With the RSA Conference, the biggest cybersecurity event of the year, less than a week away, we thought we’d check in with some of our reporter friends to get their take on what to expect this year. We got some good feedback – some serious and some light-hearted – but all very interesting! Is the “hype cycle” (i.e. what’s “in” and what’s “out”) what is actually causing trouble in the security industry? Who is going to be the new security “darling” or the company everyone wants to hear more from? Continue below to see what Tony Bradley, Editor-in-Chief of TechSpective.net, had to say, and then check back again this week for insight from our additional reporter friends!     

Tony Bradley, Editor-in-Chief, TechSpective.net, @GetTechSpective

1. What do you think the major trend/topic will be this year?
   I think that the Internet-of-Things (IoT) and the growing threat from shadow IT will be a bigger focus this year than past RSA Security conferences. One of the big trends, though, will be encryption and the controversy over whether or not to allow government and law enforcement to access encrypted data “in the name of national security.”
2.     Any topics or trends you think will be “out” this year, i.e. over talked about and old news?
   While it is still an issue, I think we’ll see less talk about Edward Snowden and possibly less about China as the looming specter of hacking.
3.     What are you most looking forward to about RSA?
   I appreciate the keynotes and the sessions, but for me the real value of RSA is the networking and professional relationships. I am looking forward to spending time with friends and clients, and making new ones
4.     Any “must attend” parties? We hear Rapid7 always has a good one!
   Microsoft and Adobe are great. One of my personal favorites every year is the Security Bloggers Meetup.
5.      Planning to attend any of the keynotes?
   Probably—but I haven’t yet mapped out my schedule of which keynotes or sessions I want to try and get to.
6.      And most importantly, you’re planning to come to our 3rd Annual Merritt Group “RSA Wine-Down” happy hour co-hosted this year with Code Red Thursday night at Bluestem, right?!
   Absolutely. I plan on being there.