Cisco to Address Protection of Digital Economy, Importance of Public-Private Collaboration at U.S. - U.A.E. Cybersecurity Forum

Cisco today announced its sponsorship of the US-UAE Cybersecurity Forum to be held in Dubai on September 7, 2016 at the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel. The high-level forum is being organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, The American Business Council in Dubai, Dubai Chamber and Dubai Internet City to connect American companies and experts with leaders in the UAE’s cybersecurity community and top government officials and business leaders. The event aims to inform public policy discussions in the UAE, drive bilateral collaboration in cybersecurity and encourage cooperation amongst industry stakeholders.

​Cisco estimates that cybersecurity will drive $7.6 trillion of digital value over the next decade. More than three-quarters of this amount – $5.8 trillion – will result from cybersecurity’s enablement of digital use cases that instigate innovation and growth. As much as digitization and the Internet of Things (IoT) provides opportunities to businesses, consumers and citizens, they also create greater opportunities for attackers as modern networks and their components constantly evolve and spawn new attack vectors. The Cisco® 2016 Midyear Cybersecurity Report confirms that adversaries have become even more focused on generating revenue, as ransomware becomes a particularly effective moneymaker and enterprise users emerge as the preferred target of some operators. 

“The Industrialization of hacking has launched a new era of professional, entrepreneurial, and resourceful cyber criminals operating in a high-growth hacker economy. Increasingly profit-driven, their attacks are sophisticated, often targeted, efforts controlled by well-funded organized crime and occasionally driven by political agendas. Cybersecurity has become a vital issue for governments and companies across all sectors of the economy, from finance and healthcare to critical infrastructure and retail,” said Shukri Eid, Managing Director – East Region, Cisco Middle East. 

Underscoring the seriousness of recent cyberattacks, a common effort is emerging to address the need for greater collaboration among business and government stakeholders to minimize the impact of cyber attacks and strengthen national security. During the US-UAE Cybersecurity Forum, the U.S. ​Chamber ​of Commerce will ​launch ​a ‘​Cyber ​Working ​Group’ to ensure a sustained ​and ​constructive ​dialogue ​between ​American ​companies ​and ​the ​public ​and ​private ​sectors ​in ​the ​UAE and other GCC countries.

“Public-private sector partnerships are critical to the future of cybersecurity, as collaborative information sharing will ultimately help define global security standards. It’s critically important that we stop thinking about security as a defense-centric approach that is sold by fear, uncertainty and doubt. We need to start thinking about simplifying security as a requirement to drive new innovative business models that actually help the business go forward,” added Shukri Eid.

In the new digital economy, security is the foundation for agility, innovation, and growth. Organizations without effective security practices adopt digital capabilities more slowly and realize fewer benefits. 

Cisco’s sponsorship of the forum comes as part of its efforts to work collaboratively and build relationships with industry stakeholders to promote and encourage continued innovation in network security, raise awareness of the importance of getting secure and educate users about best practices. During the event, Cisco Cyber Security Expert, Naji Ukaily will participate in a panel discussion on Protecting a Digital Economy – Cybersecurity as a Pillar of Business in the 21st Century, underlining why organizations must build cybersecurity into their digital solutions as a foundational element, rather than trying to ‘bolt it on’ as an afterthought.