Agenda | AKJ Associates

08:00 - 08:50	Registration and Networking
08:50 - 09:00	Chairman's Welcome
09:00 - 09:20	► Back to basics: security in an increasingly connected world Bassel Assah, Head of InfoSec and Business Continuity, Bankmed The implications of breaches such as SolarWinds and warning signs for security professionals Regulators, compliance, and governance vs. actual security: the need to balance. Future of cybersecurity: are machine learning and AI enough? IoT and embedded systems: history repeating itself. In an increasingly connected world, returning to security basics is crucial to enable growth.
09:20 - 09:40	► Q42020 Malware Trends: Year Punctuated by Ransomware and Data Breaches Nour Fateen, Presales Manager, UKI & META, Recorded Future Analysing trends in malware use, distribution, and development throughout 2020 and the TTPs that had a major impact on technology Covering how ransomware operators continue to have an opportunistic mindset when conducting campaigns, putting more emphasis on data theft extortion to increase their chances of profitability Explaining how threat hunters and SOC teams can strengthen their security posture by prioritising hunting techniques and detection methods based on this research and data
09:40 - 10:00	► CISOs, Complexity, Containment (and other C-words) Thom Langford, Security Advocate, SentinelOne Why traditional protective approaches are no longer effective enough How complexity has made the CISO’s ability to respond more difficult The importance of automation in the response process to address this paradigm shift CISOs now face
10:00 - 10:20	► Coping with Complexity: Building security into your E-commerce journey Mohammad Faheem, Cyber Security Lead, Chalhoub Group Customer facing businesses have adapted to hybrid or online service models. This environment has proved challenging for security teams tasked with securing more applications, devices and platforms than ever before. The initial steps for embedding security into your digital projects: addressing the challenges of time-sensitive integrations. Third party providers: assessing their security capabilities to reduce complexity. Adopting a continuous approach to API security and implementing sufficient security controls and tools at every stage.
10:20 - 10:50	► Education Seminars Session 1 Delegates will be able to choose from the following education seminars: Ponemon Middle East Encryption Trends Study, Hamid Qureshi, Territory Sales Manager, Middle East & Africa, Entrust How to build an advanced SOC with limited resources, Amjad Khader, Enterprise Sales Manager, LogRhythm Extortionware: Your Privacy Problems Made Public, Lonnie Benavides, Head of Infrastructure and Application Security, OneLogin Risk, Threat, Response: Drive Complexity, Time, and Cost Out of Your Security Program, Miles Tappin, VP of EMEA at ThreatConnect
10:50 - 11:20	Networking break
11:20 - 11:40	► From Technologist to Risk Manager: Changing the Cybersecurity Mindset Roland Abi Najem, Cyber Security Consultant & Instructor, American University of Science & Technology The prevalence of sophisticated nation-state attacks on even the most secure organisations highlights that an attack could happen to any organisation, at any time. Despite this, cybersecurity is still often treated as a purely technical issue, with organisations investing in solutions without considering how tools will help protect their organisation in practice. Technology is key to identifying a cyber-attack, but when your people are critical in preventing and effectively mitigating the impact of an attack, organisations must ensure that their investments are allocated accordingly. So, how can cybersecurity professionals shake up their approach, transitioning from technologist to risk manager, to ensure cyber-risks are managed holistically?
11:40 - 12:00	► Lock the doors before profiling the burglar Trevor Dearing, Technology Director, EMEA, Illumio It’s true that rumours of the death of the perimeter have been vastly exaggerated. A simple approach, partnering with IT can be far more effective and helps to make threat management work better By employing good hygiene it is possible to stop the spread of viruses and ransomware
12:00 - 12:20	► PAM: Foundational Security For Business Transformation Michael Byrnes, Director of Solutions Engineering Middle East, India & Africa, BeyondTrust Digital transformation: what it is, why we should care and how PAM can support the security team Why automation isn’t just for the business How to mitigate identity risk with PAM
12:20 - 12:40	► Securing the New Normal: Cyber AI for the Inbox Dan Fein, Director of Email Security Products, Darktrace Today, 94% of cyber-threats still originate in the inbox and ‘Impersonation attacks’ are on the rise, as artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to automatically generate spear-phishing emails, or ‘digital fakes’, that expertly mimic the writing style of trusted contacts and colleagues. Humans can no longer distinguish real from fake on their own – businesses are increasingly turning to AI to distinguish friend from foe and fight back with autonomous response. In an era when thousands of documents can be encrypted in minutes, ‘immune system’ technology takes action in seconds – stopping cyber-threats before damage is done.
