Security has never been a more critical discussion. 2017 has been a year where organisations and governments became increasingly aware that the manner of threat which they were working to prevent has changed irrevocably. Europe fell victim to a string of unpredictable attacks; Yahoo saw their share value fall by $350 billion over 48 hours after the largest security breach in history was revealed; the NHS found their physical assets left vulnerable after a ransomware attack disrupted their ambulance service; the FBI and Apple went to war on encryption and Airbnb properties were left in chaos when a smartlock update went wrong.
These represented a pivotal theme, the need for all those influencing security to adapt to reflect the more complex world, and the ever-closer interweaving of physical and cyber security.
The time is now for the security profession to unite their knowledge and their technologies to protect people, property and profits.
As of 2018, it is IFSEC’s commitment to become the place for the profession to create a safer world. More than just a prominent trade show, IFSEC must foster the global security conversation, be the vessel that sets and carries the agenda and be the antenna for broadcasting the safety and security dialogue. 2018 will be the inauguration year of a transformation of IFSEC’s 40 year heritage as a physical security show into a high level security summit and integrated security event.
When IFSEC was first conceived, the threats were merely physical. Society has adapted and this is the year we must too.
The security profession must evolve to meet modern needs. IFSEC is gladly becoming the arena for the big discussions, however difficult they may be.
The security profession must discover solutions that are a driving force in protecting businesses, people and data. IFSEC will give the security industry the platform to display and discover products and services to help national, corporate and home security adapt to the changing tides of tomorrow’s challenges.
The security profession must drive the agenda. IFSEC will exist for the world’s leading security experts to find a platform for provocative debate on global security and propel intercommunication forward between the installer, integrator, end user and vendor.
To pilot this in 2018, IFSEC will drive an emphasis on major keynote addresses from strategic global security leaders in a dedicated Summit, host a multitude of high level panel debates from government and industry influencers in the striking Amphitheatre and provide the opportunity to hear from those leading the way in identifying, installing and maintaining transformational security practices between physical and IT.
Establishing the impartial voice of security equipment will also be key to the IFSEC 2018 proposition, rigorously holding technology up to the test in real-life Testing, across attack scenarios and surveillance situations. This will allow security innovation to be delivered to the world, revealing thousands of differentiated products that will filtrate from government, to the boardroom, and to every individual in the security profession.
Tall Building Fire Safety
Conference 2018
The tragedy at Grenfell Tower, along with several other similar fires in tall buildings around the world has highlighted the need for a review of fire safety practice, engineering and risk management. The rate and complexity of tall building construction is increasing, and cities will house many more people in tall buildings.
The 5th International Tall Building Fire Safety Conference will take place on 19-21 June 2018 at Excel, London alongside the FIREX International Exhibition, supported by organisers UBM. Day 1 will consider design and fire engineering in tall buildings; day 2, management and insurance of fire risk in tall buildings; while the last day will consider firefighting in tall buildings. With Early Bird rates available, anybody interested in attending is advised to book now as space will be limited.
Conference Director Russ Timpson commented, “This is a timely opportunity to get the Global fire safety community together and discuss a ‘way forward’ for tall building fire safety. FIREX provides a great platform to encourage people to travel to London and take part. With a great line up of world class speakers, this should be a seminal event for those concerned with learning lessons from Grenfell and other recent tall building fires”. All delegate will also get VIP access to FIREX and associated exhibitions.
