Minister Isola opens Cyber Security Conference with Weightmans in Gibraltar

Albert Isola MP, HM Government of Gibraltar’s Minister for Digital and Financial Services, gave the welcoming address at a cyber security conference held at Grand Battery House in Gibraltar on Wednesday 26 April 2023.

The conference was co-hosted by Gibraltar Finance and the UK law firm Weightmans LLP and included speakers from the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, the UK’s National Crime Agency and the specialist cyber security team at PwC in London.

As Minister Isola was travelling back from Poland but in keeping with the cyber theme he pre-recorded his welcoming address. Michael Ashton, Senior Executive represented Gibraltar Finance at the conference.

Minister Isola stated:

“I would like to thank our friends from the National Cyber Security Centre and the National Crime Agency for participating in the conference and sharing their advice and experience and to Weightmans for the work and commitment they have given to hosting this event with Gibraltar Finance.

“Today, all Government organisations and private businesses live with the threat of a cyber attack irrespective of their size. The threat of a cyber attack is growing and it is important that we continue to seek ways to stop future attacks. Equally important is how we react to an attack when it is occurring and how we deal with the consequences of an attack after the event.

“In Gibraltar we recently established a National Cyber Command to develop Gibraltar’s cyber security strategy and I am pleased that some of the people involved in this initiative together with members of the Government’s IT Department attended the conference.

“Finally, let me thank all the speakers for their individual participations and for ensuring that the conference was insightful, informative and very well received."

Edward Lewis, Partner and Head of Cyber at Weightmans said:

“I would like to thank HM Government and Gibraltar Finance for the invitation to speak at the Cyber Security Conference in Gibraltar last week, to raise awareness and help organisations in the territory protect the very significant investments being made in digital transformation. We were delighted to partner once again with PwC and colleagues from the National Cyber Security Centre and the National Crime Agency to deliver the freshest insights of all from incidents we are tackling together on the cyber front line, systemic risk, and the escalating abuse of AI; as well as optimal incident management techniques and effective controls to identify and mitigate exposures.

“It is clear that cyber security, and preparation for successful management of attacks is a key national priority, and we are pleased to work with our government and businesses on an international scale to provide the highest standard of incident response strategy and regulatory guidance, ensuring that we are as prepared as we can possibly be to identify risk and tackle any issues as they arise.”

[Copy taken with permission from Gibraltar Finance press release, which can be downloaded below]