A show of strength

Now in its eleventh year, Infosecurity Europe returns to London's Olympia. Around 11,000 visitors from around the world are expected to attend Europe's biggest information security exhibition, while some 300 firms with the latest security products and technology will be there as well as leading industry figures, user groups and government. SC Magazine will be there too, at stand 185.

Among the keynote speakers making an appearance will be Lord Erroll. He will make the opening address to the conference on a topic close to the hearts of all security professionals – identity.

After a spate of security breaches, both here and abroad, a panel of experts will discuss the best strategies for preserving the reputation of companies following such a breach.

Tony Neate of the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit will be chairing a panel of experts, including: Stephen Bonner, director of technical security at Barclays Capital; Martyn Croft, head of corporate systems with the Salvation Army; Leo Cronin, senior director, IT security at LexisNexis; and Peter Pederson, CTO at Blue Square.

Another keynote panel will deal with certification and whether it actually proves you can do your job as a security professional. John Harrison from NISCC will chair this debate and he will be joined by, among others, Prof. Brian Collins, vice-president of external relations at the British Computer Society (BCS), and Prof. Fred Piper, director of Information Security Group at Royal Holloway University.

While a lot of money is spent making sure that systems and infrastructure are secure, they can still be hacked. A panel of penetration testers and hacking experts, chaired by author and security expert Robert Schifreen, will look at what motivates hackers. There will also be a live demonstration exposing some of the myths surrounding exploitation and ease of access by hackers.

In addition to the keynotes, there are some 60 free business and technical seminars to attend which look at the big problems facing organisations and technologies designed to overcome them.

There are 29 speakers in the technical seminar stream, including 18 CTOs and ten technical experts. Topics include: "Honeypots have evolved," "Anatomy of a database attack," and "What hackers know that you don't".

The business strategy stream has 31 speakers, including eight CEOs and 23 directors, who will focus on the challenges facing management and the board-level directors. There will also be case studies from the British Library, Sunderland City Council and Tayside Fire and Rescue.