(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM)) Amid the current climate of escalating cyberattacks, information security breaches and staggering profit losses, Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Deputy Chairman of Police and General Security, today inaugurated the Middle East's most anticipated I.T. security knowledge platform, the Gulf Information Security Expo and Conference, GISEC 2015.
To stem the tide of cybercrimes, leading experts at GISEC are arming companies, individuals and professionals with the most up-to-date and relevant security strategies. Statistics reveal that most organisations across the globe have experienced a sharp spike in cyberattacks over the past year as dependence on IT solutions grows in tandem with their business needs.
The Information Systems Audit and Control Association, ISACA, reported that 77% of organisations were subjected to a surge of cyberthreats in 2014 and 82% are at high risk to be attacked this year. From last year's cyber incidents, the top four threat drivers that exploited organisations were 46% cybercriminals, 41% non-malicious insiders, 40% hackers and 29% malicious insiders.
As the region's largest IT security event, GISEC opened its doors to more than 5,000 local, regional and international professionals and IT executives and is taking place until 28th April at the Dubai World Trade Centre, DWTC.
According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers 2014 Global Economic Crime Survey, an approximate amount lost due to cybercrime in the Middle East varies between US$1 million and US$100 million annually. As such, more local and regional companies are expected to beef up their IT security networks. GISEC provides an ideal venue to tackle the challenges on cybersecurity susceptibilities and attacks against enterprises, applications and personal systems.
Throughout the two-day conference on 27th-28th April, 25 of the world's most respected authorities in cybersecurity will reveal and discuss cutting-edge solutions that will help individuals and companies protect themselves against sophisticated cybercriminals. In addition, over 150 exhibitors will showcase their latest products and services to local and regional companies, as well as trade visitors from over 50 countries.
Expanding its coverage to include the latest and rapidly growing trends in the application and use of IT, GISEC 2015 introduces two new platforms € the 'Safe Cities Briefing Day' and Gulf Enterprise Mobility Exhibition and Conference, GEMEC, that facilitates expert discussion on issues and challenges specifically related to Smart City developments and enterprise mobility.
With Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim also in attendance at the 'Safe Cities Briefing Day', expert resource speakers will address the issues faced by a burgeoning smart cities concept and the challenges related to information security. Global senior public sector officials will highlight and discuss the world's best practices for safe cities, including the latest policies, plans and procurements systems designed to make cities safer and smarter as well as ways to develop a framework for improving smart cities' critical network infrastructure.
The briefing day was headlined by Colonel Khalid Nasser Alrazooqi, General Director of Smart Services at Dubai Police; Bassam AlMaharmeh, Chief Information Security Officer, Ministry of Defence, Jordan; and Dr. Amirudin Abdul Wahab, Chief Executive Officer, Cybersecurity Malaysia, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. Other speakers include Donna Dodson, Chief Cybersecurity Advisor, National Institute of Standards and Training, US Department of Commerce; Joan Manel Gomez, Head of IT Security, Barcelona City Council; and Shadi Khoja, Director of Strategy, Dubai Smart City.
At the briefing day, Colonel Alrazooqi, shed light on ways to ensure safe and secure policies while protecting national security across several sectors including government, financial, and healthcare, among others, confronting vulnerabilities of exposure to highly potent cyber-risks caused due to increased deployment of digitalised services and connected networks and devices.
"This year's GISEC edition will focus on addressing security concerns faced by governments and enterprises across industries from banking and finance, oil and gas, healthcare and retail, among others. The global IT visionaries say that the existing cybersecurity environment is challenged by hostile cybercriminals. Keeping abreast with advanced cyberthreats, revolutionary initiatives and strategies must be in place to secure this digitalised era," said Trixie LohMirmand, Senior Vice President, Dubai World Trade Centre.
"DWTC's first 'Safe City Briefing Day' and GEMEC are also receiving overwhelming response from the visitors. With the rapidly growing urban smart cities and the numerous connected devices running businesses, these vital platforms highlight the importance of ensuring that a secure built-in IT environment and strong cyberdefence tactics are in place to protect organisations' critical assets against potential cyberattacks," added LohMirmand.
The first-ever Gulf Enterprise Mobility Exhibition and Conference, GEMEC, which is co-located in this year's GISEC, opened its doors to C-level professionals and senior executives from across a range of industries. A business and knowledge-exchange platform, GEMEC discussed key IT security concerns and challenges along with ways to employ cutting-edge business tools that will secure enterprise mobility.
Among the key speakers at GEMEC were Adrian Davis, Managing Director, EMEA, ISC2; Annosh Thakkar, Vice President, Business & I.T. Transformation, Philips Netherlands; Bill Douglas, Head of Mobility, Royal Bank of Scotland, UK; John Banks, Director of Software, GBM; and Sameer S Poonja, Head of Digital Technologies, Emirates Group IT; Eng. Muhammad Said, Managing Director, Asyad Capital for Technology Services; Walter Wehner, Director of I.T. Network and Infrastructure, Atlantis, The Palm; and Arun Tewary, Vice President (IT) & CIO, Emirates Flight Catering.
A forum that discussed the core tenets of successful enterprise mobility featured Jean-Pierre Mondalek, General Manager UAE, UBER; Samir Khan, Regional Information Technology Head, African + Eastern; Adrian Davis, Managing Director, EMEA, ISC2; and Jonas Zelba, Senior Research Analyst, ICT, Middle East and North Africa, Frost & Sullivan.
The next two days of GISEC, from 27th to 28th April, will focus on the conference headlined by world-leading cybersecurity expert Dan Lohrmann, ex-Chief Security Officer for the State of Michigan in the USA, and 'Security Guru' Bruce Schneier, a Fellow at the Berkman Centre for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School in the U.S.A. Both speakers will tackle ways to combat cyberthreat scenarios in the region.
Key sponsors of GISEC include BT Global as the Lead Sponsor; GBM as Diamond Sponsor; CISCO and Spire Solutions as Platinum Sponsors; and Etisalat, Paladion Networks, Palo Alto Networks as Gold Sponsors; and Fortinet, Guidance Software, Paramount and Qualys as Silver Sponsors. Key exhibitors also include Airwatch, Airbus Defence & Space, Neustar, Bit 9, Cyberroam, Splunk, Lancope and Mindware.
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