12:40 - 13:10	► Education Seminars Session 2 Delegates will be able to choose from the following education seminars: Cloud usage is dramatically increasing – are your security policy controls keeping up? Kostas Lotsis, Senior Sales Engineer EMEA, Firemon Eliminate Uncertainty with Security Validation, Hatem Ali, Global Services and Intelligence Lead, MEA, FireEye SAP Security Threat Landscape 2021, Frederik Weidemann, Chief Technical Evangelist, Onapsis Inc Micro-segmentation and your security strategy, Migchiel de Jong, Systems Engineer, Illumio
13:10 - 14:10	Lunch and Networking
14:10 - 14:30	► Security through control maturity and assurance in times of rapid change John Elliott, Director, Industry Standards, Mastercard Controls (and therefore compliance) deteriorate over time because of change and a lack of attention to regular tasks. This has been exacerbated by the rapid transformation many companies have gone through in the past 12 months. Criminals are not slow to take advantage of vulnerabilities – “do security later” is a dangerous risk decision to take. In the current landscape, criminals are likely to ransomware your computer after they have stolen cardholder data. So, the threat goes beyond just data loss to suspension of business operations. One of the key advantages of assessments is that organisations ‘discover’ when a control is failing and can correct it, putting off assessments removes this independent view of your controls. What can be done? Shift the focus to the maturity of key controls: patching & vulnerability management, log reviews.
14:30 - 14:50	► Zero Trust: More than just a buzzword? Jonathan Hallatt, Regional Sales Director, Pulse Secure Working from home is here to stay: the explosion of devices, data and remote workers has expanded the cyber-attack surface for organisations. Those looking to improve secure access to mitigate cyber risk are faced with key challenges such as over-privileged employees and Shadow IT. How can hyper-converged access address these challenges? Key considerations for actioning a Zero Trust Model and consolidating your VPN Solutions Looking forward: improving user experience, protecting your infrastructure when returning to the office and continuously monitoring access
14:50 - 15:10	► Why traditional Pen Testing fails to protect you; requires Adversarial Testing Ron Peeters, Vice President Middle East and Emerging Markets, Synack Learn why your current testing practices are insufficient against malicious hacking groups and state-sponsored cyberattacks Discover a sophisticated offensive intelligence and attack model from the US NSA / DoD now available to organizations in the Middle East Hear how combining crowdsourced teams of top-class security researchers with machine learning and AI can be virtually deployed to begin finding exploits within a matter of hours. Use case studies from the region to reduce vulnerability and harden your attack surface
15:10 - 15:30	► Executive Panel Discussion: The Cloud Conundrum: Managing Security and Risks in the Cloud For many organisations, the adoption of Cloud-based apps and storage is happening at scale. Now more than ever, information security teams need visibility and controls, they need to limit unauthorised access and they need to ensure cloud security priorities are aligned across the organisation. In this discussion, we will examine the key considerations for defining a cloud security strategy, discuss managing privacy and data protection regulations in a cloud environment and lift the lid on the big picture implications of cloud on your security staff. Taimur Ijlal, Head of Cloud Security & DevSecOps, Network International Shakeel Ahmed, Head of Infrastructure & IT Security, Leading Investment and Development Company Based in Abu Dhabi Sreedevi Jayachandran, Information Security and Risk Advisory, MIG Holding
15:30 - 16:00	Networking break
16:00 - 16:20	► The broader context of Cyber Resilience and Data: Essential considerations for your organisation’s ecosystem Luna de Lange, Partner and Data Protection Officer, KARM Legal Consultants Effective data and cybersecurity strategies, frameworks and policies: management and implementation, for your digitization journey Continuous commitment to personal data protection and privacy Effective, proactive management and risk-based approaches to data and security management Ancillary components to Risk Management: Situational awareness, Threat Intelligence; Testing and Auditing; Evolution Assigning accountability within your organisation: individual responsibilities, crossovers; legal and compliance considerations. Navigating the Legal and regulatory landscape in the Middle East: Essentials you need to know.
16:20 - 16:40	► Combatting Financial Cyber Crime: insights from Western Union Wissam Abed, Leader – Financial Intelligence Unit - Middle East & South Asia, Western Union Law Enforcement and Government Authorities – Collaboration, Partnership & Investigative Assistance. e-Crime, Consumer Scams, Internet Fraud and other Financial Crime Types: trends in the Middle East. Building a Typology Cycle – Acting on Intelligence & Analytical Process Flow.
16:40 - 17:00	►The State of the CISO Simon Brady, Managing Editor, AKJ Associates Ltd Do Boards really value cybersecurity? Why are so many companies still focusing on the ‘basics’ of five years ago? And why do CISOs leave their jobs so quickly? In this session, AKJ’s Managing Editor, Simon Brady, reveals our research on CISO thinking in 2021. Is your Board all talk and no walk? Do business heads care about cybersecurity? Has cybersecurity evolved sufficiently over the past five years? Is more government provision of security the answer to key problems?
17:00 - 17:30	Networking break
17:30	Conference Close

