Speakers
Synopsis
This session will cover 2 key challenges of NetZero and Cyber security. It will look at how we enable a secure journey to NetZero and how Cyber security also engages and embraces the concept of NetZero.
1. Building secure and resilient "green energy"
In a 2021 report the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that the rate of transition to renewable energy needs to double if we are to have any chance of achieving net zero carbon by 2050. There is an important focus on the placement of renewable energy capture and ensuring resilience of supply in a world where energy is a geo-political issue but it also expands the cyber attack surface. Renewable energy relies on technology to operate, from battery storage to connection to smart grids and connectivity for reporting and optimisation. This often involves connecting infrastructure that was designed with long lifecycles of 30-40 years, that have traditionally sat on isolated air-gapped networks and often run legacy hardware and software to modern environments with a broader attack surface.
This session will examine approaches to addressing those challenges including: ensuring the resilience and robustness of OT systems, managing and securing legacy environments in a digitally transformed world, and looking at successful case studies where due diligence can be used to address security risks in the renewable energy sector. It will also cover the need for government, critical infrastructure stakeholders, and technology companies to work together to build a successful and resilient infrastructure if we are to safely reach our sustainability goals.
2. Controlling the carbon footprint of Cyber security
As the threat increases we are continuously looking for ways to detect and defend against attack including creating data lakes, performing threat hunting and increasingly using AI / ML.
However, the training of AI/ML comes with a high compute cost and associated carbon footprint. For example, Microsoft's carbon footprint is estimated to have grown 30% as it has been addressing AI demand (https://www.ft.com/content/61bd45d9-2c0f-479a-8b24-605d5e72f1ab)..) Research by Carnegie Mellon in 2020 has shown that the carbon footprint of training a model can have the same carbon footprint as five cars (https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/06/06/239031/training-a-single-ai-model-can-emit-as-much-carbon-as-five-cars-in-their-lifetimes/)..)
This session will consider approaches we should be taking to cyber to reduce our carbon footprint by building efficient big data and analytics systems and considering how to optimize activity to be green and efficient.
