One of the worlds most recognisable voices on cybersecurity Bruce Schneier revealed that cybersecurity is becoming increasingly challenging due to the democratisation of tactics. As the majority of organisations and individuals use the same run-of-the-mill warlike weaponry at a time when the attackers are largely unknown, cybercrime is becoming more difficult to combat.

Schneier explained that identifying attackers by their weaponry is challenging due to their invisible nature wherein attacks can be launched by a group of hacktivist or sponsored by a nation state. He added that while the I.T security industry knows how to deal with high volume, low-focus attacks, security professionals must be resilient and ensure better management of incident responses in order for organisations to thrive even in the face of a cyberattack.

During his keynote presentation at the 3rd Gulf Information Security Expo and Conference (GISEC) held at the Dubai World Trade Centre, Schneier explained that organisations must create crisis management strategies that would allow them to respond quickly and effectively, while those responsible for the attacks are still being identified.

He also highlighted the key learnings from the much talked-about hacking of Sony Entertainment last year and underlined the top seven issues of cyber risks. These include the theoretic of cyberwar, the vulnerabilities of everyone to cyberattacks, the difficulty of providing cybersecurity, the democratisation of tactics, the difficulty of immediately identifying perpetrators of cyberattacks, the difficulty in responding, and the importance of resilience.

Schneier, who is the Chief Technology Officer of Resilient Systems and a Fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School in the U.S.A., also showcased his book Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World, at GISEC.

Powered by GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK, the regions leading technology event, GISEC and GEMEC are strictly trade-only events and are open to business and trade visitors from within the industry only. GISEC and GEMEC are open 10am-6pm from 26-28 April 2015 at Sheikh Rashid Hall at Dubai World Trade Centre. Visitor attendance is free of charge. For more information, please visit www.gisec.ae.