PHOTO
Public-Private Partnerships Help Smart Cities to Reimagine Resiliency and Protect Critical National Infrastructure in Digital Age;
Keith Kaplan, CEO of Tesla Foundation, and Dr Phyllis A Schneck, United States' Chief Cybersecurity Officer to Present on Smart City Best Practices at GITEX Technology Week
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Public-private partnerships between Silicon Valley tech firms and governments are driving best practices in Smart City cybersecurity standards, with a major market in the Middle East.
As more public and private sector organisations, industrial systems, and billions of mobile devices are connected to the Internet, securing Smart Cities has never seen greater urgency.
Nearly half, 45 percent, of Middle East, Turkey, and Africa organisations reported cyber-security incidents in Q1 2016, according to Russian-based cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab. As a result, the Middle East cybersecurity market will reach about USD 10 billion by 2019, double the USD 5 billion size in 2014, according to research firm Markets and Markets.[1]
In anticipation of this continued growth, global tech firms and governments around the world are signing public-private partnerships to help Smart Cities reimagine resiliency and protect critical national infrastructure in the Digital Age, from Silicon Valley to London to Dubai.
“In the Autonomous Age, Arabian Gulf governments are at the forefront of adopting global innovations, integrating Smart Cities, and Internet of Things and Services,” said Keith Kaplan, CEO and Co-Founder of the Tesla Foundation, a US-based science and technology think tank, who is speaking on Smart Cities at GITEX Technology Week today, one of the world’s most influential technology events, which is set to host more than 4,000 exhibiting companies, 64 participating countries, 230 speakers, and more than 410 startups from over 60 countries.
United Arab Emirates Delivers World-Class Smart Cities Vision
Gulf governments are investing in Smart City projects, across Dubai, Masdar City, and Sharjah in the UAE, the four Economic Cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Lusail City in Qatar.
Dubai aims to be the world’s smartest city by 2017. To reach this goal, Dubai’s government is partnering with the International Telecommunications Union on Smart City benchmarks, and is pioneering government use of drones, 3D printing, and autonomous vehicles.
“Smart Cities create exciting new opportunities for solutions, safety standards, and public-private partnerships for developing the high-skill careers of tomorrow,” added Keith Kaplan.
DarkMatter, an international cyber security firm headquartered in the UAE, is well-aligned to the UAE government’s digitisation initiatives, and is looking forward to working closely with the private and public sectors to raise awareness of the importance of cyber security resiliency within a digital nation.
“While there is significant excitement about the UAE’s Smart City initiatives, cyber security standards from the IT era need to be urgently updated to the Internet of Things era. We believe the UAE government has the vision to set world-class Smart City standards and share them globally - protecting businesses,” said Faisal Al Bannai, CEO, DarkMatter.
United States Leads in Cyber-Security Preparedness
Global cyber-crime will escalate to a USD 2.1 trillion problem by 2019, according to a recent report by IBM and the US-based information security research centre the Ponemon Institute.[2] Corporate cyber-attacks have grown six-fold, from 27,000 in 2014-2015 to 158,000 in 2015-2016, according to Russian-based cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab.
The United States ranks as the world’s top country in cybersecurity commitments, according to the United Nations’ International Telecommunications Union.[3] American cybersecurity is boosted by Department of Homeland Security initiatives such as assessments that measure risks to critical national infrastructure, and a recent USD 500 million fund for Smart Cities.
Dr Phyllis A Schneck, Deputy Under Secretary for Cybersecurity and Communications for the National Protection and Programs Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security, will speak on securing Smart Cities. She will be joined by Dr Jonathan Reichental, CIO of the City of Palo Alto, who will present on creating the city’s digital roadmap.
GITEX will host leading global cybersecurity firms and international Smart City speakers, and present engaging opportunities to develop new business and public-private partnerships.
With the GITEX Global Startup Movement set to be the world’s most global week-long startup showcase in 2016, Smart City technology startups will be in focus. Keith Kaplan will serve as one of the judges in the Pitch Competition, with startups pitching to win USD 160,000 to take their innovations globally.
“Aligned with the UAE government’s vision for innovation, GITEX is committed to bringing together the world’s most innovative cybersecurity firms, researchers, innovators, and startups under one roof to drive the next era of Smart City innovation – starting from the Arabian Gulf,” said Trixie LohMirmand, Senior Vice-President, Exhibitions and Events Management, Dubai World Trade Centre.
For more information on GITEX, running from 16-20 October 2016 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, visit www.gitex.com.
-Ends-
About GITEX Technology Week
GITEX is the largest technology exchange and marketplace for Middle East & Africa. Held annually in October at the Dubai World Trade Centre, the five-day show is comprised of an exhibition covering over 110,000 sqm, a technology leaders conference, the GITEX Startup Movement and many other show features. GITEX attracts over 150,000 technology professionals, enterprise leaders, public sector officials and entrepreneurs from over 140 countries. GITEX is focused on showcasing the latest innovative technologies, providing high ROI on business opportunities and is the region’s leading platform for technology and business.
About Dubai World Trade Centre
With a vision to make Dubai the world’s leading destination for all major exhibitions, conferences and events, DWTC has evolved from being the regional forerunner of the fast growing MICE industry into a Free Zone, multi-dimensional business catalyst, focusing on Venues, Events and Real Estate Development and Management. Complementary to the primary service offerings are a range of value added services from media/advertising, engineering and technical consultation and wedding planning, security services and an award winning hospitality portfolio.
For more information, please contact:
Wallis Marketing Consultants
English: Steve Baron
Arabic: Feras Hamzah
Tel: +971 4 275 4100
Gitex@wallis-mc.com
Dubai World Trade Centre
Annie Bricker
Manager – Editorial Content - Marketing Communications
Mob: +971 56 130 5505
Email: Annie.Bricker@dwtc.com
© Press Release 2016
