Cyber-Security for Small- to Medium- Sized International NGO's

East-West Center brown-bag presentation

This seminar will cover Mr. Rahmani-Shirazi’s Oxford University M.Sc. thesis work in the field of Software Engineering. A brief synopsis of his research is as follows: For many small organizations operating in a sensitive political, religious or social context, information security is a critical concern. The research examined the current IT security framework of the offices of a non-governmental organization (NGO): the Baha'i International Community - United Nations Office (BIC-UNO), based in New York with offices in Brussels and Geneva. Questionnaires and interviews were used to determine the current practices and requirements of staff (IT and general) in terms of security-related activities. An analysis of current practices, looking at strengths and weaknesses, was performed in the context of the current literature on security practices, including the ISO27002 standard. A number of recommendations are made in the form of ‘best security practices’ for adoption in this and similar settings.

Mr. Rahmani-Shirazi studies Software Engineering part-time at Kellogg College, Oxford University. He is presently an Affiliate Scholar at the East-West Center, doing volunteer work with NGO’s and non-profits, and involved with local community development efforts. His undergraduate study was in International Politics and Computer Science at Keele University, UK and he received a master’s degree in the Chinese Business World at SOAS, University of London, UK. He has approximately 15 years of experience involving teaching and IT with both for- and non-profit organizations, including seven years in China and a year in Mexico. Mr. Rahmani-Shirazi is currently training to teach in the University of Phoenix-Honolulu’s Technology Program. He is an aspiring writer, a Pacific CSIS Young Leader, and will be applying to start Ph.D. study in Fall 2012.

You can connect with Mr. Rahmani-Shirazi at: www.ashrahmani.info