The Battle Against Malaria: Is a New Superweapon in Sight?

Thursday 15th September 2022 from 19:00 for 19:30
Abingdon United Football Club (Northcourt Rd, OX14 1PL, Abingdon)

Quinine was first isolated from cinchona bark in 1820, since then we have been locked in a constant arms race with the Malaria parasite, always trying to develop a new treatment or control method before the parasite becomes resistant to our current ones. In this talk, Chris will explain some of the problems scientists have faced trying to develop a malaria vaccine (the magic bullet against the disease), what groups at the University of Oxford are doing to overcome these problems and will speculate on our future prospects in this battle with our oldest enemy.

Speaker: Dr Chris Williams

Dr Chris Williams is an immunologist at the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, where he works on clinical trials conducted to develop novel transmission blocking malaria vaccines, against the malaria parasites Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax. Prior to joining the Jenner Institute, he obtained his MSc at the University of Glasgow, before completing his PhD at the University of St Andrews, where he investigated potential drug targets in P. falciparum parasites. After which, he joined an Oxfordshire based Immunotherapy company, developing immune therapies against cancer.

The Psychology of Phishing: Building an effective people-led defence

Thursday 18th August 2022 from 19:00 for 19:30
Abingdon United Football Club (Northcourt Rd, OX14 1PL, Abingdon)

This presentation is about understanding the risk of human behaviour in the context of increasingly sophisticated phishing scams, and will show how to identify and manage those behaviour risks to improve organisational cyber safety.

Nine out of every ten data breaches are caused by phishing attacks. The average cost to a business of this type of email compromise is $5m.

Phishing criminals know how to use psychology to their advantage. They are clever, and they are constantly changing and upgrading their scams to take advantage of people’s tech habits and to exploit them. They trick us by pretending to be people we know, companies we use, apps on our phone, banks where our money is held, subscriptions we have and public bodies we trust. They play on our habits, instincts and day-to-day actions and reactions to persuade us to click a link, open an attachment, or send money.

A phishing attack is a psychological attack. It’s directed at people, not systems. And so we need to arm the people working in our businesses to be an effective counter-measure. This presentation will help you to understand how you’re being attacked, and show you how using recognised behavioural science can give you the tools to build an effective defence. By understanding the psychology underpinning phishing, you will be able to devise clear awareness and simulated phishing campaigns for your organisation.

Phishers use psychology against you. Why not use it to defend yourself?

Speaker: Mark Brown

Mark Brown is the founder of Psybersafe, a dedicated online cybersecurity training programme that uses psychology to change people’s habits and behaviours, making them a strong line of defence for vulnerable organisations – and every organisation is vulnerable to cybercrime. Mark is a consultant on cybersecurity awareness, behaviour and culture, and delivers presentations and training to companies of all sizes. There are currently more than 18,000 learners going through the Psybersafe programme.

Links

https://psybersafe.com
Twitter: @psybersafe