As tackling cybersecurity threats rise in the priority lists of international governments and those across the Middle East and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), this month’s Future Technology Week at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) will shine the spotlight on equipping both public and private organisations with technical know-how and secured IT infrastructure against potential cyberattacks.
Growing regional concerns over the threat of increasingly complex cybercrimes and the need to secure sensitive information from sophisticated hackers and commercial espionage will push the Middle Eastern and African cybersecurity sector from a US$10 billion market in 2015 to USD 13.43 billion by the year 2019 according to Cybersecurity Ventures report.
With threats come opportunities and a host of key leading edge cybersecurity will be explored at the 4th Gulf Information Security Expo & Conference (GISEC), the region’s leading IT security platform, being held under the umbrella of Future Technology Week at DWTC from 29-31 March.
GISEC will host a leading regional and international influencers and experts including the Rt Hon Dr. Liam Fox, the former UK Secretary of State for Defence; ‘uber-hacker’ John Bumgarner, one the world’s foremost authorities on Anti-Malware; and Tudor Enache, a leading Penetration Test expert in the UAE.
“Cyberthreats are a serious issue to many organisations worldwide as hackers are creating new sophisticated attacks to crack into companies’ data and individuals’ personal records. This information is often sold on the black market in a matter of days. This year’s GISEC will welcome top cybersecurity professionals from around the globe to discuss innovative strategies to fight cybercrime including corporate and individual data breaches,” Trixie LohMirmand, Senior Vice President, Exhibitions & Events, DWTC.
Alongside the GISEC conference, a dedicated exhibition will feature various products related to security systems, services and technologies, alerts and earning systems from more than 50 prominent exhibitors including BT, DarkMatter, GBM, Spire Solutions, CISCO, Fidelis, Forcepoint, VMWare, Guidance Software, BAE Systems, Palo Alto Networks, Etisalat and Juniper Networks, Splunk amongst others.
“We’re living in an increasingly complex world where critical IT infrastructure is being heavily subjected to attacks,” said Wael El Kabbany, Vice President, BT in Middle East and North Africa.
“This year marks our third year as the Strategic Partner at GISEC, the region’s premier information security platform, where we will highlight Intelligence and Big Data as key elements of an effective cybersecurity framework. Mark Hughes, CEO of BT Security, will be delivering a keynote speech on 30th March,” El Kabbany added.
In addition to the conference and exhibition, this year’s multi-faceted GISEC will feature Certified Cyber Security Training Workshops for experts and non-technical professionals to upgrade their technical skills; a Hackathon where innovative, next generation developers, designers and entrepreneurs will pitch, hack, build prototypes, play and compete; and a Capture The Flag Competition where security enthusiasts will conduct live skills challenges covering reverse engineering, network security, cryptography, web security, network security, digital forensics and more.
Held simultaneously on the first day of Future Technology Week, the Gulf Enterprise Mobility Exhibition & Conference (GEMEC) will unite the world’s leading mobility experts to discuss, debate and learn more about empowering enterprise through mobility innovation.
“In our world of hyper connectivity, mobility has become a business necessity for professionals in various sectors,” added LohMirmand. “Enterprise mobility is changing the whole concept of the modern workforce, with employees using cloud-based services to perform business tasks – today’s employee is no longer tied to a rigid office structure. Mobile penetration is on the rise across the region but users must be aware of possible security breaches and GEMEC 2016 will host the world’s leading mobility authorities to discuss future risk and innovation across the industry.”
Future Technology Week is supported by Dubai Smart Office as Smart City Partner to drive awareness on Dubai’s Smart City initiative. Key sponsors of GISEC include Strategic Partner BT, DarkMatter as Founding Cyber Security Partner; GBM as Diamond Sponsor; Cisco Systems International, Fidelis Cybersecurity, VMware, and Forcepoint International Technology Limited as Gold Sponsor; Spire Solutions as Platinum Sponsor; Guidance Software as Silver Sponsor..