RSA's Art Coviello Calls for Increased International Cooperation and Governance Among Nations and Security Industry

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- RSA CONFERENCE 2014 --

News Summary:

• Addressing a record number of attendees at RSA® Conference 2014, RSA Executive Chairman Art Coviello called for increased cooperation and governance among nations and the security industry regarding a range of pressing issues, such as cyber war, government surveillance, privacy and trust on the Internet.  Coviello also:
  • Called for the adoption of four guiding principles to help maintain a more trusted digital world.
  • Proposed a path for security practitioners to adopt intelligence-driven technologies, processes and tools to help ensure the defense of increasingly complex technology environments against cyber risks.
• Video of the keynote and a copy of Coviello's remarks can be found at: http://www.emc.com/emc-plus/rsa-thought-leadership/art-coviello.htm

Full Story:

Art Coviello, Executive Vice President of EMC Corporation and Executive Chairman of RSA, The Security Division of EMC (NYSE: EMC), delivered his opening keynote to a record crowd at RSA Conference 2014, calling for international government and industry cooperation on major issues including cyber war, surveillance, privacy and trust on the Internet.

"The tension between and among the competing interests of governments, business, and individuals in the digital world should not be surprising. Information has become more easily accessible, and more valuable," Coviello said. "We are in the midst of a fundamental and historic shift in the use of Information Technology, a shift that is already having monumental implications for the future of our society and culture. The rapid expansion and democratization of technology has brought the agendas of disparate groups crashing together with unpredictable consequences."

Coviello articulated four guiding principles to encourage debate and action by all parties with a common vested interest in ensuring a safer Internet:

1. Renounce the use of cyber weapons, and the use of the Internet for waging war.
   "We must have the same abhorrence to cyber war as we do nuclear and chemical war."
   
2. Cooperate in the investigation, apprehension and prosecution of cyber criminals.
   "The only ones deriving advantage from governments trying to gain advantage over one another on the Internet are the criminals. Our lack of immediate, consistent and sustained cooperation, globally, gives them the equivalent of safe havens."
   
3. Ensure that economic activity on the Internet can proceed unfettered and that intellectual property rights are respected.
   "The benefits to all of us from the improvements of productivity in commerce, research, and communication are too valuable to not achieve agreement. Rule of law must rule!"
   
4. Respect and ensure the privacy of all individuals.
   "Our personal information has become the true currency of the digital age. While it is important that we are not exploited, it is even more important that our fundamental freedoms are protected. But with our personal freedom comes responsibility. Governments have a duty to create and enforce a balance… a balance based on a fair governance model and transparency."

Coviello also argued for changes at the NSA and intelligence organizations around the world to adopt a governance model that more clearly separates their defensive and intelligence gathering roles.

Coviello noted that digital technology, Big Data and the emergence of the Internet of Things are key elements of what he referred to as a "historic shift in the use of information technology."  He added that the digital capabilities of today have the power to solve many of our societal ills but they also have the power to destroy and must have agreed-upon norms for their acceptable use. "We must bring together the vested interests so that an environment of positive dialogue is built," he said.

"We urgently need these systems to be intelligent and integrated enough to automate responses that isolate compromised elements and prevent harm, not only in today's hardware-defined infrastructures, but also in the new generation of software-defined networks and infrastructures," he said.

In an age of user-defined IT, Coviello explained the need for a more intelligence-based approach to identity systems that enable security teams to balance the needs of users and IT departments while still being able to enforce policy over user devices.  He went on to clarify that identity governance must be managed in both mobile and cloud environments, recognizing that new solutions are needed to "...adapt to the evolution of identity in the user-defined age of IT."

Coviello concluded by reiterating his call to governments to adopt the four principles and encouraged the security industry to do its part to create secure frameworks and technology needed to help ensure a safer and more trusted digital world.

Additional Resources

• Download Art Coviello's RSA Conference 2014 keynote transcript
• Watch Art Coviello's keynote on-demand: http://www.rsaconference.com/us14/rsa
• Find keynotes videos, schedules, events and sessions at RSA Conference 2014
• Connect with RSA via Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and the RSA Speaking of Security Blog and Podcast.

About RSA

RSA, The Security Division of EMC, is the premier provider of security, risk, and compliance-management solutions for business acceleration. RSA helps the world's leading organizations succeed by solving their most complex and sensitive security challenges. These challenges include managing organizational risk, safeguarding mobile access and collaboration, proving compliance, and securing virtual and cloud environments.

Combining business-critical controls in Identity Assurance, Encryption and Key Management, Security Analytics, Data Loss Prevention, and Fraud Protection with industry-leading GRC capabilities and robust consulting services, RSA brings visibility and trust to millions of user identities, the transactions that they perform, and the data that is generated. For more information, please visit www.EMC.com/RSA.

EMC and RSA are registered trademarks of EMC Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other products and/or services referenced are trademarks of their respective companies.

This release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined under the Federal Securities Laws.  Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain risk factors, including but not limited to: (i) adverse changes in general economic or market conditions; (ii) delays or reductions in information technology spending; (iii) the relative and varying rates of product price and component cost declines and the volume and mixture of product and services revenues; (iv) competitive factors, including but not limited to pricing pressures and new product introductions; (v) component and product quality and availability; (vi) fluctuations in VMware, Inc.'s operating results and risks associated with trading of VMware stock; (vii) the transition to new products, the uncertainty of customer acceptance of new product offerings and rapid technological and market change; (viii) risks associated with managing the growth of our business, including risks associated with acquisitions and investments and the challenges and costs of integration, restructuring and achieving anticipated synergies; (ix) the ability to attract and retain highly qualified employees; (x) insufficient, excess or obsolete inventory; (xi) fluctuating currency exchange rates; (xii) threats and other disruptions to our secure data centers or networks; (xiii) our ability to protect our proprietary technology; (xiv) war or acts of terrorism; and (xv) other one-time events and other important factors disclosed previously and from time to time in the filings of EMC Corporation, the parent company of RSA, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  EMC and RSA disclaim any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release.

SOURCE RSA