telecommunications partner is Sri Lanka Telecom, the Official Payment Gateway Partner is LankaPay, the official insurer is Continental Insurance, official printers are OfficeMax, LSP, the creative partner is Triad, electronic media partners are LearnTV, TV Derana, FM Derana and Ada Derana while the hospitality partner is Cinnamon Lakeside.

More details on the summit including the registration process can be obtained at www.cybersecuritysummit.lk.