GEC NEWS WIRENeed of the hour –safer and smarter cities
Lt. General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Deputy Chairman of Police and General Security inaugurated the Middle East’s most awaited I.T. security knowledge platform, the Gulf Information Security Expo and Conference (GISEC) 2015.
Throughout the two-day conference on 27-28 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 are showcasing 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 I.T., GISEC 2015 introduced two new platforms – the ‘Safe Cities Briefing Day’ and Gulf Enterprise Mobility Exhibition & Conference (GEMEC) – that facilitated expert discussion on issues and challenges specifically related to Smart City developments and enterprise mobility.
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 included Donna Dodson, Chief Cybersecurity Advisor, National Institute of Standards and Training, US Department of Commerce; Joan Manel Gomez, Head of I.T. 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, healthcare among others confronting vulnerabilities of exposed to highly potent cyber-risk caused due to increased deployment digitalised services and connected networks and devices.
“This year’s GISEC edition focusses on addressing security concerns faced by governments and enterprises across industries from banking & finance, oil & gas, healthcare and retail among others. The global I.T. visionaries revealed 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 received overwhelming response from the visitors. With the rapidly growing urban smart cities and the numerous connected devices running businesses, these vital platforms highlighted the importance of ensuring that a secure built-in I.T. environment and strong cyberdefence tactics are in place to protect organisations’ critical assets against potential cyberattacks,” added LohMirmand.
Meanwhile, the first-ever Gulf Enterprise Mobility Exhibition & 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 I.T. 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 I.T.; 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 (I.T) & CIO, Emirates Flight Catering.
Key themes highlighted at the event include bring-your-own-device (BYOD) to mobile first strategy; mobile device management (MDM) vs mobile application management (MAM); security and corporate compliance; rise of machine to machine (M2) connectivity; and Enterprise Apps Development. Sharing insights on how to empower enterprises through mobility innovation will be a number of high-level delegates from different sectors including government, banking & finance, oil & gas, telecom, retail, healthcare, transport & logistics, education, hospitality and FMCG.
Meanwhile, the next two days of GISEC, from 27 to 28 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 U.S.A., and ‘Security Guru’ Bruce Schneier, a Fellow at the Berkman Center 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.
