Join us for an exclusive inside look at the latest happenings at Infosecurity Europe as explored by industry experts Sean and Marco. From keynote speakers to innovative showcases, get ready to dive into the heart of cybersecurity excellence.
Guests:
Nicole Mills, Exhibition Director at Infosecurity Europe [@Infosecurity]
On LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolemmills/
Victoria Aitken, Conference Manager at Infosecurity Europe [@Infosecurity]
On LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/vickyaitken/
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Hosts:
Sean Martin, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast [@RedefiningCyber]
On ITSPmagazine | https://www.itspmagazine.com/sean-martin
Marco Ciappelli, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining Society Podcast
On ITSPmagazine | https://www.itspmagazine.com/itspmagazine-podcast-radio-hosts/marco-ciappelli
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Episode Notes
Starting the Countdown with Sean and Marco
In a lively conversation, Sean and Marco discuss the anticipation leading up to Infosecurity Europe, sharing intriguing insights and predictions about the event. From favorite places to true stories, their dynamic exchange sets the tone for an exciting journey ahead.
Meeting the Industry Leaders
Nicole Mills and Victoria Aitken, from Infosecurity Europe, shed light on their roles and the evolution of the event over the years. With Nicole as the event director and Victoria as the conference manager, their expertise fuels the growth and success of this premier cybersecurity gathering.
Unveiling the Theme: Rethink the Power of Security
Dive into the core theme of this year's event, "Rethink the Power of Security," as Nicole elaborates on the strategic vision behind the theme. Explore how this concept drives the conference program, bringing together top-notch speakers, workshops, and exhibitors to shape the future of cybersecurity.
Innovation Unleashed: Showcasing Tomorrow's Tech
Discover the innovative showcases and startup zones that highlight cutting-edge technologies and solutions. From the Discovery Zone to the Startup Zone, experience a glimpse into the future of cybersecurity through a lens of creativity, entrepreneurship, and disruptive innovation.
Keynotes and Conversations: A Deep Dive
Get a sneak peek into the lineup of keynote speakers and their thought-provoking talks. From AI experts to industry leaders like Claire Williams from F1, the keynote stage promises a rich tapestry of discussions on trust, crisis management, and the power of collaboration in the cybersecurity landscape.
Empowering Women in Cyber
Stephanie Hare headlines a special afternoon dedicated to women in cybersecurity, emphasizing diversity, inclusion, and allyship in the industry. Learn how Infosecurity Europe champions gender equality and amplifies the voices of women professionals shaping the future of cybersecurity.
Looking Ahead: Tomorrow's Topics
Explore the new stage "Tomorrow's Topics," focusing on channel insights and the evolving trends in the cybersecurity domain. Discover how Infosecurity Europe stays ahead of the curve by embracing fresh perspectives, diverse voices, and transformative ideas in the ever-evolving cybersecurity landscape.
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Infosecurity Europe 2024 Coverage Countdown and Insights with Sean and Marco | An On Location Coverage Conversation with Event Director Nicole Mills and Conference Manager Victoria Aitken
Please note that this transcript was created using AI technology and may contain inaccuracies or deviations from the original audio file. The transcript is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a substitute for the original recording, as errors may exist. At this time, we provide it “as it is,” and we hope it can be helpful for our audience.
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00:00:00] Sean Martin: Marco.
[00:00:03] Marco Ciappelli: Sean. When, uh, when are you gonna be, where are you gonna be in 34 days, 23 hours, 15 minutes, and 16, 15, 14 seconds?
[00:00:13] Sean Martin: Somewhere fun. One of my favorite places of all time.
[00:00:16] Marco Ciappelli: Really it is. Is it Disneyland? No, it's not .
[00:00:21] Sean Martin: Disneyland's cool. But uh, but you're King London has the real castles.
[00:00:26] Marco Ciappelli: Oh,
[00:00:28] Sean Martin: not the It's true.
Yeah. Not the magical thing.
[00:00:30] Marco Ciappelli: True, true story. Its a true story.
[00:00:33] Sean Martin: It is a true story and. And lots of friends there. Mickey's cool, but I like my friends better than Mickey as well.
[00:00:41] Marco Ciappelli: You have real friends.
[00:00:42] Sean Martin: I have real friends. Yes.
[00:00:49] Marco Ciappelli: It's definitely something exciting. I was looking at the countdown as I was on the on the web page for this event, which is InfoSecurity Europe.
I know. And it is another tradition of ITSP Magazine. So. Who do we got on and uh, why is it a tradition?
