IT-SA 2024 Highlights: Innovations, Insights and Impressions
The ITSA 2024 conference, the self-declared Home of IT Security, held last week in Nuremberg, Germany showcased the latest advancements in IT security, attracting nearly 900 exhibitors and over 25,800 visitors — a record for the event. This year’s theme emphasized the importance of the European NIS2 directive, the trend to platform approaches, and the transformative role of AI in cybersecurity,. From our side we highlighted three themes centered around the secure networking journey to a platform that delivers Unified SASE without compromise, a virtual proof-of-concept for a faster proof-of-value experience and the need to tame the GenAI monster that is gobbling up network bandwidth.
On a personal note, it was insightful and fun to meet with current and old colleagues and make new connections. Let’s dive into the highlights.
1. NIS2 and Platform Approach
The NIS2 directive [1] aims to strengthen cybersecurity across the EU by setting stricter requirements for organizations. This year’s discussions emphasized the necessity of adopting a platform-based approach, which encourages organizations to work collaboratively in addressing compliance and security challenges. By fostering partnerships and sharing best practices, businesses can enhance their overall cybersecurity posture. Many exhibitors, including Aryaka, underscored how unified platforms can simplify compliance efforts and offer a more holistic view of security across systems.
[1] https://www.enisa.europa.eu/topics/cybersecurity-policy/nis-directive-new
Aryaka Unified SASE as a Service provides performance, agility, simplicity, and security without trade-offs by converging Wide Area Networking, Security, Observability, Multi-Cloud, SaaS, AI workloads, GenAI and Application Performance into a single platform delivered as a service. For an overview of how we deliver Unified SASE as a Service, check out our platform page.
2. AI’s Role in Cybersecurity
Artificial intelligence appeared as a pivotal theme at ITSA 2024 (no surprise here, is it). Exhibitors highlighted several AI technologies that enhance threat detection and response capabilities, as well as a lot of AI-powered solutions that use machine learning to identify anomalies and predict potential breaches before they occur. A personal highlight to me – unrelated to networking and network security – was the demo from the Fraunhofer Institute to combat face-morphing threats. It showed the challenges to border control officers. Photoshopping is old-school. It also takes AI to beat AI when it comes to biometric security. I took a face-morphed ID home as a souvenir: I did not recognize myself, but the friendly folks at the Fraunhofer booth told me that’s because I’m used to my face. Fair enough, as long as I don’t morph into looking like a GenAI monster.
We at Aryaka highlighted our AI> Initiative and our GenAI ate my Network poster, and presentation was a hit with the attendees.
No wonder that when GenAI network acceleration requires prior WAN optimization, we recently were named a Vendor to Watch by Enterprise Management Associates for enabling AI transformation with Unified SASE as a Service.
As Shamus McGillicuddy, Vice President of Research at EMA observed: “Aryaka is establishing itself as a leader and innovator in solving the unique network and security challenges that AI brings to enterprises. Its Unified SASE as a Service enables organizations to accommodate the diverse performance, security, and observability demands that AI workloads create in their networks. As enterprises embrace artificial intelligence, they should strongly consider Aryaka’s AI-optimized Unified SASE as a Service offering.”
Check out the full presentation “GenAI ate my Network” from IT-SA 2024.
Records and Impressions
The conference’s record participation of around 900 exhibitors showcased a diverse range of solutions from across the globe. As the organizers summarized: “from October 22 to 24, 2024, it-sa Expo & Congress was the “Home of IT Security” for 25,830 trade visitors from 65 countries and 897 exhibitors from 28 countries. – A new exhibitor record and 33 percent more trade visitors than in the previous year impressively underline the importance of it-sa Expo & Congress “.[2] This vibrant mix underscored the collective commitment to tackling cybersecurity challenges. With leaders from various sectors present, the event fostered an environment of collaboration and innovation.
[2] https://www.itsa365.de/en/it-sa-expo-congress/exhibition-info/impressions-review
One aspect stood out: Coffee was clearly the number one choice to keep visitors alert and motivated to move from booth to booth. There were more baristas on the floor than behind the expo catering stands.
Aryaka’s booth attracted considerable attention, not because of us also serving coffee – but given we selected a movie inspired we handed out popcorn and free movie tickets, along with our grand prize: the driving suitcase!
Conclusion
IT-SA 2024 served as an important venue for exploring the future of cybersecurity, with a strong emphasis on collaboration, innovation, and the integration of AI and connectivity solutions. As organizations navigate the complexities of directives like NIS2, platform approaches and the relentless march of AI, the insights shared at this conference will help organizations explore effective strategies. We plan to be in Nuremberg again in 2025. Until then, we are focused on helping organizations with their secure networking journey, experience the value, agility and capabilities of Aryaka’s Unified SASE as a Service with Aryaka IPX, and tame the GenAI network bandwidth eating Monster.
If interested to learn more about any of above, contact us for a demo.
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