Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 16 | Page 7

NEWS UAE DarkMatter partners with Radboud for cryptography research DarkMatter, the international cyber security firm headquartered in the UAE, has announced a joint research project with Dutch institution, Radboud University, to focus on protocol-based side channel attack analysis and countermeasures. The research project, which will initially run for a year, will conduct research on side channel attacks at a cryptographic protocol level, studying the impact of combining multiple cryptographic primitives across different inter-platform and intra-platform components. Commenting on the commencement of the research project, Faisal Al Bannai, DarkMatter Founder and Chief Executive Officer said, “This engagement fulfils another strategic pillar of DarkMatter’s drive to be at the forefront of cyber security innovation and develop our own intellectual property, either in our own right, or in partnership with leading technology providers and research institutions globally. We are pleased to be partnering with an institution as prestigious as Radboud University, which has an outstanding reputation as a research institution and I wish the combined research team from DarkMatter and Radboud University every success.” The research project will also incorporate investigation of side channel attack countermeasures, which will be based on the findings from the initial analysis at the start of the project. During this stage, the research team will undertake a comprehensive analysis of the characteristics of security commands and crypto primitives while running on a processor; identify performance hotspots; and propose several countermeasures/ optimisations to reduce source of leakage (power and electromagnetic emanations). DEWA and Cisco discuss means of enhancing cooperation HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) met with John Chambers, Executive Chairman of Cisco, during the World Government Summit 2017 to discuss enhancing cooperation, and implementing smart solutions to achieve the objectives set by Dubai Government towards the future of smart cities. Waleed Salman, Executive Vice President of Strategy & Business Development, Dr. Yousef Al Akraf, Executive Vice President of Business Support and Human Resources at www.intelligentcio.com These enhancements would include theoretical and implementation-level countermeasures to address leakage (side channel attacks) as identified in the initial research. Proposals of countermeasures for both uniprocessor and multiprocessor architecture will be provided, as well as outcomes on randomisation of in-algorithm structures between rounds either pre-set or exchanged between users. DEWA, Marwan Bin Haider, Executive Vice President of Innovation and the Future at DEWA and Khawla Al Mehairi, Vice President of Marketing & Corporate Communications at DEWA, also attended the meeting. Also present at the meeting were Dr. Guy Diedrich, Cisco Global Innovation Officer, Mike Weston, Vice President of Cisco Middle East, and Shukri Eid, Managing Director – East Region, Cisco Middle East. Al Tayer was briefed on the latest smart solutions developed by Cisco to transform cities into smart cities, in adherence with DEWA’s framework to meet increasing demand and enhance smart grids, while encouraging investments and developing infrastructure to transform Dubai into a smart city capable of managing its services through integrated smart systems. DEWA and Cisco exchanged best practices and experiences in international cyber security, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Dubai has achieved remarkable progress in transforming itself into one of the fastest growing smart cities in the world. This is a result of the unlimited support given by the government, and investments aimed at modernising infrastructure and stimulating digital innovation. Dubai is prepared to begin a new phase of progress, by adopting and benefitting from modern technology. INTELLIGENTCIO 7