The 10th anniversary edition of the annual White Hat Ball will take place Friday 30 January 2015 at Bayswater’s Lancaster London Hotel, White Hat Events has announced. The charity ball, in aid of NSPCC ChildLine, attracts over 650 people from the information security industry each year, and includes a champagne reception, three-course dinner, entertainment and live and silent auctions.
Last year’s event raised over £147,800 for ChildLine, White Hat chairman and Lloyd’s CISO Marcus Alldrick announced. “This is a fantastic achievement on the part of our industry and has made such a difference to so many lives.”
Alldrick added that this year the aim is to raise even more for charity: “Any more money we can raise will go towards answering over 1.4 million contacts that ChildLine receives.”
Peter Wanless, CEO of NSPCC, emphasized the impact of developments in digital technology on the ChildLine service. “For young people today, the online world and the real world are one and the same. While the internet offers exciting opportunities for young people, the risks of exploitation are ever present. We must be there for young people when they want to contact us, how they want to contact us, which means developing increasingly effective email, instant message and web-based services.”
Wanless added: “Fundraisers like these are essential to the survival and development of the work that we do. With the support of the information security community we can be there for children who will otherwise have nowhere else to turn.”
Since forming almost a decade ago, White Hat Events has raised over £1m for charities including NSPCC ChildLine.
KPMG is the platinum sponsor of the White Hat Ball 2015. Information on additional sponsorship and donation opportunities can be found at White Hat Events’ website.