US Security Chiefs Address RSA Conference Europe

A former Secretary of US Homeland Security, and a security adviser to three US presidents top the list of keynotes at the RSA security conference in London this month, backed by a programme of education and discussion on practical IT security.

Cyber-warfare will obviously be high on the list of topics at the event, with the arrival of former Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff, who joins long-time White House advisor Richard Clarke, and security guru Bruce Schneier in presenting keynote sessions at the RSA conference on 12-14 October, at the Hilton Metropole in London.

But the conference will also feature plenty of practical experience on how to build clouds, according to Hugh Thompson, who chaired the advisory board which put the programme together.

Cyber-War and Cloud Building

Cyber-warfare may be state-sponsored hacking, but its victims are large companies hit by the attacks, whether they be Google or Twitter. Governments, including the UK are working to try and avoid cyber-warfare happening, but companies must prepare for the consequences.

This year has seen the authorities intervene in IT security in many ways. RIM for instance was criticised by some governments round the world, including Saudi Arabia, and India for offering too much security to its customers. Last year’s RSA show heard of Russian botnets and – it was claimed – the police that turned a blind eye to them.

Alongside the headline stories, RSA will have “in-the trenches” stuff, according to Thompson.  Last year there was a lot of coverage of cloud security, he said, but “this year it has been operationalised” – by which he means, people are actually putting data and applications in the cloud, and the CSOs will be showing up at the conference to talk about the security models they are using.

And even if people aren’t using the cloud, they have a whole new area to defend, since this year IT is becoming consumerised, said Thompson: “This year we have a lot of talks on mobility and how to deal with the fact that people are bringing in phones and tablets.”

And if it all sounds too earnest, the events at the show include a “pechakucha” – which Thompson described as an “alcohol fuelled frenzy”, with experts making six minute presentations amongst heckling. The idea originated in Japan, he said, and apparently went down well in RSA’s San Francisco show, although over there it was fuelled by de-caffinated Diet Coke.