What happens in Vegas could make you more secure.
Every year around the end of July the security industry decends on Las Vegas. There are not many events that bring the infosec world together. One is the RSA show in San Francisco in February/March. The other is what I call security week in Vegas.
It started with the Black Hat security conference. Black Hat for a long time was where the real security researchers came to tell the world about their latest research. Over the years Black Hat became bigger and bigger. It became less of the cutting edge and more of security mainstream. Today, Black Hat, while still hosting some of the most provocative and interesting security research presentations, is very corporate mainstream. Attendees of 10 or more years ago would not recognize it today. But don’t let all of the corporate-suit types fool you; Black Hat still has plenty of great presentations.
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Another show displaced Black Hat as the event where the real hard security guys came to hang out, DefCon. Both Black Hat and DefCon were started by Jeff Moss, but as Black Hat went corporate, DefCon went the other way. Rumor had it that a lot of the three-letter agencies used DefCon to mingle with, recruit, and learn from the real black hats. Of course, over time DefCon has probably lost a little bit of its grittiness itself, but it still remains too edgy for many mainstream corporate types, which is just the reason many security folks like it even more.
The new kid on the block is BSides Las Vegas. BSides originally started as a place for those whose talks were not accepted at Black Hat to get a chance to present. However, in just a few short years it has grown beyond that into a sold-out, sought-after ticket itself. It features a variety of tracks on security in an “un-conference” atmosphere without a lot of commercial influence.
The three of these shows together create a perfect storm of security conferences that offers something for everyone. Of course, the real allure of security week is the chance to see old friends and make new friends in the security space. Networking is what the week is all about. There are great talks and presentations, but there are also great parties as well. You are liable to learn a lot listening in on a presentation at Black Hat or Bsides, but you can learn even more just taking part in some of the side discussions between the security pros in the hallways, at the restaurants and cigar bars.
So you will find me in Vegas next week. I will try to report on some of the more interesting research being presented, as well as a little bit of the flavor that makes Security Week in Vegas the great time it always is.
