DarkMatter has announced its collaboration with the GSMA’s Mobile 360 Series – Middle East event scheduled to take place on 17 – 18 October, 2016 at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), UAE.
The event brings together a wide cross section of senior telecom professionals from all over the region to discuss industry developments and technical innovations such as 5G, cyber security, mobile commerce, Internet of Things, electronic identity, connected living, and more.
According to the recently published Nokia Threat Intelligence Report H1–2016, the smartphone infection rate globally averaged 0.49% in the first half of 2016. This number sounds insignificant in isolation, but when viewed comparatively it identifies an alarming escalation given that this infection rate experienced an increase of 96% year-on-year from the 0.25% rate reported in the corresponding period in 2015.
The report goes on to identify that smartphone infections accounted for 78% of infections detected in the mobile network, while 22% are related to Windows/PC systems connected using dongles or tethered through phones. These statistics highlight the significant threat posed by smartphones as a conduit for malware and viruses.
DarkMatter’s strong presence at Mobile 360 Series – Middle East reflects the organisation’s ambition to place cyber security at the centre of discussions around digitisation and the addition of immunity to intelligent, instrumented, and interconnected digital environments. Telecom and mobility, specifically, play a significant role in providing the infrastructure and devices on which digital developments are possible, and as such securing these elements is critical to protecting the entire eco-system.
Faisal Al Bannai, Chief Executive Officer of DarkMatter, commented, “Growth in the telecom sector is being driven by mobile data services, with personal mobile devices becoming a primary tool for accessing the Internet. This level of connectivity and functionality, and the sheer amount of personal data offered by subscribers has expanded the threat surface exponentially, and key stakeholders from telcos and over-the-top providers, through to end-users need to learn about their cyber risk profile and ways to manage and mitigate it.”
Faisal Al Bannai continued, “The GSMA is a pre-eminent industry body for the mobile industry globally and we look forward to better understanding the industry’s pain points and collaboratively devising solutions to them. We believe there are a number of pro-active steps telcos are able to take to foster resilient networks and connected devices to the benefit of all eco-system parties and society at large.”