[00:01:07] Sean Martin: We have our chats on the road to InfoSecurity Europe in London And it's being held at the Excel again this year and i'm thrilled to have Nicole and Vicky on We're going to get an overview of what's going on in the industry at the event And uh some some announcements as well.
I think from the event. So Nicole and Vicky. Thank you Vicky Nicole, I guess looking at the screen
[00:01:30] Victoria Aitken: Oh, yeah, it's the other way around
[00:01:33] Nicole Mills: To see you again this year. So this must be the third or fourth podcast that we've done together. I think
[00:01:42] Sean Martin: I know quite a few, quite a few. Is it, uh, I probably haven't marked down what year it is.
We're our fifth, fifth year. We had, we had a break for, uh, some, some funny business, uh, but, uh, we're back for our fifth. It's exciting. I mean, it is one of my favorite places, London, and the event is amazing. So
[00:02:04] Nicole Mills: great. We're looking forward to it.
[00:02:05] Sean Martin: So for those folks who watch us know you, Nicole, you've been on before.
Vicky's a new face. Welcome to the, uh, welcome to the conference and welcome to ITSP Magazine. We're thrilled to have you on. Maybe a few words about, uh, Your roles at the conference and, and why this year is such a big deal.
[00:02:29] Nicole Mills: So, um, I'm the event director for Info Security Europe, and this will be my eighth year on the show.
Um, obviously we did miss a couple of years. in between. So it's been a really exciting time watching the show grow, the industry just blooming, um, throughout the years as well. And then, uh, blooming to such an extent that we moved over to Excel just a couple of years ago. Um, which has enabled us to do some very different things there, which we'll be continuing to do this year as well.
We'll dig into that a little bit deeper shortly, but let me hand over to Vicky.
[00:03:08] Victoria Aitken: Hi everyone. And so my name is Vicky, I'm a speech therapist. I'm the conference manager for InfoSecurity Europe. This is my first year taking place with looking after all the stages with the keynote stages, the main large one that we've got there.
[00:03:26] Marco Ciappelli: Very cool. As Sean said, welcome. Like we own that place. And we're like, Oh, welcome. We welcome. Everybody here right now listening to this because what we're going to try to do here is to kind of transmit our excitement and I think Sean already went there to be there covering the event, having an amazing conversation on the floor before, as we're doing now with pre chat, pre conversation that we call CHATs on the Road.
Uh, due to the fact that, uh, it started by driving to events, but of course we're not driving to London. We're flying there. And, um, and we are also excited to know what's going on. So, uh, Nicole, let's start with you. What's the theme of this year's events? Why did you decide to go with this theme? And what are you envisioning for this eighth year that you are on the job?
[00:04:23] Nicole Mills: So our theme for this year's event is, uh, the same as our theme last year because it was such, so critical to how we were sort of bringing the event together. So it's Rethink the Power of Infrasecurity, or Rethink the Power of Security, actually. Um, and we've built the show around that. that with everything in mind.
So particularly the conference program has been built around that, bringing together all these great speakers, which Vicky can talk about, and like the real mix of our security workshops, our theatres, um, and of course, our exhibitors who bring so much to infrastructure to Europe. And again, we'll be exploring We're expecting about 400 of the sort of key vendors within the market coming this year, um, representing all of the product ranges geographically as well, you know, coming from the wider world all the way over to London to showcase their products.
And as ever, they always promise to do the most amazing things on their stands and their booths, which we're really looking forward to.
[00:05:30] Victoria Aitken: Great, thank you. And when we first started, um, I, we did a research project. Um, so we spoke to 200 CISOs chatting about them, all the main challenges. So we really got some main themes that were coming from them to make sure that our content, our stages address those main challenges that keep them up at night.
So from those kinds of areas, we were finding out about budget increases, the threats driving cyber security systems. AI. Everyone is talking about AI, but looking at that around regulatory challenges and then crucially, a lot of it was around a cyber aware culture as well. So that embedding that in as well, there's a lot of obviously talk around the CISO burnout as well, and resilience and mental wellbeing and by empowering a workforce and your colleagues.
To really, you know, understand the threats. So everyone's vigilant, they were the main things that were coming out. We've also got an advisory board, so we work very closely with those people. Around 21 individuals, very high level from automotive, healthcare, finance. Banking. So we spoke to them face to face just to make sure that we were really capturing what is going on.
It's so fast moving. We've been through a real estate of perma crisis really with a lot of big things that have been going on across the industry. So we really wanted to touch base with them and find out what needs to be discussed and you know, adding to that conversation, understanding that obviously people yeah, have got similar challenges.
and things going on in their world, and where we can really bring people together to understand best practice, where they're investing, and yeah, just to make sure that it's really interesting and you know, educational over those three days across all of our stages.
