Security Conferences in 2010 and Beyond: Why Education is Key

February 25, 2010 | Posted by: Michelle Schafer

When I started at Merritt Group in August 2003, one of the biggest, “must attend” tradeshows for our security clients was CSI in D.C. In fact, this show was lumped in for a number of years with the other big ones we would recommend to our clients – RSA, Black Hat, Gartner’s IT Security Summit and InfoSec World. I specifically remember being at the Marriott Wardman Park for my first CSI that year and was so amazed to see a packed show floor with massive exhibitor booths. Not to mention, my client’s speaking event was standing room only and there was a really great press turnout. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed by it all as a young PR professional, and it has been interesting to watch the tradeshow scene change dramatically in recent years.

I came back to CSI this past Fall when it was held at the Gaylord National Harbor Conference Center for the second year in a row. I spent a full day there with a few clients, doing some press meetings and attending the speaking sessions. Sadly, the show had lost a lot of its “glamour” from the early days - gone were the oversized booths and packed speaking sessions, gone were (most of) the press attendees, and more than anything, the show just felt very quiet to me.

I went out that night to dinner with a team member and a few pretty well-known infosec gurus – Mike Murray, Rafal Los and Gunter Ollmann - to name a few. While sitting there I realized that, while CSI wasn’t the best-attended show ever, it brought together this unique group of incredibly smart security professionals who share a common bond: security education.

Over the past year, I’ve made a point to try to get out and meet many of these infosec experts at events when I can: RSA, Black Hat, AppSecDC, Black Hat DC and ShmooCon (didn’t quite make it there due to the blizzard of 2010!). And I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you that I follow so many of these folks on Twitter and am constantly just trying to keep up with all the great knowledge sharing and conversations (yes, I had to ask George Hulme about the whole squirrel phenomenon regarding @beaker).

One security expert I started following on Twitter is Mike Dahn, founder and organizer of the security industry’s most popular “unconference,” Security B-Sides. The first B-Sides in Las Vegas during Black Hat caught my attention last summer, and although I wasn’t able to attend, the rave reviews on Twitter were enough to know it was a huge success. In case you’re not familiar, B-Sides isn’t your typical tradeshow – it’s not about the booth babes, the grandiose exhibits, the flashy give-aways, etc. According to Mike, “Security B-Sides is the first do-it-yourself (DIY), grass-roots, open security conference in the world.” The focus is really about security education and you don’t have to spend a boatload of money to participate either. And for many attendees, the key benefit is that it gives so many of these experts the chance to finally connect in-person and share their knowledge for the betterment of the security community as a whole.

After meeting Mike in-person for the first time in January, I began thinking of ways that Merritt Group’s Security Practice could possibly get involved to help this series of grassroots events become even more successful. After all these years of attending the major shows, placing my clients as speakers and doing the “traditional” tradeshow stuff, I find the whole concept of B-Sides really appealing. To be frank, it’s nice to see a tradeshow shift finally happen where it’s not a popularity contest to speak or about how much money you spend. I believe the approach to B-Sides is refreshing and just what the industry needs – it gets back to heart of what these shows are all about (or at least what they should be about): education.

I’m happy to report that after a few conversations with Mike, Merritt Group’s Security Practice is now an official sponsor of B-Sides San Francisco show happening next week in tandem with the RSA 2010 Conference. Our PR firm is very excited to be involved in the event and we look forward to watching it “grow up” over the years to come. Of course, the speaker line up this year is top-notch and filled with many of the industry’s best, once again. Looking forward to seeing everyone in just a few days!