ISC West, sponsored by the Security Industry Association (SIA), took place last week in Las Vegas. The largest converged security event of the year, ISC West aims to educate security professionals on the tools and skills needed to protect against today’s emerging cyber-physical security threats and the anticipated ones of tomorrow. The three-day event brought together 30,000 security professionals and more than 1,000 exhibitors and brands, and featured 85-plus educational sessions and more than 25 special events.
Keynote speakers included Dr. Douglas Maughan of the Department of Homeland Security, who explained how the DHS Science and Technology (S&T) is reinventing cybersecurity; and Jeff Crume, Distinguished Engineer and Master Inventor, IT Security Architect at IBM, who talked about the dark side of the IoT.
ISC West 2018 also had several special events, including the 23rd SAMMY Awards hosted by Security Sales & Integration, honoring dealers and integrators for their sales, marketing, business, and installation excellence; tours of the new Emerging Technology Zone to showcase next-generation products on the market; SIA’s New Products Showcase awards ceremony, where over 120 product entries were pitched to leading industry experts and winners were selected in nearly 30 categories; the Security 5K Run/2K Walk, where all proceeds were donated to Mission 500, a non-profit charitable organization focused on the security industry and dedicated to serving children and families in need across the U.S.; the SIA RISE Happy Hour and SIA Autonomous Security Robotics Reception where security industry professionals had the chance to network with each other; and the inaugural committee meeting of the SIA Women in Security Forum, a place for women to engage, mentor, and empower other females to enter the industry.
This year’s show also had with more exhibits (an additional 4K square feet from last year), growth in featured areas (Unmanned Security & Safety Expo sponsored by Knightscope, Connected Security Expo, Public Security & Safety Expo, and Connected Home sponsored by Alarm.com, plus the addition of the brand new Emerging Technology Zone that had 40 companies participate), 120-plus new products displayed in SIA’s New Products Showcase, 6 percent growth in overall attendees, and 10 percent growth of the ISC Executive’s Club.††
Education sessions throughout the SIA Education@ISC program spanned a range of topics that impact security professionals across physical, IT, and IoT security – from biometrics to drones to leadership skills.
ISC East takes place in New York on November 14-15. Next year’s ISC West will be held on April 10-12, 2019.
