Barcelona Cybersecurity Congress and ISE 2023 Takeaways
Has Barcelona anything to offer in the area of cybersecurity beyond the facilities to host an event on the topic?
To answer this question, and after giving a pep talk to my immune system I braved the isolation I had learned in the past two years, and attended the fourth Barcelona Cybersecurity Congress (BCC).
The event took place at Fira Barcelona Gran Via as an extension of the seventh IOT Solutions World Congress (IOTSWC) that, in turn, had been co-located with one of the big trade shows hosted by the city: Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2023.
The constant flow of news about attacks to digital infrastructures (particularly health centers) during the pandemic or the more frequent occurrences of outages of online services must be enough to raise the awareness in the common citizen about what a serious threat cybercrime is, and must have shown how important cybersecurity ought to be for all of us.
In the so-called multi-crisis world we live in, the erosion of the digital autonomy of individuals, possible attacks on critical infrastructures as well as the weaponization of digital assets including the immense set of online devices heralded by the Internet of Things (IoT), have led the World Economic Forum to place cybercrime and cyber insecurity in its Global Risks Report 2023 among the top ten list of risks by impact in two and ten years scenarios.
All this, of course, makes the case for a cybersecurity congress.
BCN Cybersecurity Congress
Given the digital nature of current integrated and IOT systems and how intertwined they are, the co-location of these events was a logical move.
The program consisted of bite size sessions covering a wide range of cybersecurity topics at varying depths. From brief introductions on specific technologies to more in-depth topics addressed to specialized practitioners. The sessions were long enough to highlight a topic or suggest new approaches to different problems. The presentations selected also served to illustrate the state of affairs in several areas. The congress’ session activities were distributed in two separate areas: an auditorium for presentations and the Hacking Village for more hands-on, participative activities.
Perhaps the precept of "think globally, act locally," could be never more aptly applied than in the field of security. For several attendees, this was their first contact with the Agència de Ciberseguretat de Catalunya (Cybersecurity Agency of Catalunya). An entity that, in its task of "implementing public cybersecurity policy and developing the Government of Catalunya's cybersecurity strategy," has collaborated with initiatives that include local governments, the private sector and civil society.
The agency has published Internet Segura, a website addressed to the general public that offers news, guidance and resources to promote safer digital practices (currently it is only available in Catalan, but we covered this topic in our article Staying Digitally Secure in Times of COVID-19). The agency and members of LaSalle Ramon Llull University presented the REWIRE project, a cybersecurity skills alliance that aims to develop "a blueprint for the cybersecurity industry and a concrete European cybersecurity skills strategy." This project, co-funded by the EU, with the participation of academia, the cybersecurity industry and certification companies, pursues the development of the cybersecurity skills required by the continent.
The congress served to present a report by ACCIÓ (a regional agency for competitiveness) that reveals a growth of 40% in the number of regional companies in the ambit of cybersecurity in the last five years, totaling 495. In the Hacking Village it was clear how this business environment connected with the local workforce in the form of hacking demonstrations and round table discussions on topics like how to acquire talent in cybersecurity.
ISE 2023
The ISE 2023 was an excellent warm-up for the upcoming Mobile World Congress in terms of preparedness of the hospitality sector in Barcelona and its vicinity. This second edition of ISE in the city presented a new Content Production & Distribution Summit as a response to the post pandemic avalanche of online content and the needs of services, products and skills required to achieve the best quality standards. ISE 2023 also hosted the Smart Building Conference, Digital Signage Summit, Control Rooms Summit, Education Technology Summit, Smart Workplace Summit and the Live Events Summit. The attendance was as massive as the number of exhibitors and the opportunities for networking.
In my opinion the most purposely flashy exhibition took place in the hall dedicated to the smart workplace, where most familiar brands had a proposal. But all of that was dwarfed by the equipment shown in the hall hosting large format screens and digital signage, impressive arrays of LED technologies designed and produced for vast spaces presented by mostly eastern companies better known within the trade.
Takeaways
There is a long road ahead of us in the task of making ours a safer digital world. From the development of new technologies and the creation and fostering of careers and talent in the area, to the pervasive adoption of basic cybersecurity practices by all the participants in the digital world. It is comforting to witness local efforts showing ambition and aiming for a safer and richer digital society.
Apart from the increasing number of tourists filling Barcelona’s center, and the city’s booming real estate market, the sheer volume of attendees to ISE 2023 confirms that pre-pandemic Barcelona is back in full swing. The results of these events reflect the city’s good health as a conference and trade show hub.