“Home of IT Security” even bigger and more international: it-sa in Nuremberg reaches new highs
IT security trade fair it-sa set some new records at its tenth anniversary show this year: with 696 exhibitors[1] (2017: 630) from 27 countries (24) and another record-breaking attendance of 14,290 trade visitors (12,780) from more than 50 countries (44), it systematically continued the growth pattern set in recent years. Some 20 percent more space and even greater international participation than in previous years provide further evidence of just how important it-sa is as the “home of IT security” in Nuremberg. In addition to the numbers, the first impressions from long-standing exhibitors are also positive: “Our exhibitors are enthusiastic. In parallel with the dynamic development in their industry, they have developed it-sa at the Nuremberg exhibition venue into the central platform for IT security,” says Petra Wolf, Member of the Executive Board of organizer NürnbergMesse.
Exhibition director Frank Venjakob adds: “it-sa 2018 proved a winner from start to finish. For its tenth anniversary, the leading dialogue platform for IT security showed how important the IT security industry is for the success of the digital transformation, with exhibitors participating from 27 countries. The increase in visitor numbers and the more than 20 percent growth in international visitor participation emphasise the importance of it-sa, just like the three international pavilions.” Israel, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic demonstrated the strength of their IT security industries with their own pavilions. One of the high points of it-sa 2018 was the special keynote address by Polish IT security expert Paula Januszkiewicz and the new start-up competition UP18@it-sa, which was won by IT-Seal. The German IT Security Award from the Horst Görtz Foundation was also presented at it-sa for the first time. Many top-level decision-makers from the worlds of politics, administration and the economy benefited from the opportunity to discuss cyber security, with a visit by Andreas Könen, Head of the Cyber and Information Security Department of Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Homeland, the Executive Dinner attended by Bavarian Minister of the Interior Joachim Herrmann, a State reception in the Bavarian State Ministry of Finance, Regional Development and Home Affairs, and visits by international office-holders and delegations.
Five open forums with 350 contributions
The attending IT security experts were spoilt for choice with the forum programme: exhibitors, trade and professional associations and organisations offered insights into every aspect of IT security with a total of five forums for the first time, including the new international forum I10. Highlights included the “it-sa insights”: discussion rounds and individual lectures, e.g. on Industrie 4.0 or critical infrastructure protection. Live hacking demonstrations showed the public how easy it is for attackers to hijack mobile devices or take control of IoT systems. “The new international forum also enjoyed excellent visitor levels right from the start,” says Venjakob happily.
Special keynote address by Paula Januszkiewicz
“Culture comes with understanding” – an important plea by Paula Januszkiewicz, an internationally recognised IT security specialist and this year’s top speaker. In her special keynote address, “Attacks of the Industry: A View into the Future of Cybersecurity”, she demonstrated how easy it is for hackers to take control of IT systems. They nearly always find it a piece of cake, since these systems are often poorly configured. For cyber criminals it is easy to make use of social engineering and phishing attacks to gain a foothold in corporate networks. The human factor is therefore one of the main levers for improved IT security.
Dialogue between policy-makers and the economy on cyber security
Horst Seehofer, Federal Minister of the Interior, Building and Homeland, and patron of it-sa, commented during the trade fair: “The global cyber threat is something that the State and the economic sector must work to overcome, even beyond Germany’s borders. it-sa provides the opportunity for comprehensive discussion at an international level on the subjects of cyber security and information security.” Many high-level representatives from the fields of politics and the economy therefore used it-sa 2018 as an opportunity for dialogue. A State reception hosted by Albert Füracker, Bavaria’s State Minister of Finance, Regional Development and Home Affairs, was held on the evening before the actual event. On the first day of the trade fair, Andreas Könen, Head of the Cyber and Information Security Department of Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Homeland; Arne Schönbohm, President of Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security; Susanne Dehmel, Member of the Management Team of Bitkom; and other representatives of national and international associations and institutions took the opportunity to expand their knowledge. In the evening, Joachim Herrmann, Bavaria’s Minister of the Interior and Integration, gave a welcome at the exclusive Bitkom Executive Dinner.
Extensive congress programme with top-level participation
With 20 events under one roof, Congress@it-sa once again offered a wider range of topics to enable participants to expand their knowledge in specific subject and industry areas, ranging from the international symposium Vis!t (Verwaltung integriert sichere Informationstechnologie, Management Integrates Secure Information Technology) to IT security in SMEs, the European General Data Protection Regulation, and also the IT Baseline Protection Day organized by the Federal Office for Information Security and the annual conference of State and municipal IT security officers, both of which were held at it-sa in Nuremberg this year.
Lucky winners at UP18@it-sa
Darmstadt-based company IT-Seal, the winner of the UP18@it-sa Award, had good reason to celebrate. At the new CyberEconomy Match-Up for Start-ups, doers and decision-makers held the day before the trade fair, the young team proved a winner with its concept for improved IT security awareness. In the public vote, IT-Seal won against 15 other start-ups.
German IT Security Award presented at it-sa
The seventh German IT Security Award by the Horst Görtz Foundation was presented at it-sa, the first time the award was given during this event. The winner of the prize, with a purse of EUR 200,000, was the start-up Physec from Bochum, which impressed the jury of experts with its “Enclosure-PUF” concept, which makes it possible for the first time to assure the physical integrity of a complex system without the presence of a power supply. A further accolade went to the Chair for Network and Data Security at the Ruhr University of Bochum and Berlin company Cure 53 for their solution dealing with defective JavaScript code.
The next it-sa takes place at the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg from 8 to 10 October 2019.
Security trade fairs at NürnbergMesse
NürnbergMesse has established and proven expertise in the security field. With events such as Enforce Tac – Trade Fair for Law Enforcement, it-sa, it-sa Brasil and it-sa India – Trade Fairs for IT Security, FeuerTrutz – Trade Fair for Preventive Fire Protection as well as Perimeter Protection – Trade Fair for Perimeter Protection, FIRE & SECURITY INDIA EXPO and also U.T.SEC – Unmanned Technologies & Security, it brings together a total of around 1,400 exhibitors and some 36,000 visitors from all over the world.
For more information please visit: www.nuernbergmesse.de/security
[1] The visitor, exhibitor and floor space figures for this trade fair event are calculated and certified in accordance with the uniform definitions published by FKM – German Society for Voluntary Control of Fair and Exhibition Statistics..
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