Tuesday 22 April 2014

Top 10 at Infosec 2014: Talks

There has been a rumour that Infosec is fading out, its long-standing tradition residing in the cliché that everyone goes because everyone else does. There have also been questions raised over the quality of its talks. Whilst not forgetting that Infosec is one of the few relevant shows of its industry that remains free, here’s a review of some of the talks that will take place at this year’s edition. We’ll let you decide for yourself if Infosec deserves its reputation, or if it is indeed going out of fashion.


Who: Ken Munro, Partner at Pen Test Partners
When:  Wednesday 30 April 2014 16.40 - 17.05
Where: Technical Theatre

Ken Munro will explain how analysis and security research tools available online are harvested, modified and then used against an organisation's firewall. The talk is delivered with a live demo of over 40 anti-virus products which will show which products have responded and which have failed to detect threats from public virus databases.


Who: Moderator - Peter Wood, Security Advisory Group at ISACA London Chapter
          Panellist - Lee Barney, Head of Information Security at Home Retail Group
          Panellist - David Cass, SVP CISO at Elsevier
          Panellist - Michael Colao, Head of security at Axa UK
          Panellist - Andy Jones, CISO at Maersk Line
When: Tuesday 29 April 2014 10.45 - 11.45
Where: Keynote Theatre

This panel talk addresses a very current issue for the cyber community – information security being perceived as the business inhibitor, the innovation-stiffler, the risk-averse, in a word the mother-of-all-evils within the corporate agenda. The debate looks to challenge the negative perceptions surrounding information security and compliance as well as searching for solutions to better educate, engage and integrate these topics with the business decision-making process.  


Who: Barmak Meftah, CEO at AlienVault
When: Tuesday 29 April 2014 10.00 - 10.25
Where: Business Strategy Theatre

The cybercrime scene has evolved to a functioning network of capable hackers who share and benefit from crowd-sourcing of information, tools and advice. Meanwhile, the business world is still torn between the benefits of sharing and the ethics of exposing vulnerabilities. This presentation flips the coin on both sides and addresses a sore spot for both information security as well as the board room. 


Who: Ryan Kazanciyan, Technical Director at Mandiant
          David Damato, Director at Mandiant
When: Wednesday 30 April 2014 15.20 - 15.45
Where: Technical Theatre

Mandiant attempts a discussion drawing on the experience of past attacks, highlighting the reasons for which these attacks continue to happen, finding the blind spots of cyber security and ways to better deploy existent resources in tackling these issues, as opposed to buying more gadgets, or waiting for miraculous solutions. They also look at the pros and cons of "threat intelligence" and they take a chance on predicting the evolution of state-sponsored threat and targeted attacks in the near future. 


5. Hall of Fame interview


Who: Dr. Eric Cole, Chief Scientist at Secure Anchor Consulting

          Drew Amorosi, Deputy Editor at Infosec Magazine
When: Thursday 01 May 2014 10.00 - 10.35
Where: Keynote Theatre

The Infosecurity Hall of Fame celebrates the achievements of Infosec practitioners with long-term contributions to the advancement of information security, revolutionary ideas and inspiring innovations. This year, Dr. Eric Cole the founder of Secure Anchor Consulting and a fellow of the SANS institute was introduced to the Hall of Fame which now counts an impressive array of infosec personalities. Dr. Cole holds 20 patents, has authored several books and is part of the Commission on Cyber Security for the 44th President as well as a few other advisory boards. 

6. What's new in cybercrime? Keeping up with the cybercriminal

Who: Moderator - Eleanor Dallaway, Editor & Associate Publisher at Infosec Magazine

         Panellist - Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Legal Attache, FBI
         Panellist - Lee Miles, Deputy Head of National Cyber Crime Unit, National Crime Agency
         Panellist - Graham Cluely, Independent Security Analyst
When: Wednesday 30 April 2014 12.00 - 13.00
Where: Keynote Theatre

With the high-speed developments in cyber crime there is an increasing need to look at the drivers and motivations of cyber attacks, understand their business models and assess the risks and the best ways to manage and mitigate them, and finally, identify the real threat to the organisation; be it a state sponsored attack, organised cyber crime, hacktivism or the inside threat. 


7. Privacy & Compliance Think Tank: Utilising compliance as an information security asset


Who: Moderator - Vicki Gavin, Compliance Director at The Economist

          Panellist - Len Svitenko, Head EU IT Compliance at Staples Europe
          Panellist - Stewart Room, Partner at Field Fisher Waterhouse
          Panellist - Mike Jolley, Head of Information Risk Management at Yorkshire Building Society Group
          Panellist - Stephan Geering, Chief Privacy Office EMEA at Citibank
When: Thursday 01 May 2014 12.35 - 13.30
Where: Keynote Theatre

With  compliance becoming more of a burden, this discussion examines how what has now become an exercise of ticking the boxes could be returned to its original roots - an asset in ensuring the security of the organisation. The panellists will look at the new standards of several industries, discuss transition measure between the old and new procedures, as well as guidance in preparing for the upcoming EU General Data Protection Regulation and the Network and Information Security Directive. 


8. EU General Data Protection Legislation: Status update and key action points for organisations


Who: David Smith, Deputy Commissioner at the Information Commissioner's Office

          Drew Amorosi, Deputy Editor at Infosecurity Magazine
When: Wednesday 30 April 2014 17.00 - 17.30
Where: Keynote Theatre

This session will bring updates on the latest developments concerning the EU General Data Protection Legislation and the measures required to ensure your organisation remains compliant. 



9. The idiot's guide to destroying a global 500 company... for £500

Who: Kevin Kennedy, Senior Director at Juniper Networks

When: Tuesday 29 April 2014 11.45 - 12.45
Where: Information Security Exchange Theatre

Kevin Kennedy delivers a presentation which demonstrates that it only takes a PayPal account for a legitimate business to crash. He also teaches different approaches to change the economics of hacking and practical advice to protect the organisation from the latest threats. 


10. The new model of security


Who: Adam Philpott, Director EMEAR Security at Cisco

          Terry Greer-King, Director UK&I Security at Cisco
When: Wednesday 30 April 2014 14.15 - 15.15
Where: Information Security Exchange Theatre

Cisco directors offer insights into the forecasting new models of security, given the disruptive age of technology and implicitly of security. A challenging view over security assumptions and fresh perspectives to understand that concepts such as the Internet of Everything will undeniably change the future of security forever.


This is only a handful of debates and presentations from over 100 sessions available for free. From our perspective it looks like these topics reflect the concerns - practical as well as theoretical - of the information security professional. Does this make Infosec the place where opinion leaders voice thoughts and debate fresh approaches? Or is it that after almost 20 years the Earl's Court cyber expo became a compulsory attendance for the industry? Let us know your opinion in the comments below, on Twitter @TitaniaLimited, or in person at stand G25.


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