Infosecurity Europe 2008: Preview

Infosecurity Europe 2008, one of Europe's largest security shows, begins on Tuesday at London's Olympia exhibition centre.

The conference is expected to attract over 11,500 delegates and 320 exhibitors.

A series of keynotes by high-profile security figures will begin with a discussion led by information commissioner Richard Thomas into data-loss incidents in 2007. Following the numerous data-loss reports in the aftermath of HM Revenue & Customs losing 25 million personal details in November 2007, Thomas's panel will discuss who got caught out last year and why.

Max Kelly, the senior director of security for Facebook, and Brett Lemoine, director of operations for LinkedIn, will appear in a discussion about how businesses can lock down social-networking security vulnerabilities.

ZDNet.co.uk has arranged a series of video interviews with eminent security figures, including Bruce Schneier, who has recently been named BT's chief security technology officer. One of Schneier's major preoccupations is the need to "reconceptualise security". Former White House cybersecurity adviser Howard Schmidt will also be discussing the state of international policy, and ZDNet.co.uk will be catching up with Professor Fred Piper, director of the information-security group at Royal Holloway, University of London, on security issues, including electronic handling of information.

Schneier, Schmidt and Piper will discuss information-security issues in a series of keynote sessions entitled the "Hall of Fame", having been nominated to speak by their peers for continuing intellectual or practical contributions to the field of IT security.

New Infosecurity events for 2008 include both the Hall of Fame and an interactive theatre in which participants will be encouraged to vote on issues including cyberattacks and cybercrime.

The number of exhibitors has dropped slightly from 330 at last year's show to 320 this year, while there has also been a slight drop in the number of new products being launched, from 150 to under 140. Fewer parliamentarians will also grace this year's show, a notable exception being Merlin, Lord Erroll, who will participate with Richard Thomas in the keynote discussing data loss.