On 23 March 2020 we all went into the first hard lockdown, and SASIG held our first daily webinar “Keep calm and carry on with SASIG”. I remember telling the team my intention for us to run daily webinars (“What, every day?”) on the grounds that “…this will all be over by Easter”.
Well, were still here and still going strong. Since lockdown we’ve organised 450 such events, attended 30,000 times by 4,500 SASIG members from cybersecurity, law enforcement, academia and government. Our membership has doubled over this time too, from 3,500 to 6,900. We’ve covered a vast array of subjects, mainly but not exclusively focussed on cybersecurity, and we’ve introduced new topics to our curriculum.
None of this happened by accident but because of the hard work of so many, my sincere thanks go to you all. Firstly to the SASIG team, you’ve all worked so hard and good-naturedly to meet my ridiculous and constantly increasing demands – I am so proud of you all. To our hundreds of speakers, panellists and guest chairs – it is your knowledge, expertise, wisdom and commitment that are the bedrock of the webinar programme. To our Supporters, without whom none of this would have been possible in every way. And to our members for your loyalty, enthusiasm and participation, we don’t take your support of SASIG lightly and in return we hope we’ve kept you amused, informed and educated over these difficult times.
SASIG is here to stay. We will continue our programme of online webinars whilst returning to the real world over the coming months. Big SASIG 2 will be held in May in London, the Skills Festivals will continue with SF4 in October. Networking events (e.g. drinks reception at the RAF Club on 12 April 22) will flourish. We have new ideas for other things too. Details of all of these events and more are on our website.
Joseph, you’ve been manning the controls on 99% of the webinars – you in particular deserve a medal for your endurance and good humour. Here’s a screenshot from this morning, one for the family photo album to commemorate this important milestone. Doris is there too, of course…
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Thank you for reading my blogs. I’m getting quite old now, and hopefully I’m a little wiser than I once was. I have enjoyed a fascinating career full of fascinating people, and made many great friendships. I’ve made huge errors in my lifetime, and enjoyed great success too – it’s been the ultimate game of snakes and ladders - up and down, round and round. It is my privilege to share some of my stories with you, and describe some of the lessons I’ve learned in the hope that it may both save you from falling into the same holes, and help you in your careers and lives. Good luck and good fortune.
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