Cyber Polygon 2020: global experts to discuss how to prevent a digital pandemic

Top officials from IBM, ICANN and Ernst & Young to speak during the live stream

June 16, 2020

Executives from IBM, ICANN and Ernst & Young will join the upcoming Cyber Polygon 2020—an annual international online cybersecurity exercise to take place on July 8. The event is the official project of the World Economic Forum Centre for Cybersecurity and Sberbank Group, and is supported by INTERPOL.

In 2020, the world has witnessed events that have dramatically changed the lives of all people. Businesses have been forced to adapt to the fast-paced environment and have become more dependent on digital communication channels than ever. The challenge has been further complicated by a surge in cybercrime amidst the pandemic. Cyberattacks and data fraud are ranked 9th among the most likely fallouts for the world, according to the latest World Economic Forum’s COVID-19 Risks Outlook.

Therefore, the main theme of discussion at Cyber Polygon will be the prevention of a digital pandemic, which could certainly occur given the rapid pace of global digitalization. Viewers of the live stream will hear lectures from Wendi Whitmore, Vice President, IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence, John Crain, Chief Security, Stability and Resiliency Officer, ICANN, and Jacqueline Kernot, Partner in Cybersecurity, Ernst & Young. IBM is a technology partner of the event.

The event agenda is underway.

Cybercriminals thrive in times of crisis. Strategies and response plans to help combat online predators continue to be essential for every organization. With disruption of our current global magnitude and scale, an equally vital antidote is the ability to come together as colleagues, business leaders and geographies to cultivate ideas and relationships, and to share best practices and information that help fortify all our defenses

Wendi Whitmore

Vice President, IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence

The ICANN organization has prioritized the handling of COVID-19-related DNS Abuse, working with our respective communities to help mitigate the new threats. We have built a system that helps identify abusive domains leveraging the coronavirus pandemic. As part of this work ICANN is also participating in a number of international initiatives like COVID-19 Cyber Security Coalition, because global cyberthreats can only be defeated by the collaborative work of many stakeholders. We will continue to evaluate additional methods and tools necessary to ensure a stable and secure DNS for all Internet users

John Crain

Chief Security, Stability & Resiliency Officer, ICANN

This year has demonstrated that we must be prepared for unexpected crises—as individuals and as large corporations. The risks of a digital pandemic have been recognized at the highest levels, and we hope that by joining efforts at Cyber Polygon we can develop proper actions to mitigate this scenario

Dmitry Samartsev

CEO, BI.ZONE

In addition to the live stream, Cyber Polygon 2020 features a training for technical teams from global corporations. The participants will practice a variety of skills: repelling active attacks, investigating incidents, scanning IT perimeters and reporting an attack to law enforcement