Education seminars

SAP Security Threat Landscape 2021

Frederik Weidemann, Chief Technical Evangelist, Onapsis Inc

In the past few years, 64% of organizations’ ERP systems have been breached, according to a research study by IDC.
Are you aware how attackers have breached, and can break into unprotected customer SAP landscapes?

Attend this session to gain insights into:

What attacks on your SAP systems look like
What security challenges exist in SAP environments (e.g. S/4HANA)
Moving to the cloud with confidence — how to address security in hybrid landscapes
Ways to protect your organization

Cloud usage is dramatically increasing – are your security policy controls keeping up?

Kostas Lotsis, Senior Sales Engineer EMEA, Firemon

According to Gartner, “Through 2022, at least 95% of cloud security failures will be the customer’s fault.”

The most significant step an organisation can take to ensure appropriate levels of cloud security is for the corporate leadership to agree that cloud computing has become indispensable and that it should be governed through planning and policy.

We will be discussing Gartner’s findings

Why delaying cloud migrations due to an exaggerated fear of the security of cloud providers, is resulting in lost opportunity and inappropriate spending
Why a strategic cloud strategy that is lagging behind cloud usage, is leaving a hole in governance, leading to unnecessary compliance incidents and data leakage
The impact of a lack of skills and resources for cloud use cases
How to secure your cloud migrations with strategy and planning.

Micro-segmentation and your security strategy

Migchiel de Jong, Systems Engineer, Illumio

Segmentation is a well-known technical concept applicable to many domains. We will discuss the current state of affairs; why segmentation is relevant and what problems it helps address. Review the problems organizations have with implementing and maintaining segmentation and how you can address those problems.
Takeaways:

Have a good understanding of the concept of segmentation
Understand and recognize the problems with segmentation
How to build a segmentation strategy

Ponemon Middle East Encryption Trends Study

Hamid Qureshi, Territory Sales Manager, Middle East & Africa, Entrust

The 2020 Middle East Encryption Trends Study, conducted by analyst firm the Ponemon Institute, is generated from a survey of 342 IT professionals based in the Middle East and highlights how leading organizations are applying their encryption strategies, with detailed insights into the use cases that are growing the fastest.

Join this session to find out more about the:

Growing use of encryption for emerging use cases like Docker containers and the Internet of Things
Increasing adoption of the cloud and cloud data encryption
Continued pain associated with managing encryption keys and how this is driving the adoption of hardware security modules

How to build an advanced SOC with limited resources

Amjad Khader, Enterprise Sales Manager, LogRhythm

Whilst some organizations have a 24x7 security operations centre (SOC) with teams of dedicated analysts carefully monitoring for threats around the clock, every day of the year. Unfortunately, most organizations cannot afford a 24x7 SOC. The cost of having well-trained analysts onsite at all times outweighs the benefit.

In this session we will outline:

Various security operations models - from an informal SOC to a 24x7 staffed team
Common challenges faced by organizations with limited resources, including the dangers of an informal SOC approach
How to balance the real cost of an informal SOC, against the potential damage caused by a data breach or uncontrolled malware
Steps to building a SOC with limited resources

Extortionware: Your Privacy Problems Made Public

Lonnie Benavides, Head of Infrastructure and Application Security, OneLogin

Over the last decade, ransomware has increasingly become the most popular option for hackers to monetize the access they've obtained to corporate computer systems around the world. Over the last few years, we've observed the ransomware software and techniques adapt and evolve to include the theft and exposure of private information, creating extortionware as a new breed of malicious software. This talk will provide an overview of these techniques and discuss the potential privacy and security impacts you may face as a result.

Key takeaways from session:

Greater understanding of the breadth of ransomware and extortionware
The evolution of ransomware
Prevention tools you can deploy to protect your data

Risk, Threat, Response: Drive Complexity, Time, and Cost Out of Your Security Program

Miles Tappin, VP of EMEA at ThreatConnect

Businesses of all sizes are under constant threat of cyber attack. Making matters worse, the IoT revolution is enlarging and complicating the cyber attack surface. Traditional security approaches will no longer work in this new environment, where security teams are drowning in vulnerabilities and alerts.

Join this presentation to learn the game-changing benefits of the new Risk—Threat—Response approach to cybersecurity and risk management.

What Attendees Will Learn

We will explore each element of the Risk—Threat—Response paradigm in detail.

Risk: Why it is necessary and possible to scope the risk scenarios that matter most to your business from a financial perspective
Threat: Manage the threat landscape with a priority view into the risk scenarios that matter most to your business
Response: Automate & Orchestrate response across the entire security technology stack

Eliminate Uncertainty with Security Validation

Hatem Ali, Global Services and Intelligence Lead, MEA, FireEye

If you can measure it, you can improve it. One major challenge for cyber security teams is establishing a measurable process of validating their security operations to be able to identify gaps in detection coverage and areas of redundancy to provide specific areas of improvement including potential saving across your security controls.

This webinar will discuss how to:

Operationalize Threat Intelligence: Ensure your security controls stand up to the latest tactics, techniques and procedures used by threat actors in your region and industry.
Plan security improvements: From both a technology and process perspective.
Establish evidence-based KPIs to improve security controls.
Report the organization’s ability to mitigate pertinent cyber risks to senior stakeholders

Join this session to uncover how security validation proves the value of your efforts and ultimately reinforces your organization’s