Ireland’s information security capability will be on show at the RSA 2013 Conference again this year, with seven companies hoping to promote their own wares and make the case for Ireland as a centre of excellence in security.
This is the second year that Irish security providers have taken a collective exhibit at the world’s largest information security event which takes place in San Francisco, California, beginning this Sunday, 24 February, and running until 1 March.
Between them, the companies attending this year represent areas ranging from security education (Vigitrust), audit and compliance (PixAlert), authentication and secure transactions (Daon IdentityX), secure document management (CipherDocs), digital forensics and e-discovery (Espion), and email and web security (SpamTitan and the Email Laundry).
The cluster of Irish cyber-security firms will collectively exhibit at the event under the Enterprise Ireland banner at Stand No 3206.
Most of the Irish companies exhibiting at RSA already have a presence in the US, selling to customers such as government and federal agencies, financial institutions, insurance companies and SMB enterprise across the US.
While all seven companies all hope to increase their own brand awareness and create sales leads from the event, there’s also a broader agenda to promote Ireland as a hub for information security. That’s the remit of the InfoSecurity Ireland cluster; three of the group’s founding members Vigitrust, PixAlert and Daon, will be attending RSA 2013.
Irish presence at RSA 2013
Mathieu Gorge, vice-chair of InfoSecurity Ireland and founder of Vigitrust, said this year’s stand will accentuate the Irish message more strongly than at RSA 2012. All told, Ireland’s information security community comprises more than 60 indigenous firms, several multinational security firms with operations in Ireland, and researchers from the academic sector.
“Basically, we are going in as a team, so to speak. The idea is really to position Ireland Inc, not as a one-stop shop but as a focus point for organisations to address their security needs. As Ireland Inc, we’re extremely well positioned in terms of covering the whole security ecosystem,” said Gorge.
“Last year was a first-time experience in terms of going as a team, so we’re building on the lessons learned from last year. We’re going to play the Irish card a lot more. We’ve also put together joint press kits for people to have at the event,” said Gorge.
Further bolstering the Irish presence at RSA 2013 is Brian Honan of BH Consulting, who also has a speaking slot at the event separate to ISI’s efforts.
Ger Curtin, CEO of PixAlert, said: “Attendance at RSA is primarily about benefit for PixAlert, and all the companies that will attend from Ireland. Doing this under the Enterprise Ireland banner helps build the Ireland brand, placing it at the forefront of information security technology.”
Curtin added that RSA is the primary conference in the US for tracking developments in the sector. “Many people attend the show to keep track on what is new and what new solutions are available. Putting our brands on display there is very important for entry and growth in the US market,” he said.
Rory Griffith, senior vice-president for financial services and information security with Enterprise Ireland in New York, said the US market in particular is paying closer attention to cyber security in the wake of high-profile cyberattacks against public infrastructure and private systems.
“Budget allocation from Washington is only increasing in this area,” he told Siliconrepublic.com. In January, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2013 allocated a US$633bn budget with a heavy focus on cyber security and technology.
Industry observers said private-sector security spending is also set to increase and Griffith said this will create opportunities for nimble, focused infosec providers. “The role of smaller vendors is becoming very prominent. Some systems integrators and consultants are looking for that specific level of expertise that some of the Irish companies can give.”
IT security image via Shutterstock
