ICTF Conference 2021
Dave is a Canadian-American programmer and entrepreneur. He created the Task Manager for Windows, the Space Cadet Pinball ports to Windows NT, Zip file support for Windows, HyperCache for the Amiga and many other software products.
After landing an intensive interview with Microsoft, Plummer moved to Redmond, Washington and began working for the tech company in 1993. He began his career with Microsoft as an intern, but was later offered a full-time job with the company for $35,000 a year.
While employed at Microsoft, Plummer began creating the Task Manager program at his home. Plummer eventually showed his newly developed program to Dave Cutler, who allowed him to bring his project into work, upload it to the system, and fine tune the program into what was eventually released with the 1996 shipments of Microsoft computers. During his tenure with Microsoft, Plummer worked on software such as MS-DOS 6.2 and Windows NT, including features of note like Task Manager and Space Cadet Pinball.
Plummer left Microsoft in 2003 and continues to code in his free time. He has since started his own YouTube channel (Dave's Garage) where he creates a variety of content regarding computer programming and, his personal interest, cars.
After nearly 25 years of anonymity, on May 25, 2020, Plummer came forward on a Reddit post and admitted to developing the Task Manager application. In his post, he shares some tips and tricks for using Task Manager.
Exactly six months later, on Nov 25, 2020, Plummer came forward again with a YouTube video that described his role in selecting the ballast data for the Windows XP anti-piracy protection. Plummer claims to have used the digital images of Microsoft Bob as the initial seed into the pseudorandom number generation that produced the ballast, so that (in his words) the "Digital spirit of Bob" was included with the approximately 500,000,000 Windows XP installations.
He has been issued six patents in the software engineering space.David Plummer was the engineer responsible for designing and programming the Windows Task Manager back in 1994, and this plenary revisits the origins of the application, its design, and unique aspects of its implementation.
Dr Seán Duffy has been CIO of Oxford University for over 3 years, and before that he was Director of IT Services at University of Birmingham for over 8 years. In both institutions, he has been responsible for service delivery and development for applications and infrastructure. He has also established/refreshed IT strategic directions, including fostering IT innovation. Prior to Higher Education, Sean spent over 20 years in the manufacturing sector (chemicals, explosives, flavours/fragrances) in the UK, Canada and the Netherlands.
Professor Ian Leslie is the Director and is accountable to the vice-chancellor. He is also Senior Adviser to the Vice-Chancellor with special responsibility for Information System Strategy and Environmental Sustainability, and chairs the Environmental Sustainability Strategy Committee.
Professor Leslie's research interests have been in computer networks and operating systems: he has more recently been investigating the use of information systems to reduce energy demand. He was Head of the Computer Laboratory between 1999 and 2004, and from 2004 to 2009 Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research. He has been a Fellow of Christ’s College since 1985, where he has also served as Director of Studies in Computer Science and where he has been President since 2014.
Gavin was born in Toronto, Canada and attended Crescent School for his primary education.
Gavin is a Computer Science Graduate from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia and he also holds an MBA from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California with a major in international business.
Mr McLachlan worked at University College London (UCL) for 6 years as the Deputy Chief Information Officer and the Director of Research IT Services.
Prior to working at UCL, he held a number of senior IT management positions at Computacenter and Capita Education Services (part of the Capita Group) and in a number of other private sector organisations spanning the IT management service, educational IT service, insurance and apparel industries.
In 2015 Gavin accepted a post as the Chief Information Officer and Librarian to the University of Edinburgh. At the University of Edinburgh he is responsible for the strategic development and efficient delivery of a wide range of IT, Library and Collections services, including University’s IT Strategy, IT services, Learning & Teaching technology services, Digital Research Services, Library services, EDINA, Digital Curation Centre, Museums, Galleries and Special Collections. In addition, he plays a crucial role in ensuring that the University remains at the forefront of technological innovations that promote a world-class user experience for staff and students. He is involved or leads a number of key University programmes and initiatives including digital transformation, digital strategy, hybrid working, digital strategy, the HR and Finance systems transformation and replacement, aspects of the City Deal programme and the online and distance learning programmes world-wide.
In 2016 Mr McLachlan was appointed by the University of Oxford General Council as the external member to the University Information Technology Committee.
Mr McLachlan is also active as an advisor to Scottish government as a member of the Scottish Digital Directorate’s Digital Public Services Sponsor group; and as the chair of the Scottish Government expert group on the Digital Identity Assurance programme.
In February 2019 Mr McLachlan was appointed as a Vice Principal at the University of Edinburgh adding to his current role as the CIO and Librarian to the University.
Frank Coton is Vice Principal (Academic Planning and Technological Innovation) and a member of the Senior Management Group of the University of Glasgow. He has University level responsibility for planning, budgeting and the processes and policies associated with academic career development. He also has responsibility for oversight and leadership of the development, implementation and governance of the University strategy in relation to IT and digital technologies.
Between 2010 and May 2019, Frank had responsibility for the development of educational policy and strategy and all teaching quality processes across the University of Glasgow. He also had oversight of the development of the physical and digital teaching environment. He continues to lead major change programmes around assessment and feedback and transformation of the physical and digital learning environments.
He is former Chair of the UK Russell Group Committee of Pro-Vice Chancellors for Learning and Teaching. He is also former Chair of the Student Experience Steering Group of the Universitas 21 global network of research-intensive universities and was the technical programme lead for the first Times Higher World Summit on Teaching Excellence.
Ciaran led a fundamental shift in the UK’s approach to cyber security in the second half of the last decade. He successfully advocated for a wholesale change of approach towards a more interventionist posture and this was adopted by the Government in the 2015 National Security Strategy, leading to the creation of the NCSC in 2016 under his leadership. Over the same timeframe, the UK has moved from joint eighth to first in the International Telecommunications Union’s Global Cybersecurity Index and the NCSC model has been studied widely and adopted in countries like Canada and Australia. The NCSC’s approach has been lauded for responding quickly to incidents and giving the British public clear and prompt advice on responding to them, putting previously classified information in the hands of industry so that companies can defend themselves more effectively, major improvements in automatic cyber security like countering brand spoofing and rapidly taking down malicious sites, and projecting the UK’s leadership in cyber security across the world. Ciaran’s work, which led to him being appointed CB in the 2020 New Year’s Honour’s list, has also been recognised and honoured in the United States and elsewhere across the world.
In his 23-year career in the UK civil service, Ciaran held senior roles within the Cabinet Office, including Constitution Director (2011-2014), which included negotiating the basis of the Scottish Referendum with the Scottish Government and spearheading the equalising of the Royal Succession laws between males and females in the line; and director of Security and Intelligence at the Cabinet Office (2008-2011). Between 2002 and 2008 he was Principal Private Secretary to the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service and Private Secretary to the Permanent Secretary to HM Treasury.
As well as secure technology, a constant theme has been the promotion of responsible, values based-Government whether in the Treasury, Cabinet Office or the security services. As a native of Northern Ireland’s troubles which he saw in part as being themselves caused by a failure of Government, Ciaran knows the importance of fair, impartial, well run public services that work for all and are trusted. So prior to his NCSC career he is particular proud of his supporting role, along with Ministers and civil servants in London and Edinburgh, in framing the arrangements for the 2014 independence referendum an event which, whilst hotly contested, was seen by all to be fair, legally sound and decisive. His knowledge of public finances, national and international security and the central bureaucracy of Whitehall is a rare combination of experiences and expertise.
