Top UAE CISOs discuss Offensive Security at Dubai Cybersecurity Event

In May 2023, Cyber Management Alliance and Netspi brought together the finest minds of the UAE CISO Executive Network for one of the top cybersecurity events - the Wisdom of Crowds Spotlight Dinner. The cybersecurity event focussed on Offensive Security and how technology innovation and human ingenuity can together discover and remediate security vulnerabilities in time. 

Headquartered in the United States, Netspi is a global leader in Offensive Security, Penetration Testing and Attack Surface Management. Netspi has successfully operated in some of the most heavily defended organisations in the world for more than a decade, and are masters of the trade. Steve Bakewell of Netspi shared real pentesting war stories with the CISO Network and demonstrated evidence-based penetration testing successes. 

The event attendees, who included top CISOs and cybersecurity leaders from some of the largest organisations in the UAE, expressed their enthusiasm for the highly interactive and enriching cybersecurity industry event.

In true Wisdom of Crowds style, the evening was all about a coming together of the finest minds in cybersecurity to share compelling anecdotes, individual experiences and learn from each others’ insights into what the future of penetration testing and offensive security holds. 

The success of the event was corroborated by Steve Bakewell, Managing Director, Netspi. He said, “I found it really good. Generally, I run through my presentation and answer some questions. Today, I basically ripped up my presentation and threw it away because the level of interaction was through the roof. There were some fantastic questions. It was a really good session. I’m totally expecting people to be in touch and it’s exactly what we needed.” 

The war stories of some of the most compelling tests Steve and his team have carried out drew equally enthusiastic responses from the attending CISO Executive Network. Netspi also presented their services and solutions to participants in the Dubai cybersecurity event.  

But the most exciting bits were the critical questions that were posed and the answers they drew out. The focus was not just on the technological aspects of Netspi’s solution but also on the strategic application of these technologies in real-world scenarios. The presence of high-level cybersecurity leaders from the Middle East at the CISO Event only added to the depth of the discussions, bringing real-world challenges and perspectives to the forefront.

Here’s what some of the other event participants had to say:

Anand Thakkar,  Africa and Gulf Bank, Head of Technology and Information, “Today’s session with Netspi was fantastic. It was great meeting industry peers and also getting an insight into what the new players are doing in terms of managing our security, in terms of artificial intelligence and cloud security and how they can help banks and other industries to overcome threats.” 

Lionel Ache, Enterprise Account Executive, Netspi: “It was a very interesting event. It was full of CISOs and cybersecurity leadership within the Middle East. It was a very interactive event. There were a lot of interesting questions regarding detection, offensive security, cloud security … Very critical questions were asked about our services, how we partner with companies. The event was much much more interactive than other events. Very important questions were asked about our services and our values. Also, the level of guests was really esteemed, high-level CISOs within the region from the largest companies in the Middle East.” 

The Wisdom of Crowds Spotlight Dinner Events offer a unique opportunity for businesses and their clients to showcase how they have implemented and are gaining advantage from the vendors' technology and/or services. This method allows potential clients to gain insights from the experiences and expertise of the vendors' current clients, helping them to apply similar strategies and setups in their own settings. 

Participants can also interact directly with the vendor's clients, allowing them to ask questions and get detailed explanations on how they have overcome similar obstacles. 

Ashish Khanna, Dubai Customs Cyber Security shared his experience at the Wisdom of Crowds cybersecurity event in Dubai: “The session was good. The presentations were nice. We liked the solution. We see that there’s a great value in human interaction with regards to penetration testing exercises, irrespective of the fact that the market is moving towards Machine Learning and AI related algorithmic products. Great value service and can be utilised in many different ways. Overall, it was a fruitful evening spent very well.”         

Clearly, the highlight of the evening was the incredible interactions that took place amongst the creme de la creme of the UAE CISO Executive Network. The rich exchange of ideas that the cybersecurity industry event facilitated definitely established a foundation for future collaborations. 

Apart from highlighting the importance of Offensive Security, the event reiterated how human insights remain indispensable to the effective use of technology in securing global businesses.

The session was not only informative but also a testament to the value of community and collaboration in tackling some of the most pressing security challenges of our time. This is what makes the Wisdom of Crowds one of the most unique and sought-after cybersecurity events in the UK, Middle East and the world over. 

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