Thursday, 06 June 2019

Renowned broadcaster Kate Adie delivers packed-out keynote speech to open the conference programme: Cybersecurity 4.0: Complexity, Risk & Resilience

Visitor poll: 70% of keynote attendees expect an attack on the UK’s critical national infrastructure this year

London, 04 June 2019: Renowned broadcaster Kate Adie CBE opened the first day of Infosecurity Europe 2019 with a keynote speech on Perspectives from the Frontline: Managing Risk & Building Resilience. The session proved so popular that the audience inside was joined by a crowd outside watching a live stream of the talk, in which the former BBC Chief News Reporter drew on her personal experiences reporting from war zones to provide fresh perspectives on risk, resilience and the security challenges facing organisations.

To complement the keynote speeches, Europe’s number one information security event carried out the first in a series of daily visitor polls, which asked the question: Do you think it’s likely there will be an attack on the UK’s critical national infrastructure (CNI) this year? 70 percent of keynote attendees answered ‘yes’.

This topic was addressed at the morning symposium on Building Cyber Resilience in Critical National Infrastructure & Industrial Infrastructure; you can watch an interview with panel member Nigel Stanley, Chief Technology Officer - Global OT and Industrial Cyber Security CoE at TÜV Rheinland Group here.

Also addressing the issue was an afternoon panel discussion on Cyber-Physical Security: Cyber Risk Management Strategies for Connected OT & IT Networks, which featured Gavin Ellis of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Matt Gordon-Smith from Anglo American, Shawn Scott of Thames Water and TechUK’s Talal Rajab.

Victoria Windsor, Group Content Manager at Infosecurity Group, says: “The security challenges resulting from the convergence of physical and cyber environments took centre stage today for good reason. Operational systems in every industry are being connected to corporate and cloud environments, and the safe ‘air gap’ between IT and OT no longer exists. Cyber risk is now impacting the physical realm, and organisations must have effective management strategies in place. Technology such as unified threat management tools has a role to play, but it’s also vital that teams collaborate and communicate to understand blended cyber-physical attacks, and develop joint approaches, plans and policies.”

The afternoon saw an expert panel at the Securing SMEs Symposium raise key issues around how smaller businesses – often seen as an easier target than large organisations – can defend against cyber risks and threats, protect customer data and respond to incidents.

Visitors flocked to Geek Street for some immersive, hands-on skills development, and to challenge themselves in the new Infosecurity Escape Room. You can see some video footage here.

Proving popular on the exhibitors’ floor was Pen Test Partners’ live rolling hacking demos, with visitors queuing in the aisles around stand D120 to watch the action.

Another favourite with visitors was Stand R138, belonging to Hack The Box – winner of the UK’s Most Innovative Small Cyber Security Company 2019 award in the Cyber Security Innovation Competition, organised by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The online platform provides labs and challenges for cybersecurity training – an interview with Technical Director James Hooker can be viewed here.

WHAT’S ON TOMORROW?

Keynote: 10.15-11.05am
Discovering the Digital Underworld: Privacy, the Dark Web, Tech & Democracy
Jamie Bartlett, Senior Fellow and former Director of the Centre for the Analysts of Social Media, Demos and best-selling author

Keynote: 11.25am-12.05pm
View from the Board: Managing Organisation Complexity & Risk
Dame Inga Beale, Former CEO, Lloyds of London

Special event: Women in Cybersecurity – Pillar Hall, 08:30-11:00am
Hosted by Infosecurity Magazine Editor Eleanor Dallaway, the event includes an inspirational keynote by Professor Sue Black OBE

Off-site event: Infosecurity Magazine – The Royal Garden Hotel, London – 08:00-10:30am
Breakfast briefing with ServiceNow on the latest industry vulnerabilities and management strategies. Register today, as places are limited

The chance to be among the first to see the latest innovations and newest businesses in the:
• Cyber innovation showcase
• Discovery Zone – for companies exhibiting at Infosecurity Europe for the first time
• LaunchPad – an interactive area for exploring innovative products from solution providers in one interactive area.
• Technology Showcase

For social media posts please use the following: #infosec19 @Infosecurity

For any show PR enquiries contact Origin Communications – infosec2019@origincomms.com or visit the press office located in the Henley Suite

Ends

About Infosecurity Europe
Strategically held annually in London, Europe's centre for technology start-up businesses, Infosecurity Europe is Europe’s largest and most comprehensive Information Security event. Featuring numerous analysts, policy experts, journalists and over 400 exhibitors, Infosecurity Europe presents an invaluable business platform, as well as staging the world’s largest complimentary conference programme containing 240+ free to attend conference sessions which have been accredited by leading industry associations (ISC)² and ISACA since 2012. The event attracts over 19,500 unique information security industry professionals attending from every segment of the industry and presents the most important date in the calendar for information security professionals across Europe. www.infosecurityeurope.com. @Infosecurity #infosec19