FT Cyber Security Summit USA

Cyber security is a pressing concern for US government officials, business leaders and citizens, and will become more so as the online world develops. Policymakers, company executives and their information security teams are fighting back against the cyber attackers, but the onslaught continues, despite the valuable support they receive from technology solutions vendors, research institutes and consultants.

The internet of things will exacerbate the problem, with attackers able to disrupt more organisations and more people through more devices. At the same time, federal and governments are introducing new laws and regulations that require companies to do more to protect themselves, and their customers, from security breaches. While company bosses can see the need for tougher rules on data protection and personal privacy, these new rules create an additional burden. For instance, the EU/US Privacy Shield improves protection for Europe’s citizens whose data is kept on US servers, but it places strict obligations on American companies on how that data is processed and people’s privacy guaranteed.