[00:07:14] Sean Martin: One of the key things I love about this event is the, I'll just say, the diversity of The approach to innovation and tackling of the challenges that we face as an industry.
Clearly the world over struggles with some of the same threats, but the way we look at it differently in different regions changes how we build products, roll services out, build programs, communicate and collaborate with our peers. And a lot of that's driven by culture and different laws, US versus Europe and UK.
And And obviously investments in markets drive things differently as well. So it's always exciting for me to get a different perspective on how people approach this problem, how people communicate and work with each other, and to see the different solutions that. That are born out of, out of Europe and then global, but coming together at InfoSec London.
So what's, um, are there any highlights? Cause I know there's an innovation, uh, let's see here. There's, there's a technology showcase and innovation. So showcase startup showcase. So a lot, a lot of showcases where to me, a lot of this innovation and creative mindset comes to bear. Can you kind of touch on those three?
If there are other areas where this shines through, that'd be great.
[00:08:41] Victoria Aitken: Yeah, sure. I'll go for it. So it's something, it's really interesting the points that you make there, cause you're seeing that international collaboration happening really in an increasing way. You've got the Pal Mal agreement, you've got the LockBit takedown and it's something that I've been keen to put across the keynote stage as well.
So we've got people from Catalonian agency coming across. So they're talking about a cyber attack that they had at one of their hospitals And it's a real key thing on that sharing and understanding because it's not just a UK issue. It's not just a Europe issue. It's that real international approach.
And that's how, you know, ransomware groups are operating. So it's that, you know, shared experience. It's going to really, you know, help our fight against that really challenging threat landscape. So, yeah, and I'll pass over around the innovation side, Nicole.
[00:09:27] Nicole Mills: Yeah. So, um, the ones that you mentioned, these areas we've sort of focused on to help our visitors navigate the show.
So we have, um, the Discovery Zone. So the Discovery Zone is, um, probably around 80 to 90 companies. And these are exhibitors who haven't been at InfraSecurity Europe before. So they're all new to us. They're not necessarily new to the industry for sure, but it's to help the visitors navigate and see who's new to the show.
Because actually, uh, when we've been speaking to our customers, one of the key things has been about actually, I want to find out what's new and innovative, what new products and solutions are coming The market as well. Then outside the Discovery Zone, we've got the Startup Zone. So these are companies who are very fresh in the market, typically under three years old.
Um, so, and again, they're geographically represented. So beyond the borders of the UK, they have their own So they have, you know, they're doing sort of short, quick fire talks on that theater, um, as well. So they will give everyone an indication of the sort of new and upcoming companies coming into the market, uh, driving all the solutions.
And then again, and, and I, we've been running this for a number of years, actually with one of the government bodies. So with the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology is the most innovative cyber SME company. Um, so we're running that again for 2024. Those companies are situated in the innovation zone.
And, you know, it's a competition that's being run with the DCIT. Um, and it's about to come to close actually. So we will be announcing these finalists quite shortly in the next. Next week, actually the finalists for those competitions and you know, it's a great opportunity for them to come and meet all the audience of infrasecurity.
They get, um, and again, there's another stage in there and each of those companies will be delivering two individual speaking slots across the, uh, first two days of the show, actually. So yeah, we're trying to really highlight, uh, obviously we've got a lot of great friends within the infrasecurity industry, lots of familiar faces, uh, which are wonderful, but we've also got these zones where we're highlighting particularly new companies coming into the industry or into the show.
[00:12:04] Marco Ciappelli: That's really cool. Um, I always try to guess what is the buzzword of every conference, but I got my money on the winner this year because I know it's going to be AI. So that's that's way too easy. And talking about that, I'd like to I know that one of the keynote on the keynote stage to start is actually going to be talking about deep fake is an expert in generative AI.
Henry Ager and. With that, maybe, uh, Vicky, you want to tell us a couple of, uh, exciting talk that you know they're up on your schedule?
[00:12:43] Victoria Aitken: Yeah, I'd love to. So each one of the three days we kick off with a really great keynote speaker. So as you touched on there, the first one on day one is Henry Ada. So he's a deepfake and AI generated expert.
Um, so he'll be, yeah, really interesting and be covering, I mean, you hear a lot about it with obviously on the state side around, you know, you see these humorous clips like politicians, they've all obviously been deepfake. So it's something that you have to be aware of. And he then joins. A fireside chat afterwards.
So wading through AI overload, because as we touched on before, AI is everywhere. Um, but I think people really want to get, you know, to grips with it in terms of what they should be implementing and what the real risks are. We also touch on that on day two, when we talk about unlocking its value in a safe and secure way.
