Infosec 2014 Highlights

A week after Infosec, we can look back and say it was a great show. Twenty years on, it still successfully delivers insights into the dynamic market of information security. With 340 companies, of which 80 were new exhibitors, special country pavilions for 24 international representatives and a great wealth of products, tools and services, there was plenty on offer. 

Source: @InfoSec_Joy

The discussions and panels were up to date with current changes to the economy, legislation and global trends in cybersecurity and experts, such as Peter Wood, Mikko Hypponen, Graham Cluley, Dr. Eric Cole, Rik Ferguson and James Lyne, attracted audiences with panel debates and thought-provoking updates on the industry. 

James Lyne (left) and Rik Ferguson (right) on a thought-provoking revelation Credits to @DanRaywood

      As cybercrime increases, cybersecurity will constitute a business driver in the future. 

Many speeches and presentations have brought fresh views for information security professionals, but the one we liked best was MP David Willetts’ keynote speech. The highlight of his keynote at Infosec has been the 2014 Cyber Security Breaches Survey launch. As he went through the highlights of the survey, he also reminded the audience of how the Cyber Growth Partnership "aims to increase the value of cyber security exports to £2bn a year by 2016". As cybercrime is a costly strain on UK business, cybersecurity can be a chance to boost the country’s economy. 

 Peter Wood moderates the debate. Source: scmagazineuk.com

  Meanwhile, Peter Wood, CEO at First Base Technologies, and a keen user of Nipper Studio, moderated a panel debate on "Security as a Business Enabler". The general consensus of the conversation was that while there's little evidence to support that information security actively brings in profits, global breaches have shown that they do drive away business. He also found time to drop by our stand for a quick catch up - Thank you, Peter!

   The Malvern Cyber Security Cluster is growing. 

   

      But for the cyber security companies trading from the “cyber valley”, there was good news as the Minister, David Willetts, congratulated the  7 winners of a total of £500 000 in investments for R&D from the Technology Strategy Board. 

      It was rewarding to see that the Malvern Cyber Security Cluster is taking centre-stage at an event such as Infosec Europe. D-RisQ Ltd, Montvieux Limited, PixelPin, C2B2, Infinite Precision Ltd, Babble IT Systems Ltd, Westgate Cyber Security Ltd deserve congratulations for their innovation and techniques in the cyber security industry. 

 Titania's software and updates proved attractive to visitors once again. 

Titania went to Infosec with great products, a relentless team, champagne and a lot of chocolate. We came back with fresh questions to answer, plenty of compliments and (sadly!) no more chocolate. 

    

Mark & Peter (Hedgehog Security) & Steve Penny (middle)

We saw an increased interest in compliance and security auditing this year, as well as answering a lot of questions on our upcoming product - TEC. We met lots of friends on the Malvern Cyber Cluster stand as we took turns to attend to the booth – Advent Security, Borwell, DeepSecure, UK Cyber Security Association, Sutcliffe & Co., Hedgehog Security.

 

At the end we bumped into Pen Test Partners when we went out for some well-deserved burgers. To our surprise the burgers did not come from their ad-hoc kitchen – apparently their “cooking” skills were a tad more sophisticated.  

Pentest's Kitchen... Cooking up some AV Source: pentestpartners.com

Finally, back in the office, our team celebrated with a bottle of champagne...

The team (from left to right): Neil, Charlotte, Ian, Nicola, Kelly, Nigel, Andy