International security conference to be held in NZ

New Zealand’s Unitec Institute of Technology has won a bid to host this year’s International Privacy, Security & Trust Conference in Auckland.

Security experts will explore the cybersecurity implications of emerging technologies including drone pizza deliveries, driverless cars and smart home systems.

Researchers will also present their experiences with new and emerging cybersecurity technologies to help enterprises identify investment opportunities.

The event will mark the first time the conference has been held in the Southern Hemisphere since its inception 14 years ago.

Professor Hossein Sarrafzadeh, director of Unitec’s High Tech Transdisciplinary Research Network, said the conference will aim to raise business and public awareness on the cybersecurity issues the world will be facing in five years’ time.

“New Zealand is in a strong position to influence the evolution of cybersecurity globally,” he said.

“New Zealand has an asset called ‘trust’, and security has a lot to do with trust. We could be investing and capitalising on that trust to bring more collaborative and economic benefits to the country, particularly around cloud computing.”

Speakers will include IBM Security CTO Sandy Bird, New Zealand Minister of Justice Amy Adams, Unitec CEO Dr Rick Ede, Privacy Commissioner John Edwards and National Cyber Policy Office Director Paul Ash.

The International Privacy, Security & Trust Conference is conducted annually by the IEEE.

Image courtesy of Tākuta under CC