ISC2 London Chapter

[JP]

Hello Fellow ISC2 Members! 

The ISC2 London Chapter is currently in the early Chartering phase and we are looking for members! The Chapter caters for any and all ISC2 members in London (all parts). 

The ISC2 London Chapter's mission is to bring together a community of Information Security Professionals and interest groups to discuss current trends, share knowledge and drive innovation and inclusion within communities. London is a global hub for financial, professional services, government and other key industries and as such, Information Security Professionals in London have visibility of state of the art security initiatives, methods and practices that are been applied globally; this wealth of knowledge should be shared for the good of the public.

We are looking to host public events on a variety of subjects and to various audiences starting in 2018 and likewise are on the hunt for authors who are willing to contribute to the Chapter blog (coming soon). 

The Chapter website is under construction currently however there is a LinkedIn page published. 

https://www.linkedin.com/company/18271604/ 

We encourage anyone interested in joining the Chapter from launch to get in touch, either via LinkedIn or email membership@isc2londonchapter.co.uk

We look forward to having you on board! 

James

[fvt]

Hi James

This is not the 1st time we've tried to have a London chapter. It always started with a high note but died very quicjly. Even the linkedin  group or mailing list just never lasted.

I hope this new initiative will be able to last and be actice. 

I am more than willing to help out, please let me know

--t

[fortean]

Hi, James,

a while ago we re-invented the Dutch Chapter.  The Chapter had already been established years ago and had seen some successes - but further development stagnated. It heavily depended on the efforts of just a few people, whom mostly used personal assets to run the chapter. They had to - the chapter was not a legal entity, so if something had to be done, the only way to do that was to use sponsored / personal assets. E.g. the membership database was a personal linkedIn page, events had to be organised without money being involved and the webserver ran on a befriended companies infrastructure. 

I was asked to look into things and this is what we did:

• we formed a working group to discuss what needed to be done. I presided the WG.
• the WG created various new communication channels to be used for the WG, most importantly cloud infrastructure to share files and documents, WhatsApp channels for the board and Ctees and mailing lists. This allowed the WG to quickly share information without the need for frequent physical meetings.
• we defined a mission  for the Chapter
• we got some funding and established the foundation and installed the first board
• we opened a banking account (which requires a formal legal entity in my country)
• we thought out an organisational structure for our foundation, based on a board that simply governs, and committees that do the actual work. We have an Educational Ctee, an IT Ctee and last but not least the Events Ctee.
• we registered a domain (chapter.isc2.nl) and set up a website (http://chapter.isc2.nl) and a mail platform
• we established a proper working relation with our parent in London (EMEA, Ramona et al). Work with them, they have a lot of experience, even some funding might be available and they can really help you.
• we created a 1,3 and 5 year plan for the Chapter - it is important to set goals and see if you achieve them.
• we created a registry page where potential members could log in
• we asked EMEA to send out a mailing on our behalf to ask members in our region to join us
• we posted in various forums and groups to spread the news
• we established relations with peers like CIP, CSA etc.
• members started registering, and we could now mail them directly, which we occasionally do. Don't overdo it, if you spam them, they will start ignoring your mail (and may require you to cancel their membership)
• our Event Ctee organised some rather good events and FREE events. We could do so because we found sponsors, we never had to ask our members for a contributions. Events in turn generate more registered members.
• we participated in events that were organised by EMEA
• we were able to give our members discounts to good external events, e.g. CIFI, Black Hat
• we obtained the status CPE registrar
• we polled our members and asked for help

We are not there yet, but up to now  this has worked quite well for us.

Hope this helps.

[CliveSimms]

Hi Heinrich,

Great information in your post.

Thanks for that.

[JP]

Hi Heinrich, 

Thanks for this, very useful indeed; would love the stay in touch for ideas and tips in future. 

Do you have an email address you can share? 

Thanks

James

[fortean]

Yes, I have an e-mail address to share: president@chapter.isc2.nl. That will always be redirected to the president of the Dutch Chapter, which, for now, would be me.

[artfulbodger]

Hey James,

Best of luck launching the new Chapter in London. We are Headquartered in Leicester Square if your looking for venues.

Rich

[JP]

Thanks Richard, we will keep it in mind! Can you email us with some details please?

Regards,
James

[Wakeling_S]

Hi James,

happy to share our experience of managing the North East of England chapter, which we started with a small handful of members to now 100+. Drop me a line if you have any specific queries, I will also be at the secure summit (London) in December if you are there...

Scott

Membership Chair - North East of England chapter

[JP]

Hi Scott

Very kind of you, thank you. The other Chapter officers and I are attending the Secure Summit in London, please do come and say hello!

James