And then on day two, really excited to have the high performance podcasters who are joining us. So that is Jake Humphrey and Damian Hughes. They do an incredibly popular podcast where they've spoken to some massive celebrities. They were actually in the States last week talking to Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Um, but they have spoken to the people at the top of all different industries. They've really got that insight into what success looks like for them and how they achieved it. It's very honest. It's very raw. Um, they've spoken to some really interesting people. So they're going to be looking at those tech examples for us.
Also trust. Um, touching on crisis management as well. So our audience are gonna, I'd say with a generalization, but they've all kind of dealt with it, a cyber attack or have to be aware of that. It's a very adrenaline filled scenario, and it's, you know, very challenging. So we'll be discussing, you know, the tips around that side of things.
And then on day three, we've got Claire Williams as well. So she is obviously from F1, incredibly successful businesswoman. And that will be an interview with our editor from Info Security Magazine as well. So really, really looking forward to it. I think that's definitely something to highlight as well.
Over the days of the actual keynote stage itself, we've got some great names that are joining us that will be obviously sharing their insights. We've got National Cyber Security Centre, Cyber Griffin from City of London Police, really touching on the ransomware side of things. Just on, you know, reporting.
There's some stuff that, you know, perhaps people aren't aware of regarding that and how much gets reported and what to do in those situations. Again, with the Government Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. So that's on the AI regulation side of things because the industry's, you know, really kind of crying out some guidance on what to do.
News Corp as well. So John Davis is a great speaker from ex Microsoft. Motorola, Trustpilot, UCL, Dentons. Aston Martin, some really big, big names and some great CISOs. That's one thing you really notice about the community is they're so willing to share because they're like, we've just gone through this, this was really bad.
Like we really want to share with you or what we're doing or where we're spending our money or, you know, that's a real sense of collaboration, which is really lovely to see. And as we've touched 29th year going into our 30th. That's incredibly well established, so I don't have to explain it. We're there to help explain the event to anyone.
Everyone knows who we are and what we're trying to do, so it's really great to see.
[00:15:58] Nicole Mills: That's a great representation of different industries coming to speak on the keynote stage. I think, um, you know, it's great to have that mix, I think of, you know, AI experts and then, you know, CISOs coming off and car manufacturers, lawyers.
Um, yeah, you know, utility companies. I think that gives a really great Good balance to the topics and talks that they'll be discussing.
[00:16:22] Victoria Aitken: Yeah, for sure. And then we also have got multiple stages, but another one is the strategy talks one, which is great because our advisory board select those. So we know that they're going to be really high calibers.
There's some really interesting talks around those as well over the three days as well. So that's another stage that I'll be really looking forward to seeing and is always very popular.
[00:16:42] Sean Martin: There are a couple of, uh, workshop type, uh, security workshop and, uh, That's the other one that talking tactics. Maybe that's not quite a workshop, but certainly more what I like to call operational where you can kind of see how this stuff fits into what you're doing on a daily basis.
Can you describe?
[00:17:05] Victoria Aitken: And yeah, of course. Obviously, so we lead with obviously a case study example. So as you share, it's really sharing insights there as well. The security workshops are great because they're 90 minutes and then much smaller. They're up on the South Galleries. You've got beautiful views of the Thames. And so you can really obviously enjoy that kind of stuff.
Smaller, intimate, more networking style in a round tables. And so, yeah, that's much more obviously intimate. So yeah, there's a whole variety of different stages across the show floor, all inviting obviously clients and everyone to, to listen and to watch.
[00:17:38] Nicole Mills: The security workshops, I think there's like 12 a day, so there's a really good mix that you can sort of dig into, um, but fully representing across most product areas, I think.
And I think, you know, from prior experience, they are absolutely packed. So I think people are really looking to have that hands on, um, information coming at them, but also to, to be in an environment where they feel free to share, you know, you know, in a theatre it's not always that easy to ask the questions at the end, but in the workshops they've got the ability to be asking all the vendors those difficult questions that they might have and the challenges and help them with that.
So it's a really interactive, um, area.
[00:18:23] Sean Martin: And lo loads of CISOs. I mean, I, I was looking through, obviously we, we analyzed, dissect the, the, uh, program in great detail. Uh, lots of CISOs, we're gonna be chatting with a few of 'em. Kevin Ger, I think is joining us. Um, and to your point, um, earlier about the, the AI overload and the, the, the, um, fireside Chad, we're gonna actually have pon who's leading that.
[00:18:48] Victoria Aitken: From
[00:18:49] Sean Martin: Forrester. And I'm interested to hear, uh, what his take on it is from an analyst perspective and how, how CISOs can, can really get a handle on this.
