Reducing cyber crime threats to communication networks will be at the forefront of an international security forum to be held in Sydney later this month.

First held in Athens, Greece in 2005, the 9th International Conference on Security and Privacy in Communication Networks will be held in Australia for the first time from Wednesday 25 September to Friday 27 September. Known as SECURECOMM 2013, the event has emerged as a leading forum covering all aspects of information and communications security with a particular focus on security in communication and networking.

One of the organisers, Dr Tanveer Zia, Associate Head of the School of Computing and Mathematics at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga said, “Due to the rise of cyber crimes in the communication networks, it’s imperative for the research community to ensure protection of data disseminated through these networks.

“The threats are heightened because of the increasing trend towards the use of cloud computing and virtualisation. We need to be aware of the potential threats to the information assets and critical infrastructure and how to mitigate and eliminate these threats. 

“SECURECOMM offers a common platform for the security and privacy experts in academia, industry, and government as well as practitioners, standards developers and policy makers to engage in discussions about our common goals to explore important research directions in the field.” 

Forum papers to be delivered include topics such as: Security and Privacy in Mobile, Sensor, and Ad Hoc Networks; Malware, Botnets, and Distributed Denial of Service; Security for emerging technologies: VoIP, peer-to-peer, and Cloud Computing; Encryption and Key Management; Security in Software and Machine Learning; Network and System Security Model; and Security and Privacy in Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing.

Keynote speakers include: Mr Mike Holm, Operations Manager of Computer Emergency Response Team in Australia (AusCERT); Mr James Turner, Chair of Australian Information Security Association Advocacy Group; Mr Mark Goudie, Regional Manager – Investigations of Dell SecureWorks; and Professor Jiankun Hu, Research Director of Cyber Security Lab, Australian Defence Force Academy, UNSW.

SECURECOMM 2013 is sponsored by NSW Government Trade and Investment, Center for Research And Telecommunication Experimentation for NETworked communities (CREATE-NET), European Alliance for Innovation (EAI) and Charles Sturt University (CSU).