"Darknet Groups are Targetting their Attention on the Emirates"

September Forum in Abu Dhabi will Tackle Growing Risk to Data Safety from Cyber-Attack and Criminal Fraud

Former Director of US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Heads Growing Panel of Top Experts

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES,16 June, 2015 - The GCC CYBER-SECURITY SUMMIT, which takes place in Abu Dhabi from 13-15 September 2015, will examine in detail the threats to the UAE and the region from the so-called 'Darknet' and from regional terrorism.

These will be among vital security matters to be addressed by some 25 leading international and regional experts - as they assess the key threat to the region's future well-being: cyber-attack.

A Keynote Speaker will be Michael D Brown, Former Director of FEMA (the US Federal Emergency Management Agency) who says: "The UAE has been a staunch partner of the US in key areas of international security, most recently in the struggle against ISIL terrorism in Iraq and Syria.  

"But a more insidious threat to the entire Arab Gulf is cyber-attack. It makes just as much impact on society as the bomber or the assassin."

John Lyons, CEO of the International Cyber Security Protection Alliance (ICSPA), will lecture on the exponential rise of groups which orchestrate theft of personal and financial information, credit card data and bank account logins.

"These people comprise the Darknet. The UAE is recognised as a significant source of wealth and so particular Darknet groups are targeting their attention on the Emirates," he warned last week. "They do this not only by compromising networks, applications and citizens' devices with malicious code, but also by recruiting insiders with privileged access to sensitive data."

The GCC CYBER-SECURITY SUMMIT takes place at the Abu Dhabi Beach Rotana Hotel from 13-15 September this year.

Joining Michael Brown and John Lyons as speakers will be influential international and regional cyber-specialists, providing robust analysis on these and many other strategic security concerns.

They include Dr Jonathan Reichental, CIO of the City of Palo Alto in California; Adel Al Housani, Head of Information Security at Dubai Customs; Dr Satyam Priyadarshy, Senior Fellow at the International Cyber Security Center, George Mason University, USA; Ibrahim Al Mallouhi, Vice-President Security Operations at Du Telecom, UAE; Fahad Al Hussein, Director of Information Security at King Fahad Medical City, Saudi Arabia; Patrick MacGloin, Director & Cyber-Security Lead ME, PWC and John W Curry of Industrial Automation & Control Systems, USA.

They - and more than 15 other specialists - will examine regional threat perceptions, risks and solutions. They will network with a distinguished audience of CEOs, COOs, CSOs, CIOs, CTOs, Security Experts, Financial Crime Advisers and Telecoms Managers as they assess how attacks on critical regional infrastructure have been and should be handled.

Above all, they will discuss how best to ensure secure government and business continuity in the face of ever-increasing levels of hacking and criminal espionage.

As Michael Brown emphasizes: "We need, above all, to correctly understand the nature of the threats facing the region as it seeks long term protection for its critical communications infrastructure."

The GCC CYBER-SECURITY SUMMIT is organised by TMC Conferences of Dubai - creators of the recently well-received GCC Big Data Summit, held in Dubai during March.

The conference programme, with fuller details on topics and speakers, is available on the GCC CYBER-SECURITY SUMMIT website, www.gcc-cybersecurity.com OR call TMC on: +971 4 276 5409; E-mail: info@gcc-cybersecurity.com

For further information, please contact:
Stefan Kemball
Director of Strategy, TMC
Tel: +971 4 276 5409
Email: stefan@tmc-me.com
Web: www.tmc-me.com 

Read about the event programme, advisory board, delegate booking and sponsorship opportunities at www.gcc-cybersecurity.com

© Press Release 2015