[00:19:02] Victoria Aitken: Yeah, definitely. And that was something that we really wanted to grasp. Um, across the, you know, just very mindful that these people are very educated, very, they've been in the industry for decades, so I need to add value and teach them something new.
So that's something like Forrester with that analyst there. I hope it will be great. He'll be able to share tactically what people are doing and what you should be doing, because that was something that came out of our advisory board meeting was like, What are you doing? Are we doing the right thing?
Please can someone help us? And so that was, yeah, the embedded within all of the conference. Program on the keynote is always, I've leant towards really tactical case study led instead of theory. And so it's like really tangible so people can take away real insights and either learn from them or implement them and just have that deeper understanding.
[00:19:50] Marco Ciappelli: Yeah, I mean, as you were talking, I've been scrolling with my right little hand, and I'm like, this is like, this is like scroll looking at the end of Star Wars or like a major movie where you have it never ends, right? And that's beautiful, because as you're describing, it's not just about going through the expo, like it may have been years ago, where it was more like vendor base, you're really doing Education, you're bringing the business,, and I think that the fact that you have grown from the Olympia to the Excel, this show that cybersecurity embrace everything, which makes me very, very understanding of the choice of keeping the same thing, which is rethinking security and, and, and the way that we interact with it at a consumer level.
Business level, healthcare and all of that. Anything that you would like to, I don't know, reveal and really like, you know, hook people to say, Hmm, time to get that ticket to London?
[00:20:56] Victoria Aitken: Uh, yeah, of course. One thing I'd love to highlight to you as well is on the Wednesday afternoon, we've got a dedicated afternoon to women in cyber.
So this was taking place last year. It was absolutely fantastic. Full to the brim with people, and now it's come on to the keynote stage, which is a much larger capacity where we have Stephanie Hare, and it's something as individuals, as an organization, we're really passionate about is really increasing that diversity and inclusion.
So there's an afternoon dedicated to that, which is incredibly popular. Very, very popular. So, um, you know, I'm really looking forward to that as well. And it's something as well across the agenda, too. Um, it's just having that variety of different perspectives and different voices. So that's something that's new for this year.
We've also got a new stage as well called Tomorrow's Topics. So on the first day, that's a day dedicated to channel, which again, it won't come as any great surprise that AI is featuring quite heavily across that again. Um, but that's something new as well. Great. Then obviously our keynote speakers are all, we really refresh it.
Obviously I need to have, yeah, new perspectives and new voices there too. So that's a really high level of new interactions there too.
[00:22:06] Marco Ciappelli: Very cool.
[00:22:07] Sean Martin: We had a, we had a good chat with Stephanie here about the program. And, uh, I mean, it's an exciting. It's going to be an exciting, uh, session.
[00:22:17] Victoria Aitken: Yeah, definitely. One thing we've really pushed for is this allyship as well.
So, you know, it's not just obviously for one area of people, it's for everyone. Everyone needs to listen. So we all have to be in it if we want it to change.
[00:22:32] Sean Martin: Well, three, three days of goodness, uh, June 4th, 5th and 6th at the Excel in London, of course. And, uh, don't miss a minute of it. Literally, I mean, it's you go and you meet people and you have conversations and you connect and you collaborate and you learn and you share and hopefully take something back to whatever your role is in cyber from analyst to leader and, uh, and make some good things happen.
So, um, I'm thrilled to be there and thrilled to be part of it. Part of it. And I look forward to seeing you both there as well as everybody else.
[00:23:09] Marco Ciappelli: Well, as I said at the beginning, this has become a tradition. We love to go to London. We love to come to to the event. Last year we were blessed with amazing weather.
Something I've never seen in London before, like sunny day after sunny day. Sean and I did a A lot of improv session, um, in front of the Big Ben. We, we did it in the park. We did it right outside the Excel with the themes in the background. So we're excited. So, um, I, I think you can tell, and I think that our audience, either they can make it there because it's really an
[00:23:45] Marco Ciappelli: experience that you don't want to miss, but if you can't, because it's not maybe, uh, next door to where you live, uh, just follow us and we'll, we'll bring you, we'll bring you there.
We'll do, we'll do our best. Of course.
[00:23:58] Nicole Mills: Yeah. If you bought the weather last year, bring the weather. I, uh,
[00:24:06] Marco Ciappelli: I, um, uh, try to pack it and put the whole sun in
[00:24:10] Sean Martin: it. I put it in a bottle. Oh man,
[00:24:13] Marco Ciappelli: that'd be fantastic. But, uh, no matter what, it's going to be a great experience. Yeah.