Secure Computing to participate as associate sponsor of Connect 2007 Summit

The major developments in the regional telecoms market, fuelled by higher consumer spending, more telecom operators and an increasing prevalence of cyber crime, have generated unusually high levels of industry interest about this year's five-day event.

Secure Computing has also confirmed that its Senior Technical Consultants, Tareque Choudhury, will be addressing the Summit on reputation-based security, and the need for organisations to adopt multi-layered solutions that detect, protect and prevent unwanted external and internal cyber-attacks. Several other high-profile national and international experts will also be addressing the audience, and will explore growth strategies and new opportunities available in a competitive telecoms market.

Cyber-crime has recently emerged as a credible threat to IT-based organisations, as new statistics indicate that cyber-fraud is costing retailers worldwide an estimated 580 million pounds (AED 4.2 billion) every year, a figure which could treble by 2010. Emirates-based businesses have also been targeted, with an increasing prevalence of e-crime rings, e-vandalism and financial fraud encouraging the UAE Government to launch a counter-strategy, which involves creating a specialised team to fight cyber crime and increasing the punishment to 15 years in prison or AED 100,000 in fines.

"Reputation is fundamental to modern businesses, which makes identifying suspect or malicious communication the key to effective IT security. Our support of this Summit underscores our commitment to working with regional IT companies to enhance their performance; and we hope to encourage more people to adopt the right tools to prevent attacks, rather than waiting for the bad guys to strike," said Sami Mulla, Director, Middle East and North Africa, Secure Computing Corporation.

The Summit, designed to discuss key strategies for operator growth in the Middle Eastern telecoms industry, will also highlight cross-mobile convergence; methods to drive growth through services; exhibit innovation and improved user experience; and explore new technologies such as Wi-Fi and WiMAX;

"We look forward to participating at Connect 2007, as our twenty plus years of expertise have provided us with an effective understanding of what online security methods are best suited to vulnerable industries, such as the telecoms market," Mulla concluded.