After a successful event in Istanbul we are now in the sandy shores of Dubai for the 2012 PCI event at the Al Murooj Rotana hotel. The number of skyscrapers in Dubai is still growing yet the heat and humidity remains the same.

Attendees @ PCI Dubai 2012 - Al Murooj Rotana - PCI Compliance

Attendees @ PCI Dubai 2012 – Al Murooj Rotana – PCI Compliance

The event was well attended with delegates from the banking sector, leisure, travel, hospitality and various other industries. Participants were eager to share their worries and questions on PCI DSS. We can see this is still a hot topic in the UAE and broader Middle East region. It is comforting to see an improvement on awareness and interest in compliance since the last PCI Dubai conference 1 year ago. More specifically Cardholder Data Discovery continues to be recognised as a priority for organisations maintaining compliance as well as those who are in the early stages of the journey.
Mohamed Zouine presenting on PCI Compliance - cardholder data discovery

Mohamed Zouine presenting on PCI Compliance – cardholder data discovery

One interesting fact about the Middle East is the emphasis on what ones peers are doing. In terms of PCI compliance, many organisations held back on implementing the standard until they understood what other similar companies in their industry are doing. Thankfully there are many global companies operating throughout the Middle East and have internationally driven mandates where PCI compliance is promoted as a standard across the entire business encompassing all regions. This has created a rippleeffect into local organisations where PCI compliance is now receiving more attention as a result of the influence from multi-national organisations.

A new initiative was announced by the conference organisers on the day called “Experts Network”. This new community forum is aimed at facilitating knowledge transfer from security experts across the world including, security vendors and IT professionals. The unique proposition of this forum is the user base it will attract. To date the PCI and E-Crime series of events has welcomed well in excess of 5,000 infoSec and PCI compliance professionals who will all be invited to join this community to share their ideas and insights on the topic. We encourage all of our industry peers to join online at https://www.xpertsnetwork.com/

iPad 3 Winner is Naveed Pasha from First Gulf Bank

iPad 3 Winner is Naveed Pasha from First Gulf Bank

The lucky winner of the Ground Labs iPad 3 for this event was Naveed Pasha from First Gulf Bank. Congratulations Naveed!

The following companies were also exhibiting on the day: Verizon, SourceFire, Qualys, Thales, ISACA UAE Chapter, Ground Labs.

Our next Middle East event will be in November when we return to PCI Abu Dhabi on November 21st. The next event in the PCI series will be held in London on July 5th where Ground Labs will once again be providing our insights on critical role Cardholder Data Discovery plays in achieving and maintaining PCI DSS compliance.

For complete event photos click here

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