Review it-sa Trade Fair 2016 in Nuremberg

aramido was at the it-sa trade fair in Nuremberg last week, one of the largest European trade fairs for information security. The fair took place this year from October 18 to 20 at the Nuremberg Exhibition Center. In our review of it-sa, we report on the trends and forecasts of the fair.

The EU General Data Protection Regulation also moves IT security

With this year's keynote by Max Schrems (initiator of the Europe vs Facebook campaign, which overturned the Safe Harbor agreement) on the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the organizers set the focus of the fair. With Article 32, the regulation has dedicated a separate article to IT security. The obligation to „implement a process for the regular testing, assessment and evaluation of the effectiveness of technical and organizational measures for ensuring the security of the processing” (GDPR Art. 32 Para. 1 Sentence 1d) can be met with regular penetration tests by neutral third parties . Virtually every company is affected by the new GDPR and should use the implementation deadline until May 25, 2018, to prepare its organization accordingly.

The IT Security Act promotes demand for IT security

According to the survey by the trade fair company, 82 percent of exhibitors expect a positive effect on their business through the IT Security Act (IT-SiG). Through this legislative package, passed in 2015, operators of critical infrastructures (KRITIS) but also normal website operators are obliged to implement more IT security. Exhibitors see a need to catch up especially in the energy sector as well as in the finance and insurance sectors within the framework of the IT-SiG.

Live Hacks ensure full stages

Live hacks on the three official presentation forums and at the manufacturers' booths were a crowd-puller. Whenever a security researcher presented their live hacks, the attention of the fair visitors was guaranteed. From opening conventional locks via lock-picking, via WLAN hacks to eavesdropping on radio keyboards, various live hacks were demonstrated.

IT security is a growth market

The growth in visitor numbers also reflects the growth of the IT security industry. After just over 9,000 professional visitors last year, over 10,000 visitors came this year. 81 percent of exhibitors report growing revenues for 2016.

A trade fair cannot do without technical jargon

As is usual for a trade fair, exhibitors do not skimp on technical terms and abbreviations. The Fantastic Four (known from their song „MFG - Mit freundlichen Grüßen”) would be pleased: WAF, IAM, SIEM, IDS and IPS. DoS, DEP, DLP and FIDO. BDSG, DSGVO, ISMS and ITSiG. APT, CERT, MDM and 2FA, that was it-sa.

Outlook it-sa 2017

it-sa 2017 will take place from October 10 to 12. The focus of it-sa 2017 will be cloud computing, IT forensics, data backup, and hosting. it-sa will continue to grow next year, with plans to hold the fair in two exhibition halls instead of one in 2017.

If you had no opportunity to meet us at it-sa 2016, you are welcome to contact us by telephone or email for a personal conversation contact us .