International Business Machines (IBM) on Friday said it cancelled its participation in the RSA cyber security conference due to coronavirus-related concerns.
The cyber security event is scheduled to take place Feb. 24–28 in San Francisco.
The health of IBMers is our primary concern as we continue to monitor upcoming events and travel relative to Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). We are cancelling our participation in this year’s RSA conference, the company said in a tweet.
RSA said in a statement that it would proceed as scheduled despite IBM’s decision to pull out of the the conference as a Platinum Sponsor.
The number of individuals, including those from IBM, who have cancelled their registration, is about 0.79 percent of the total number of expected attendees, RSA said.
The total number of exhibitors, including IBM, who have cancelled their participation as a sponsor or exhibitor is eight, with six of them from China, one from the United States and one from Canada, RSA added.
Facebook said it cancelled its global marketing summit scheduled for next month in San Francisco due to coronavirus-related risks.
The Mobile World Congress (MWC), the annual telecoms industry gathering in Barcelona, was also cancelled after a mass exodus by exhibitors on coronavirus fears.
