According to managing director Julius Azarcon’s 5 year old nephew, it’s his uncle Julius!

Thus began, the “Effectively Partnering Information Security and Privacy” presentation to the York Technology Association (YTA) members at their monthly luncheon at the Sheraton Hotel in Richmond Hill on Thursday November  26th, 2009. The same topic had been presented a month earlier as part of the Toronto Board of Trade’s Advanced Business Fundamentals series on Wednesday October 28th, 2009. With a variety of businesses represented, ranging from banks, integration specialists, insurance companies to government agencies, the presentation was kept at a high level.

The presentation started with an overview of the implications of rapidly changing technology and how this has “changed and challenged our existing paradigms on the way we view personal information and privacy”. One of the more disturbing statistics presented was that “ last year, the FBI reported that for the first time ever, revenue from cybercrime had exceeded drug trafficking as the most lucrative illegal global business, estimated at reaping in more than $1 trillion annually in illegal profits.” The presentation highlighted the need for employees to be treated as clients in order to become engaged with privacy and security initiatives. “Employee indifference is the #1 vulnerability facing companies today with respect to protecting their information assets”, according to Julius.

By the time it ended with the “busting of privacy management myths”, it was evident that the audience left asking for more, if not asking questions about their own privacy and information security initiatives.

YTA members are at the forefront when it comes to obtaining information, insight and action on matters of importance in the technology cluster. Since 1982 the YTA has been a strong voice for everyone in York Region’s tech cluster - supporting business developers, innovators, suppliers, and providers.

For more information on the YTA,  visit http://www.yorktech.ca/