New security breaches 'a warning'

Recent compromises of supposedly secure technologies and companies are a clear warning that more effort needs to be put into IT security.

This is according to SensePost Security consultant and member of the ITWeb IT Security Summit 2012 advisory committee, Dominic White.

White says the next IT Security Summit, to be held in Sandton, in May 2012, will focus on the issue of trust, and the need to reinvent IT security.

The theme was decided on in light of several high-profile incidents in recent months, he says.

White says these include: “The compromise of certificate authorities, [and] the more active involvement of governments in targeting their populace's communications, both abroad and in South Africa.” He also cites high-profile compromises of supposedly secure companies.

He says: “These incidents should be seen as a warning and a final push to fix some technologies we knew were broken, but there wasn't the political will to change.”

What is needed now, he says, is more “political will” to fix technologies known to be broken. For companies, more work needs to be put into IT security until alternatives are up and running, he says.

The annual ITWeb IT Security Summit is the South African IT industry's premier IT security event.

The three-day conference and expo attracts hundreds of CISOs, CIOs and IT security professionals for international keynotes and expert local insights on the IT security landscape, tools and strategies.

The IT Security Summit 2012 will be held at the Sandton Convention Centre, from 15 to 17 May 2012.

Story by Tracy Burrows