Updates from The SABSA Institute for the month of October 2024
Greetings from The SABSA Institute!
As we conclude yet another very successful COSAC 2024 Security Conference in Ireland this month which saw many of us gather from all around the world at Killashee in Naas to exchange ideas and catch up with colleagues and old friends from last year, here are some exciting updates from TSI for the month of October.
1. Congratulations to COSAC 2024 Security Architecture Design-Off Winners
We are pleased to announce the winners of the Security Architecture Design-Off which returned at COSAC 2024 for the eighth consecutive year. Teams battled it out to provide a solution for a real-world architecture case study based on a research institution wanting to introduce AI capabilities.
The winning team Research on Steroids is pictured here below alongside facilitators William Schultz and Jason Kobes (standing far left and far right).
TSI would like to commend the winners of the COSAC 2024 Security Architecture Design-Off – comprising of team members Øystein Balstad, Stuart McGowan, Luke Snell, Milan van der Meer and Wesley van Hoorn – on their elegant design and strong presentation.
Congratulations and well done!
2. Upcoming SABSA World Events
SABSA World is the banner under which SABSA community members and practitioners can organise events and gatherings to connect with one another. SABSA World can be an evening talk, a weekday lunch, a study group or a casual social networking event and may be regularly scheduled or spontaneous and occasional.
All SABSA World activities are intended to be a welcoming space for everyone – and all are welcome – seasoned SABSA practitioners or just the SABSA-curious alike.
SABSA World Canberra and ISACA Canberra Chapter Meeting
Canberra, Australia
Thursday 21st November
‘Conquer The Architect’s Eternal Dilemma: Turning Strategy into Reality’
The SABSA Institute and ISACA Canberra Chapter are hosting a SABSA World Community Event in The Duxton, in Canberra on 21st November (Thursday) at 5pm.
David Lynas, Head of TSI and CEO of David Lynas Consulting will be presenting ‘Conquer The Architect’s Eternal Dilemma: Turning Strategy into Reality’.
The presentation agenda includes:
1. A Business-driven Framework to Solve Complex Problems
2. Strategic Architect Dilemma #1 – Enterprise Is A Tough Place To Start
(SABSA’s Unique Capability to Scale & Calibrate)
3. Strategic Architect Dilemma #2 – The World Can’t & Won’t Wait
(Amended SABSA Lifecycle to Resolve Lifecycle Friction)
4. Strategic Architect Dilemma #3 – They Won’t Adopt
(SABSA’s New Architecture Realisation Phase)
5. The Five-Point Plan for Turning Strategy Into Reality
To register for this event, please get your tickets here.
SABSA World Melbourne – Monthly Security Architect’s Lunch
Melbourne, Australia
Tuesday 29th October
For those interested to attend a monthly casual networking lunch for the local security architect community in Melbourne, the next SABSA World Melbourne Monthly Security Architect’s Lunch is scheduled to take place on 29th October, Tuesday at Sergy Boy on Collins Street at noon.
All are welcome to attend – the SABSA-curious, SABSA enthusiasts and the SABSA experienced.
From left to right: Nasih Abdulsamad, Vijay Chakravarthy, Milos Brkic and Kirk Nicholls.
3. SABSA World Groups
For more information on how to join, help, host or participate in SABSA World community groups, please visit the following pages.
Australia
SABSA World Australia is a community project focused on the Australian SABSA Community, but is open to all.
Links to SABSA World Australia pages, events, and resources can be found via the Linktree:
https://linktr.ee/sabsaworldaustralia
Belgium
Follow SABSA World Belgium for more information on upcoming events in Europe.
4. Appointment of New Chair of the APAC Liaison Group
The TSI Board of Trustees wishes to congratulate and warmly welcome Rahul Lobo as the new Chair of the APAC Liaison Group (LG). Rahul has been an active and well-known member of the TSI community for many years and we are happy to announce his appointment and thrilled to be working with him as the APAC LG Chair.
Rahul is taking over this role from Kirk Nicholls who has stepped down to devote his time and focus on his new role as a Trustee of the TSI Board.
Message from Rahul, APAC LG Chair:
My career included working across cloud security, security consulting, cybersecurity architecture, security automation, attack and penetration testing of systems, application security, vulnerability management and assessment, cybersecurity risk management, remediation, incident response and cybersecurity audit.
I am very passionate about SABSA as a method for solving hard security problems. Wherever I have an opportunity, I seek to leverage, teach and influence colleagues about SABSA methods and ideas. Growing our community is important to me, and I have done similar work in the past as Director (Board Secretary) on the ISC2 Melbourne Board for six years. During my term, we grew the membership to over a thousand members, established the website, event calendar, and organised presentations.
