Join Us At RSA Europe: Hear From FBI And UK Law Enforcement

Senior cybersecurity officers from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) will present a joint session at the RSA Security Conference next week on international cybesecurity threats.

RSA Conference Europe is offering some free tickets to the show for unemployed security experts, and eWEEK Europe UK also has a ticket to give away. To win ours, you just have to let us know through the Discuss button why you want one.

Keith Mularski, supervisory special agent at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Cyber Initiative & Resource Fusion Unit and Andy Auld, head of intelligence, e-Crime department, SOCA, will be presenting at the RSA Conference Europe event in London on 21 October.

The session will focus on the “the underground economy” and how international law enforcement teams come together to combat cyber-criminals and other threats.

Mularski, who joined the FBI in 1998, is focused on targeting organised international cyber-crime groups and recently worked undercover penetrating cyber underground groups which resulted in the dismantlement of the Darkmarket criminal carding forum. SOCA’s Auld has worked in intelligence production and operations for 20 years and has spent the last five on e-Crime threats.

Other keynote speakers at this year’s show include former “Rogue Trader” turned management consultant Nick Leeson who will be addressing issues such as how mismanagement impacted the banking crisis. Leeson famously brought down Barings Bank in 1995 after a series of unauthorised and risky trades accumulated to losses of £827 million – twice the bank’s trading capital.

“Rogue trading is probably a daily occurrence amongst the financial markets. Not enough focus goes on those risk management areas, those compliance areas, those settlement areas, that can ultimately save them money,” Leeson states on his website.

Aside from Leeson, the RSA Conference will draw inspiration from another divisive character – Edgar Allan Poe. Each year, the RSA event focuses on a different personality with some ties to information security such as World War II cryptographer and computing pioneer Alan Turing at last year’s event. As well as conjuring up horror stories, Poe was fascinated by cryptography which he included in his fiction such as the short story – “The Gold Bug” – which is based around the solution of a cipher, which turns out to be a map to hidden treasure.

The RSA Conference also announced this year a scheme to allow ten unemployed security professionals into the show for free. A full-priced ticket for the event costs around £950 for the three day show which this year will feature keynotes from tech security experts such as RSA Security president Art Coviello, and security consultant Hugh Thompson as well as other speakers from companies such as BT, ING, and PayPal.

“Many security professionals have lost their jobs as a result of the current economic environment,” said Linda Lynch, RSA Conference Europe manager. “This new programme provides another way for RSA Conference to help industry practitioners enhance their skills and improve their career prospects.”

But while the RSA Conference, and partner company Acumin Consulting which will be running some of the careers help sessions, appear to be keen to give something back to security pros who have stumbled on hard times, they only seem prepared to help those who are ready to help themselves. The lucky recipients of the free show passes must have actually attended the show in the past – in the case of five of the “grant” tickets – but also complete a 1000 character essay on why they want to attend the show, as well as a 750 character biography.

The show’s organisers also claim recipients of the free tickets must “be willing to participate in on-site promotional activities” which sources close to the conference confirm will mercifully probably involve some blogging rather than carrying around an RSA Security sandwich board for the duration of the event.

RSA Conference Europe takes place from 20th to 22nd October 2009, at the Hilton London Metropole Hotel.

Click the Discuss button below, to let us know why you want a free ticket to the show.