Cyber security seminar to be held in mid-May

Muscat: In an era when security threats sneaks daily and compliance regulations get more complex every time, creating concrete and updated security measures is crucial for everyone.
With the continuous state of change in the worldwide cyber threat scenario, organisations face attacks and security breaches that are increasing in numbers and complexity every day, said a press release.
OmanAd’s Seminars and Conference Division, is planning to host a two-day intensive seminar with support from the Information Technology Authority (ITA) on Cyber Security Seminar for Smartphone, SCADA Security, IIOT and Big Data in mid-May at the Sheraton Oman Hotel. The keynote speaker will be Jorge Sebastiao, a world renowned speaker on Cyber Security.
Mobile technology has come a long way in a relatively short span of time. People are using powerful gadgets that are able to transmit, store data, and connect to the internet, with a simple tap.The seminar will focus on devices, which give increased internet connectivity and convenience, yet they are prone to greater security risks and the growing threat of mobile-related cybercrime.
Mobile security is more important than ever before. Security risks are greater in the workplace, where smartphones and tablets are increasingly being used across all types of organisations. According to enterprise mobility and information security experts, restrictive measures are vital in the fight against cybercrime and the customers need to therefore be proactive in mitigating any risk.
SCADA security is a topic of increasing concern for network operators. SCADA systems monitor and control mission-critical equipment and infrastructure. It is important to prevent the unauthorised interception of this data or the malicious injection of bogus or harmful traffic. Failure or security breaches of these systems could result in a wide-reaching adverse impact, not only for the organisation, but for the community and economy atlarge that depends on their goods or services.
The seminar will also focus on SCADA systems that are increasing in complexity, due to the integration of different components produced in many cases by different manufacturers. It is therefore necessary to address the security level of each device, but also the overall environment; integration tests are fundamental during the deployment phase, the design approach must totally change and has to take care of all the possible cyber threats that could arm the systems.
There must be a collective effort by all governments to produce a continuous report on the security status of critical infrastructures and related SCADA systems. The overall security will pass through global collaboration and information sharing on possible cyber threats and the vulnerabilities of every device that is qualified in the market.
The security component must become part of the project of the industrial system, it must be considered as a specific requirement, and overall security of critical infrastructures must be audited during the entire life cycle of its components.