Security giants converge on London

Infosecurity Europe 2006

Over 10,000 attendees will descend on 300 exhibition stalls at the annual Infosecurity conference in Olympia which kicks off today.

Hot on the agenda will be the final results of the DTI's biannual UK IT crime survey, one of the most extensive of its type.

Preliminary results look mixed; progress is being made but, in areas like identity management and wireless security, there is still a long way to go.

The government will also be pushing for stronger measures to safeguard internet users, in terms of targeting paedophiles and fraudsters.

Tony Neate, from the Serious Organised Crime Agency, will be detailing the fight against organised crime in a special session.

As this is the last Infosecurity conference before the launch of Microsoft's Windows Vista, one of the key questions will centre on the security of the new operating system.

Some are expecting the moon on a stick, while others predict a let down of huge proportions, and Microsoft's new head of security, Ed Gibson, will be making his first address to the show.

But the unofficial champion of the conference and exhibition will be Gary McKinnon, the man accused of hacking into the US Navy's computers in search of evidence for UFOs.

McKinnon will be part of the hackers' panel on the last session of the three-day event, in what could be his last chance to attend InfoSecurity for over a decade if found guilty.