As I take on the role of APAC Liaison Group Chair, some of the key things which I would want to influence are expanding the reach of the LG across APAC and establishing study groups for SABSA Practitioner exam submissions.
I am looking forward very much to growing the SABSA community in APAC.
Rahul
What are the Liaison Groups?
The LGs act as an advisory group to the TSI Board of Trustees, advocating for the interests of TSI Members within their regions and fostering community growth.
There are currently two LGs, one representing Asia Pacific (APAC, southern hemisphere) and one representing Europe, Middle East, The Americas, and Africa (EMEA, northern hemisphere).
New LGs may be established by motivated and organised TSI Members with the support of the TSI Board. This is very much encouraged as it allows for better support and representation of local members.
What do Liaison Group members do?
Joining an LG is a volunteer commitment for those who are interested to take an active role in connecting and growing the global community of SABSA practitioners.
General expectations of LG members include:
- Growing active community engagement with TSI Members
- Encouraging TSI Members’ participation in TSI projects
- Engaging with TSI Members to understand their needs
- Creating bonds of mutual support between LGs
- Advising the Board on how to best serve TSI Members
- Advocating for TSI Member interests to the Board
- Attending LG regular meetings
Interested in joining a Liaison Group?
Both EMEA and APAC LGs welcome expressions of interest from community members who are keen to join. TSI Members can join either group, based on their time zone, location or preference.
Members who would like to join an LG are encouraged to write in to:
EMEA LG
LG-emea@sabsainstitute.org
APAC LG
LG-apac@sabsainstitute.org
5. TSI and The Open Group
The integration of security into Enterprise Architecture (EA) methodologies, through the alignment of SABSA concepts with Zachman, TOGAF ADM and other popular frameworks, has been formally established for several years. The T100 Modelling SABSA with ArchiMate Paper Version 2.01 (Published April 2022) discusses how security architecture concepts can be expressed using ArchiMate: The Open Group’s widely adopted Enterprise Architecture modelling language. It describes a model-based approach to creating SABSA artefacts that conforms to the standard’s EA notation and tooling.
The TOG Revision of the T100 Paper is currently in the final stages of proofreading and will be republished jointly on a date to be agreed. In the meantime, the Modelling SABSA with ArchiMate (MSA 2.0) Group has been reconvened for a series of meetings starting in November with the objective of achieving a more complete and seamless representation of the security perspective in ArchiMate 4.0.
A special Thank You to everyone who has volunteered.
6. TSI Training and Certification
SABSA training is available through the TSI network of Accredited Education Partners (AEPs). Our training covers all levels in the SABSA training continuum from Foundation to Practitioner.
Certification by TSI is competency-based and requires candidates to demonstrate the knowledge, skills and abilities required to use the SABSA method in the real world. SABSA Certification Examinations can only be taken after completion of training provided by a TSI AEP.
For more details, please refer to the TSI AEP website.
7. Upcoming Courses
A schedule of all upcoming SABSA-approved (non-certification based) and SABSA official (certification-based) courses can be found on our website here.
8. Digital Credentials Program
The SABSA Institute is about to launch our Digital Credentials Program.
What are the benefits of a digital badge?
Credly Digital Badges empower you with the ability to:
- Celebrate your SABSA Certification and achievement with a secure digital version of your credential
- Demonstrate your certification as a Chartered Architect at Foundation, Practitioner or Master Level by sharing your credentials online
- Align your skills and jobs with industry roles and market values on the Credly platform
- Set and achieve new goals as you progress through the SABSA Certification roadmap
- Automatically allow for employer and human resource real-time credential verification for publicly shared badges
What happens next? If you are a chartered architect:
- You’ll receive an email from Credly inviting you to accept your badge.
- Click the button in the email.
- Create and confirm your Credly account.
- Accept your badge and start sharing!
More details will follow on FAQ and support.
COSAC APAC 2025
The COSAC APAC 2025 Information Security Conference will take place in Melbourne from 25th to 27th February. The agenda includes a full SABSA Stream across three days. Early-booking prices for delegate registration will remain available until 30th November 2024.
For anyone looking to apply for sponsorship, The SABSA Founders Bursary aims to award at least one fully funded place at COSAC APAC in Melbourne annually. For more information on the bursary, please refer here.
Individuals and industry organisations who are interested in donating to the SABSA Founders Bursary may also do so here.
More updates from TSI will follow in November.
Until then, take care!
The SABSA Institute