Day one here at RSA Conference 2016 Abu Dhabi has been quite a success! The halls of the Vendor Showcase were busy with attendees eager to learn about the latest and greatest cybersecurity developments, and ready to network.
To kick off the event, Eng. Mohammed Al Zarooni, Acting/Deputy Director General, Information & eGov Sector of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority welcomed attendees. He spoke of the need to collaborate to defend smart cities and other smart technologies from emerging threats.
“Local, regional and global stakeholders must work together to achieve high standards of cybersecurity,” he said. His message is echoed across the RSA Conference.
RSA President Amit Yoran’s keynote address talked about the ways in which exponential innovation is going to drive the security conversation, and how businesses must adapt and innovate to thrive in today’s evolving ecosystem.
“Cybersecurity is no longer just about the bits and the bytes. Cybersecurity and technology risk have quickly become a boardroom conversation. Executives and boards of directors are asking more questions. They want to know in this rapidly changing landscape, how can they leverage new technologies to become more competitive, but to do it in a risk-managed way,” he said.
“Gone are the days of point products trying to address just a thin sliver of our security challenges. How are you helping your organizations manage risk in a world of exponential innovation?”
The morning’s other keynote speakers also talked about the evolution of our industry. Jason Kent, VP Web applications security for Qualys, talked about the ways in which security is changing in the App Era and the importance of trust. DarkMatter’s Senior Vice President – Public Key Infrastructure Scott Rea talked about the ways looking back at how security was done in the past can help us secure the growing Internet of Things using PKI. And Matt Alderman, VP Global Strategy for Tenable Network Security talked about to address security as a comprehensive set of capabilities.
After a delicious lunch on the terrace at Emirates Palace, attendees had their choice of sessions hand-picked by our Program Committee across seven tracks. Attendees also chose to spend time visiting the Vendor Showcase, where you could find the RSAC CyberSafety: Kids exhibit for its second year. In the afternoon, after track sessions wound down, everyone gathered in the Vendor Showcase for a welcome reception.
Tomorrow you can expect another full day with excellent keynotes and track sessions, and our closing keynote from Formula One’s Mark Gallagher and Mika Hakkinen, who will talk about the ways they manage risk in the high-performance sport of Formula One racing. Be sure not to miss it!
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Abu Dhabi security conference sets focus to cyber threats - The National