Commenting on audit firm Ernst & Young report that concludes many companies are only making incremental changes to their security platforms – and not looking at the bigger picture – the organisers of an information security exhibition and conference say that the pressure is clearly now on IT security professionals to do more with less.
According to Claire Sellick, Event Director for the annual IT security show Infosecurity Europe – which runs in London each April – “whilst it is clear that IT security professionals are under budgetary pressure, the solution to this situation is to become better informed about the security solutions that are available”.
“Against a backdrop of three-quarters of organisations reporting an increase in external attacks and 31 per cent experiencing a higher number of security incidents in the last two years, the pressure is increasing on information security professionals to do more with less.”
“Coupled with the increase speed of change and increasing threats, this report paints a gloomy picture of the IT security landscape. Our observations, however, suggest that nothing could be further from the truth, as most data governance and cybersecurity expects who attended our previous show in April this year were a smiling and happy bunch. Under pressure, yes, but sufficiently informed to better weather the budgetary storms ahead,” she added.
The Infosecurity Europe Event Director went on to say that planning for the next three-day show – which opens at London’s Earl’s Court centre, pictured, on April 23 – has already started, and education continues to be a central element of the conference and exhibition.
“In 2013 there will be no less than seven education elements, centering on the Keynote, Business Strategy and Technical Theatres – backed up with an Information Security Exchange, Workshops and Technology Showcase – and rounded out by the ever-popular Infosecurity Hall of Fame”, she explained.
“The observations and conclusions of Ernst & Young’s Global Information Security Survey 2012 are clearly a snapshot of the state of play in the every-changing world of IT security”, says Sellick.
“The important thing to remember”, she adds, is that – “as never before – knowledge is now power, and especially so when it comes to data governance and cybersecurity issues”.
“It is reports like this that explain why Infosecurity Europe’s education programme is so attractive to attendees, many of whom would normally have to pay for the free advice from a variety of industry professionals if they were at a conference,” she said.
For more on the Infosecurity Europe show: http://www.infosec.co.uk
For more on the Ernst & Young’s Global Information Security Survey 2012 report: http://bit.ly/UdaE0o
