Gisec Global focuses on building ‘cybersecurity readiness’ culture

DUBAI / WAM

The 10th edition of Gisec Global, kicked off at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) with industry leaders uniting to uncover the latest in global cybersecurity trends and discussing ever increasing digital challenges.
Delivering the keynote speech on the first day of the three-day show, Mohammed Hamad Al-Kuwaiti, Head of Cyber Security for the Government of the UAE, discussed the shared responsibility required to tackle the volatility of cyberspace and the importance of collaboration to successfully protect against global cybercrime.
“If we look at the current landscape, awareness and collaboration are key to building a culture of cybersecurity readiness,” Al-Kuwaiti said. “We need to innovate and work towards building the next generation of cyber security professionals. The UAE Cybersecurity Council has a timeline and the plan is to export the UAE’s cybersecurity model across the region.”
That collaboration can be epitomised by the UAE Cyber Security Council’s National Bug Bounty Programme, where 100 ethical hackers will work in real-time at Gisec Global to hack, identify, and solve software flaws discovered across different scenarios and mainframe.
Among the speakers on opening day, Stephen Kavanagh, Executive Director of Police Services at Interpol, delivered his address to the industry discussing how the public and private sectors must play collaborative roles in the response to cybercrime.
“Today, we find ourselves in a new world,” said Kavanagh, former Chief Constable of Essex Police in the United Kingdom. “We need a clear vision where all parties work together. Interpol is increasingly bringing data and expertise from the private sector to assist law enforcement.”
Also speaking on the main stage was MK Palmore, the former Head of the FBI’s San Francisco Cybersecurity Investigative Branch. Palmore outlined how global development is forcing businesses to reassess their priorities to prevent large-scale cyber-attacks.
“By 2025, 42 billion devices will be connected to the internet,” Palmore said. “This is a huge expanded digital surface area to protect, which offers huge opportunities for cybercriminals. It is no surprise then that, from an infrastructure and security standpoint, our reliance on digital services as we look to maintain society and business operations has become the No. 1 issue for the organisations.”
During the next two days, conference attendees will continue to hear from a host of prominent speakers, including renowned hacker Jayson E Street; Mesfer Almesfer, Chief Information Security Officer, Neom; Professor Isa Ali Pantami, Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Nigeria; and Amir Hayek, Ambassador of the State of Israel to the UAE, among others.
Gisec Global will host more than 200 high-calibre speakers, with presentations running across five stages.
The UAE Cyber Security Council will also host the Global Cybersecurity Congress, an annual gathering aimed at unifying efforts on local, national, and global cross-sector levels.