Cyber talk on tap at ISC West

It is only March, but I think it is safe to call 2017 the “year of cybesecurity” as the industry has doubled down on its focus to secure everything IP.

This cyber mania, so to speak, is not unfounded, as the security industry is learning firsthand—from recent highly publicized DDoS attacks and increased ransom-ware attacks to more and more stories of compromised cameras and security systems—that the convergence of physical security and IT is creating a new set of challenges and security risks.

As I prepare for ISC West, I am not surprised to see that this year's keynotes will be focusing on cybersecurtiy. I am very interested to hear what Philip Celestini, section chief, FBI Cyber Division, has to say in his keynote, “The FBI View of Cybersecurity: Threats, Trends and Protective Strategies,” on April 5 at 8:45 a.m.

I am particularly interested to hear how far the FBI has come in the past year in its war on cybercrime, as Celestini spoke on this topic at ESX 2016, providing some eye-opening statistics on the high cost of cyber attacks.

For example, at ESX last year Celesini pointed out that ransom-ware attacks went from causing $25 million in losses to $200 million in just one year in the U.S., as well as an astonishing $2 trillion in cyber crime losses worldwide. I wonder where those numbers are this year?

The next morning at 8:45, a panel discussion, “DDoS Threat Landscape & Defensive Countermeasures,” will look at how October 2016's attack on Dyn's DNS infrastructure was a gloomy wake-up call to the online community at-large. The panel will look at the role that IoT devices played in the attack against Dyn, as well as the attack against Krebs prior to it, as well as defensive countermeasures with a strong emphasis on preparedness ahead of these attacks.

And later in the day at 1:45 p.m., Matthew Rosenquist, cyber security strategist for the Intel Corporation, will present his keynote, “How Cyber-Attacks are Changing the Expectations of Security, Privacy, and Safety,” looking at the growing types of incidents and challenges in the industry that are driving shifts in expectations for security, privacy and safety, presenting a glimpse of the future where both risks and opportunities abound.

See you in Vegas!