WACSS, West African Cyber Security Summit & Securex West Africa
WACSS will be taking place alongside Securex West Africa (from Tuesday 30th June till Wednesday 1st July 2020), the region’s leading exhibition & conference for professionals working across the security, fire and safety supply chain. Encompassing commercial, cyber, homeland and perimeter security, fire and safety, the two-day event will welcome industry members from across the region to share insights, experience and innovation.
African business owners flagged cybersecurity as the biggest threat to a successful operation, with 94% of companies in Africa and the Middle East experiencing a cyberattack in the past year. There are simply not enough skilled cybersecurity professionals available to properly plan, manage, integrate and optimize security devices, strategies and protocols. As a result, over the next five years, economic loss due to cybercrime is predicted to reach an unprecedented $5.2 trillion, almost the size of the economies of France, Italy and Spain combined (World Economic Forum, Sep 2019).
An African cybersecurity study by Demadiur Systems Limited revealed banks, insurance companies, and government institutions in Nigeria spent an estimated sum of $270.22 million in 2018 to prevent cyberattacks.
Returning for the fourth year now, WACSS is a one-day senior level cyber security conference aimed to keep industry members abreast of new developments and insights. As mentioned in the title of this press release the theme will be ‘Building sustainable defence through information security’.
The keynote speaker at WACSS this year will be The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim, PhD, FNCS, FBCS, FIIM. He will be joined by Mr Osioke Ojior, Director, Covenda; Mr Zechariah Akinpelu, Manager, Information Security Engineering from First Bank of Nigeria; Ms Chinatu Uzuegbu, President, (ISC)2 Nigeria Chapter and more senior industry members to be announced.
Topics at this year’s summit will include Getting Ahead of Cyber Threats and Attacks, Exploring and Implementing Zero Trust, Threat Intelligence Analytics in the West African Cybersecurity space and Presentations and Demos from Ethical Hackers and OEMs.
WACSS attendees will have additional access to the co-located exhibition, Securex West Africa and its Conference as well as the technical skills workshops which will take place between the 30th June and 1st of July 2020.
Taking place at the Landmark Centre, Victoria Island in Lagos, Nigeria, Securex West Africa will see two full days of cutting-edge technology demonstrations and live equipment on display from over 85 brands in addition to daily free-to-attend conferences hosted by some of the industry’s most influential members.
Mr George Pearson, Regional Director for Afrocet Montgomery, the organisers behind Securex West Africa and WACSS, says on the upcoming event: “We are extremely excited to launch the tenth edition of Securex West Africa alongside the West African Cyber Security Summit which returns due to popular demand for its fourth iteration. With the steady economic growth taking place across West Africa at the moment, we are beginning to see huge infrastructural investments, brand new mega building projects and more being made by the Nigerian Government. We, as organisers firmly believe this year will be unmissable for industry members, and as it’s our tenth anniversary, you can expect a surprise or two to be announced in the coming weeks.”
An invitation-only event, those looking to attend the West African Cyber Security Summit, will need to make their application via the website at www.securexwestafrica.com/wacss. Entry is completely free, however seats are limited, so organisers would encourage interested parties to make their applications as soon as possible.
by the Editorial Staff
