Mikko Hypponen to address industry professionals at GISEC 2014

DUBAI- Cyber-security threats continue to be among the biggest challenge in today’s hi-tech, modern economies throughout the globe.

The swift and increasingly sophisticated manner at which these threats endanger a growing dependence on online interactions and transactions across various business and economic sectors have spurred an equally rapid increase in demand for a secure information technology (IT) infrastructure.

With the International Data Corporation (IDC) predicting that the Middle East’s spending on IT products and services is to increase by 7.3% year on year in 2014 to top USD32 billion (AED 117.5 billion). A host of top IT security experts and industry leaders, led by IT security expert Mikko Hypponen, will address the industry at GISEC 2014.

Chief Research Officer of F-Secure, Hypponen will discuss the significance of critical information security issues to empower businesses with superior protection. Best known for having led a team through the largest outbreaks in history and tracked down the authors of the first PC virus, Hypponen also assisted law enforcement in USA, Europe and Asia on cybercrime cases.

Having named the infamous ‘Storm Worm’ and done classified briefings on the Stuxnet worm, Hypponen was selected among the 50 most important people on the web by the PC World magazine and was included in the FP Global 100 Thinkers list. He also received the Virus Bulletin Award, awarded every 10 years, as the ‘Best Educator in Industry’.

“The online risks are changing all the time and online crime is always international crime.” Hypponen said. “National police forces and legal systems are finding it extremely difficult to keep up with the rapid growth of online crime, which is why I’ll be glad to address the GISEC audience and share the latest news from the online underground.”

Also among the high-profile experts speaking at GISEC is Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Robert Bigman who will deliver a keynote address. Bigman will talk about commercial I.T. system security and why most attacks can be thwarted by intelligent I.T. network architecture. He will address the reasons why global corporations and governments keep making the same mistakes, as well as why acquiring the best cyber security technology is not necessarily the best approach to prevent cybercrime.

Organisations need to invest more to protect their business from IT threats. Where to invest and how much are the main issues for Chief Information Security Officer’s (CISO) to help their companies face threats. IT professionals are aware that cyber-security is more complicated than just ensuring an anti-virus is up to date. It involves sophisticated strategies to adequately protect them against realistic threats.

Chairman of the Board of Directors at (ISC)2 Wim Remes will also speak at the conference and discuss how much security is enough to identify weaknesses. He will likewise talk about how to measure potential impact and apply strategic approaches to integrate security measures in an ever-evolving infrastructure.

According to Remes, “as technology becomes pervasive in our day to day life, security has developed as a key requirement in all systems we interact with. I believe that sharing knowledge and experience is key to building a trusted and secure society and GISEC enables us to do that.”

Furthermore, according to IDC’s predictions, governments in the MEA region will concentrate on solidifying security of national information assets. They will likewise reinforce agencies that keep tabs and protect the national frontline against cyber-attacks.

GISEC, which takes place 9-11 June 2014 at Dubai World Trade Centre, addresses the need of having a detailed understanding of advanced IT offerings that are critical to today’s businesses and governments. The two-day conference, held on 10 and 11 June, alongside the free-to-attend security sessions, will host delegates from over 18 countries and engage them on different topics including threat intelligence and analytics, cloud usage management and deployment, and mobile security among others.