"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
- Sir Winston Churchill

The Churchill Society of British Columbia was founded in 1979 and is devoted to the memory of this outstanding world leader to ensure that his ideals and achievements are not forgotten and are utilized by succeeding generations.

Cyber Warfare – James McFarlin

October 16, 2014 @ 05:00pm

Please join us on Thursday, October 16 to welcome our guest speaker James McFarlin.

“Threats from cyber attacks are real, they are serious, and they are increasing in volume and intensity.  Our economy, our personal finances, our privacy – indeed our entire way of life – are at risk”.  Jim McFarlin thus introduced his views on the cyber threats facing America in a recent presentation.

Whereas Winston Churchill took a keen interest and helped to drive the development of new weapons such as the tank, radar, code breaking at Bletchley Park and the atomic bomb, military leaders today are turning their attention to the modern weapons of Cyber Warfare.  Cyber Warfare is uniquely complex as the defender does not know whom the enemy is, or where it resides, or what its ultimate motives may be.

Jim will reference the attack against Target on December 17, 2013.  In the midst of retail’s most critical sales season, reality crashed through Target’s boardroom in the form of one of the largest credit card heists in history.  Following the loss of credit card information belonging to 40 million customers and personal data of another 70 million customers, Target is incurring and facing massive expenditures to remedy the breach and shore up its cyber defenses to prevent repeat thefts in the future.  The breach has already claimed the job of Target’s CEO.

A former Air Force officer and high-tech CEO in Silicon Valley who participated first-hand in the evolution of four generations of computing, Jim is in a unique position to provide informed perspective on today’s threats from cyberspace.  He is an active national speaker on Cyber Security and addressed in June the TAIA Global Cyber Security Forum in New York City on the subject of cyber threats facing the U.S. financial industry.

From his position as publisher of the online journal Cyber Warfare Today, Jim provides keen insight and analysis of the trends and future of Cyber Warfare to readers across the globe.

The second edition of his popular Tom Clancy-style cyber thriller Aftershock:  A Novel, was published in March, 2014.  We recommend it for a page-turning read prior to Jim’s presentation.  It is a shocker of the first magnitude…a plausible scenario based on the headlines of the news today.  We will have books available for sale.  Jim will be available to sign your books prior to and after his presentation.

Date:               Thursday, October 16, 2014

Location:        Ballroom, The Vancouver Club, 915 Hastings Street West, Vancouver, B.C.

Time:               Wine & Cheese starts at 5:00 pm, Program from 5:45 – 7:00 pm

Cost:               $25 each for a Member of the Society, $35 each for a non-Member

$40 for a Member accompanied by either a spouse, partner or an immediate family member

(The ticket cost includes one beverage ticket per attendee for 1 glass of wine or beer, or for 2 soft drinks.  Additional drinks can be purchased from the bar)

Please inform our Administrator, April Accola, of your attendance by email at aprilaccola@hotmail.com or online at www.winstonchurchillbc.org.