RSA Conference 2016 Abu Dhabi was in full swing on Wednesday morning. The day kicked off with keynote addresses that touched on different facets of the cybersecurity industry. 

Sahir Hidayatullah, CEO of Smokescreen Technologies, began his keynote address with the tale of the U.S. Army’s ghost army, a unit that used deception tactics, a term we saw a lot of here at RSA Conference. The ghost army was used by the Allies to convince Hitler that the D-Day landings were going to happen at Calais and not at Normandy, giving the Allies the advantage and turning the tide of World War II.

“They did it using the concept of deception, which in traditional warfare it’s something that’s been there from time immemorial,” he said before turning to cybersecurity. He touched on visibility, tools and the need to mitigate false positives, and on how deception tactics can help improve your cybersecurity posture.

Cisco’s Scott Manson, Cyber Security Leader for the Middle East and Turkey, talked about cybersecurity in the digital economy. In creating a risk mitigation strategy “you have to touch the full spectrum, and you have to look at it before, during and after,” he said. Jack Harrington, VP Cybersecurity and Special Missions, Raytheon, talked about partnerships and the need to create a stronger global cybersecurity workforce.

Sessions resumed after a lunch on the terrace and in the Vendor Showcase, followed by the closing Keynote session with Formula One’s Mark Gallagher and Mika Hakkinen. Gallagher kicked off the presentation discussing the ways in which Formula One teams use data to mitigate risk. Hakkinen shared tales from the racetrack, including one harrowing story about a time that the steering wheel of the car he was racing literally came off in his hands. Later on in response to an audience question, he cited that as the most dramatic moment of his career, a career which included a near-fatal crash.

Gallagher and Hakkinen made their story relevant to the cybersecurity audience by relaying the ways in which teamwork can mitigate risk, and that in working together, groups can be stronger and more secure than they are working apart.

It was an inspiring closing to an inspiring RSA Conference! We thank you for participating and we hope you had an enjoyable and educational experience here at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi.

And we would love it if you would join us for the RSA Conference 2017 in San Francisco in February! You can learn more about it here: https://www.rsaconference.com/events/us17.

Thank you and safe travels!