We made it through another fantastic 2018 RSA Conference week, where 50,000 security professionals, vendors and reporters from around the world gathered to catch up on the latest in technology and information security. If you’re anything like us, you’ve been reading up on the buzz that came out of RSA this year. But what were the hottest discussion areas resulting from this year’s conference?
We’ve kept a close eye on the news, forums and social media stemming from last week so we could pass along what sparked the most interest. Here are five of the most talked about storylines that came out of RSA 2018:
The United States needs a Department of Cybersecurity
With the range of cyber-focused current events circulating in the news (e.g. Russian hacks, data breaches, Facebook security), it’s no wonder that the idea of establishing a U.S. Department of Cybersecurity was a topic of discussion at this year’s RSA. This story argues that a sixteenth branch of the Executive government would streamline communications across all levels of cyberspace.
Life After WannaCry’s Wake-Up Call: What’s Next?
The cybersecurity industry was profoundly impacted by the destructive WannaCry ransomware attack of May 2017. For an industry that pours billions of dollars into cyber protection, a successful malware attack of this magnitude caused a major shift in the way we approach security. Top execs at RSA called for protection against both individuals and society, and acknowledged organizations who have made the most progress. We expect this societal perspective to continue circulating in the news over the next few months.
A Diverse, Pop-Up Security Conference Challenges Industry Status Quo
When the RSA conference announced the keynote speakers back in February, there was an uproar from the cybersecurity community over the need for more female speakers to reflect the growing diversity and talent in the cybersecurity workforce. This piece recaps Facebook’s “alt-conference,” called OurSA 2018, which included a wide range of women speakers on Tuesday, April 17.
When you go to a security conference, and its mobile app leaks your data
This story ironically made headway – a mobile application built by a third party for the RSA conference found a few security issues of its own. The vulnerability was discovered by a security engineer who tweeted discoveries during an examination of the RSA conference mobile application. The first and last names of 114 app users were improperly accessed. As one of the world’s largest cybersecurity conferences, it’s shocking that a mobile application supporting this conference would impose risk. A key takeaway from this headline is that technology is never completely free from risk.
IoT security concerns peaking – with no end in sight
It’s no surprise that IoT security was front of mind for many at RSA this year. IoT is one of the hottest buzzwords in technology – and we don’t think it’s going away anytime soon. As we rely more on our internet-connected devices, such as smart home devices, security needs to be a top priority. Oversharing of data, rather than device vulnerabilities, is one of the top security concerns for IoT devices.
We’ll continue to keep an eye on key trends and storylines from this year’s show and already have our eye on Black Hat 2018!
Interested in more security news following the conference? Keep an eye out for our team’s regular blog posts. If you’re thinking about adjusting your sales and marketing programs to reach the CISO, you can download our new report, “Marketing & Selling to the CISO” here. You can also contact our Cybersecurity Practice to start a discussion!