Hamburg, May 2019 – The Intelligence Workshop, which also this year traditionally opened EW Europe in Stockholm, achieved record figures in its 10th edition with over 500 participating experts from more than 40 countries.
The first PLATH Intelligence Workshop was launched in 2011 as a forum for communications intelligence. The objective was to create an open platform for users and providers in the field of communications intelligence that would provide information about the latest trends in the industry, promote direct exchange among experts and provide an opportunity for the international community to network with each other.
The event has long been an annual must for the industry. This is ensured primarily by contributions from high-ranking users of the technology, speakers from well-known companies and career changers who provide new impetus for the community. Together, they contributed to the following topics this year:
- CYBER DEFENCE – CLOSING THE BACKDOORS
- ARTIFICIAL (SIGNAL) INTELLIGENCE – CAN A MACHINE LEARN TO THINK?
- MULTI-DOMAIN INTELLIGENCE – CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
From the very first Intelligence Workshop, its topics clearly mark out the digital transformation. In 2011, communications intelligence focused mainly on the ability of sensors to cover the frequency spectrum as completely as possible. A few years later, the focus was on powerful software that processes large amounts of data from various sensors as quickly as possible and combines them into a reliable situation picture. The objective is nothing less than information superiority, i.e. knowing who does what, where and why. The increased use of social media has further accelerated digitalisation and the cyber topic has gained in importance. The competent handling of the growing risk of cyber attacks and the question as to how far artificial intelligence can support the military sector in the future are currently the thematic focus of the Intelligence Workshop.
This development shows that the Intelligence Workshop has provided impulses for communications intelligence since its inception. The selection of topics has also impressed the public and the press this year again.
The opening presentations were already very well received. Brigadier General Armin Fleischmann (Cyber and Information Domain Service Headquarters, Ministry of Defence, Germany) spoke about the influence of digitalisation on the current threat situation and the resulting role of the military. Lieutenant Colonel Holger Schmör (Joint Electronic Warfare Core Staff, NATO) addressed the requirements for communications intelligence in modern warfare.
The programme of the 10th Intelligence Workshop attracted so much interest that the speakers answered further questions and discussed them in detail afterwards.
In keeping with good tradition, the Intelligence Workshop was followed by the opening of the exhibition. The PLATH Group presented its extensive portfolio of COMINT and EW solutions for various use cases here.
The Intelligence Workshop 2020 will take place in Liverpool. PLATH GmbH is looking forward to inspiring the intelligence community again next year with exciting topics and new impulses.
