Held in partnership with Infosec Ventures, Entrust and Credence Security, the exclusive networking event sets the tone for increasing collaboration to combat evolving cyber threats across the Middle East.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, January 4th, 2022 – EliteCISOs, a private member-only forum for global information security leaders, has successfully hosted the first-ever edition of ‘The Middle East Connect.’ The exclusive event brought together 30 leading regional information security officers from across public and private sectors for an evening filled with networking opportunities and high-level insights.

Held on 22nd December 2021 at the Address Beach Resort in Dubai, UAE, the ‘The Middle East Connect’ by EliteCISOs was organized in partnership with Infosec Ventures – a UK-based cybersecurity incubator; Entrust – the world’s leading identity, payments and data protection company; and Credence Security – a leading regional distributor of specialized solutions in cybersecurity, digital forensics and GRC. It presented a perfect platform for elite security leaders to meet, socialize and connect with industry peers to discuss the latest advancements in the cybersecurity landscape in a unique and relaxed setting.

The EliteCISOs forum seeks to bring together cybersecurity leaders, influence collaboration, share knowledge and explore the latest solutions directed at the overall improvement of the cybersecurity industry and organizations. The roles of CISOs and CIOs have always been challenging and highly demanding, which often lead to stressful conditions. ELITECISOs understands every aspect that these roles entail and has developed initiatives that help promote the mental health, physical fitness as well as social well-being of its members, going beyond conventional professional engagements.

‘The Middle East Connect’ aims to set a benchmark for a collaborative community where CISOs from a wide array of industries can engage, share best practices and have meaningful dialogues on how they can work together to build a secure and resilient future.

“The traditional preventive approach to cybersecurity is no longer relevant today. With the phenomenal rise of digital enterprises, business leaders need to recognise that security should no longer be an afterthought but instead an integral part of their strategies. CISOs need to align their objectives with their organisation’s digital business model to ensure success. Our intent is to provide them with a platform to collaborate and share ideas into how they can build a cyber safe technology ecosystem,” said Anuprita Daga, Senior Cybersecurity Industry Leader and Co-Founder, EliteCISOs.

“Cybercriminals today are teaming up to exchange tactics and intelligence, targeting more and more organizations and causing bigger disruptions,” said Garreth Scott, Managing Director, Credence Security. “As security leaders, it is high time that we ramp up our efforts in the fight against today’s threat actors. Increased collaboration can give rise to great innovation. By constantly engaging and sharing best practices with one another we can make sure that we can drive change to be more adaptive, resilient and smart in facing the cybersecurity challenges of tomorrow.”

Cybersecurity took centre stage in 2021 as cyber threats plagued businesses across the globe. Threat actors took advantage of the pandemic and the subsequent shift to remote and hybrid environments to launch more sinister cyber-attacks. A study by Cybersecurity Ventures revealed that cybercrimes will inflict damages totalling US$6 trillion globally in 2021. With this data in mind, it is clear that now more than ever security leaders need to up their game.

Through ‘The Middle East Connect’, Infosec Ventures and Credence Security aspire to raise the bar for knowledge transfer and cooperation in the region’s security ecosystem.

“Hackers work in packs and the defenders should too. With a mission to make the world cyber safe, we are working tirelessly to bring the defender community together. The maiden event was a major success, with over 30 key CISOs from multiple industries coming together to lay the ground for expanding the community across the Middle East. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are just the starting point. Our intent is to incubate the community and bring leaders from the region together to fend off cyber risk as a collective, and not in isolation,” said Ankush Johar, Director, Infosec Ventures.

To view pictures from the event and to follow The Middle East Connect activities, including participating in future events in the region, please follow our official handle across all social media platforms: #TheMiddleEastConnect