London, UK: British cyber security specialist, Becrypt, is to host the Dark and Stormy Cyber Security Happy Hour at the Mobile World Congress, being held in Barcelona, 22nd – 25th February. The Dark and Stormy event, which takes place on the UKTI stand, 7C40, on Monday 22nd February, will feature interesting and quirky Pecha Kucha style presentations from a range of UK mobile technology companies, as well as the opportunity to network and enjoy refreshments. Dr. Bernard Parsons, CEO and co-founder of Becrypt, will be posing the thought provoking question: ‘From Mobile to IoT: Who decides when security is good enough?’
Dr Parsons’ presentation echoes the GSMA’s recently published IoT Security Guidelines, making the comparison between historical security issues with mobile technology, and how these issues are set to affect the world of IoT. He goes on to explain that security is not, at this moment, built into the design of wearable technology, and many other internet enabled devices that are around the home and business, commenting on how we should combat this going forward.
Representatives from Becrypt will be available on the UKTI stand throughout the duration of Mobile World Congress. Dr Parsons commented; “Long gone are the days when sensitive data was safely locked away only to be accessed by vetted staff using secure connections. Now data is everywhere, and increasingly everything is connected. This connectivity brings many benefits, but businesses and individuals do need to think more carefully about security, and about the potential damage to them as individuals and the organisation as a whole should they have a security breach.”
Recent findings published by the ICO showed that in the most recent quarter (Q1 2015/16) there was a 22% increase in data breach incidents resulting from loss or theft or unencrypted devices[i]. The European General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR) is expected to come into force later this year, and will bring with it severe penalties for compliance failures which could be up to 5% of worldwide turnover.