Dr. Cormac Callanan
CEO of Aconite Internet Solutions
MSc (Advanced Security/Digital Forensics)
MSc (Comp Sys Design)
BA (Mod) Computer Science
Fellow Irish Computer Society
Dr. Cormac Callanan owns Aconite Internet Solutions (www.aconite.com) which provides expertise in cybersecurity risk mitigation and cybercrime.
Dr. Callanan is qualified with a PhD in data privacy risks on mobile devices, an MSc in Computer Systems Design and an MSc in Advanced Security and Digital Forensics (GCHQ certified). He has over 30 years working experience on international computer networks and 20 years’ experience on illegal content and cybercrime activities on the Internet.
He co-authored the Council of Europe Guidelines on Cooperation between Law Enforcement and Internet Service Providers quoted by the European Court of Human Rights. Dr. Callanan is past-president and CEO of INHOPE (www.inhope.org) dealing with illegal child abuse material on the internet.
Dr. Callanan was Industry Coordinator for the EC funded 2CENTRE project (Cybercrime Centres of Excellence in Training, Research and Education) creating centres across Europe with Law Enforcement, Academia and Industry. He was responsible for the Networking group in the Mandola project responding to online hate speech. He coordinated the activities of Aconite as partner to the COURAGE project developing a research agenda in Cyber-Security and Cyber-Terrorism in Europe and the DFET project (Centre of Excellence on Cyber-Crime investigations) led by Napier University in Scotland.
He has presented 150+ seminars on data sharing and industry cooperation with law enforcement investigations at international events in over 50 countries on behalf of COE, OSCE, EC, ERA and UNODC targeting Government, Law Enforcement, Industry, Judiciary, Prosecutors and NGO.
Dr. Callanan is past-president and CEO of INHOPE – the International Association of Internet Hotlines (www.inhope.org) dealing with illegal child abuse material on the internet. INHOPE facilitates and co-ordinates the work of Internet hotlines responding to illegal use and content on the Internet.
He was founding Chairman of the Internet Service Provider Association of Ireland (www.ispai.ie) which he led for 5 years and served as Secretary General of the European Service Provider Association (www.euroispa.org). He was founding Director of the Irish www.hotline.ie service responding to reports about illegal child pornography and hate speech on the Internet. He has represented the organisations he worked with at events across the world. He established the first commercial Internet Services Provider business in Ireland - EUnet Ireland – which was successfully sold as a going concern.
He established the first commercial ISP (Internet Services Provider) business in Ireland in 1991 (EUnet Ireland) and after 5 years of substantial growth and success sold the business as a going concern. He was awarded the Net Visionary Award in 2003 by the Irish Internet Association and the Golden Spider Hero of the Year award in 2006.
Previously Cormac was Head of Computing and lectured in the subject at the Dublin Institute of Technology. He was Treasurer of the Irish UNIX Systems Users Group and President of DECUS Ireland, the Digital Equipment Corporation Users Society.