Xi'an looks to develop as national digital security powerhouse

The 2019 Huashan Swords Cyber Security Conference held recently in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, revealed importance of digital security and the steps the city is taking to handle with it.

The event focuses on big data, cloud security, cultivating industry professionals, and how information is being comprehensively integrated with industry.

Xi'an Mayor Li Mingyuan said the city is making nation-leading advances in these areas.

"With a sound industrial foundation and rich scientific and educational resources, Xi'an is aiming to become an important city in these areas," Li said.

"As cities become more digital and intelligent, the importance of network security is becoming increasingly prominent. As one of the few cities in China that have a complete network security industrial chain, Xi'an has already attracted many well-known global companies," he added.

Bao Yongneng, director of the Shaanxi Provincial Office of Cyberspace Affairs Commission, said Shaanxi is aiming to achieve high-quality development by promoting big data and information technology as its specialism for accelerating economic transformation.

"I hope that the conference will provide more opportunities for the integration of the internet, big data, artificial intelligence and traditional industries, and promote the development of network security and the digital economy," Bao said.

As a major driver for the city's economic development, the Xi'an Hightech Industries Development Zone has taken the software and information technology industries under its wing.

The zone is home to 35 research and development institutions of many Fortune 500 companies including Intel, Samsung, Alibaba and Huawei, as well as 40 Chinese software companies including ZTE, ChinaSoft International and Hikvision.

Zhao Hongzhi, deputy secretary-general of the Cybersecurity Association of China, said with the rapid development of information technology, how to effectively respond to cybersecurity challenges and protect new resources have become key issues that all countries must face.

"We will actively guide various enterprises in the network environment to fulfill their cybersecurity responsibilities, and create a strong atmosphere for maintaining network information security," Zhao said. During the event, Xidian University and Hangzhou Anheng Information Technology signed a contract to jointly build a 5G security innovation research center.

The management committee of the Xi'an High-tech zone and Hangzhou Anheng Information Technology also unveiled a network security training center under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Hu Ruimin, dean of the School of Cyber Engineering at Xidian University, said it is necessary to build a training system of interdisciplinary, corporate and overseas study tours to achieve student-oriented and differentiated training.

At the same time, the role of the government, enterprises and schools must be brought into play, and alumni, colleges and national platforms must be closely integrated to achieve the best results, he added.

Fan Yuan, chairman of Hangzhou Anheng Information Technology, said in his speech that cyberspace has evolved from point-to-point connection to industry-to-industry interaction.

As a result, network security threats have also begun to change. This has brought many new changes and challenges to governance, Fan said.

Xie Xuhui, chairman and CEO of IP service website Wtoip, gave a keynote speech on the protection and realization of intellectual property in the digital age during the event.

As a science and technology innovation platform focusing on IP, the company aims to create a new online and offline integration model in the field of intellectual property by using emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data and the internet of things.

It provides enterprises with technologies including artificial intelligence, big data and other science and technology services.

Huicheng Brain is a cloud system specially created for smart intellectual property-based science and technology urban parks. It focuses on urban patents and technology, and conducts industrial analysis with cutting-edge technologies such as AI, cloud computing and big data.

Xie said digitization and IP will become very important in the intelligent era. Intellectual property is a core asset in the era of network intelligence. The application of AI across all technologies and applications will generate a large amount of intellectual property.

"The successful holding of the Cyber Security Conference in Xi'an will help the city to build unique advantages in cultural creative IP, encourage a large number of upstream and downstream enterprises to invest in Xi'an, and promote the healthy and vigorous development of the digital IP industry," he added.

Roy Zur, CEO of Israel-based Cybint Solutions, said Xi'an's fast-growing economy can effectively boost industrial upgrading and drive development in the digital security field.

In addition, both government officials and ordinary people attach great importance to the digital economy and network security, which will bring very good development opportunities for network security companies, he said.

"I am here to share the Israeli education models and experiences in cybersecurity and promote cooperation between Israel and Xi'an in the digital economy industry."