On Wednesday August 6th, BSidesLV and I Am The Cavalry will hold a day of sessions to empower security researchers to make positive change. The goal is to define the problem space, inspire people to take a leadership role in solving security problems and build up the skills needed to succeed. The schedule and locations can be found at http://bsideslv2014.sched.org/.
The day will kick off with an introduction and overview of I Am The Cavalry, an update on the current status and activities, an outlook for the future as well as a rundown of the day’s event. This will be followed by focused sessions on each of the primary areas of focus over the past year – medical devices, automotive, home electronics, public infrastructure and policy. For most of the day we will have short talks and longer drop-in sessions.
The directed sessions will use a facilitated Question and Answer format called A&Q. In this format, a primary speaker will cover the topic at a high level for 10 minutes, priming the audience for a 15 minute interactive discussion into specific audience questions.
The drop in sessions will be smaller tables, with a relative subject matter expert to answer questions and facilitate discussion on a particular topic.
Topics include:
Media – Journalists and media are a powerful way to influence public perception and to get our message out. They have their own internal operations and public interface that we can tap into like an API.
Legal – The legal system has a regular and standardized set of processes, outcomes and roles. Understanding these is key to influencing precedent so that it reflects the current technical landscape.
Public Policy – Understand the influencers, decision makers and processes that go into making new laws and administering existing ones.
Career – How you choose and follow your career path shouldn’t be a random walk and shouldn’t be set in stone. Use your career to maximize your satisfaction and impact.
Burnout – The complex state of Burnout is one that affects many in our industry, but help and resources are rare. Learn what it looks like and how to deal with it.
X Altruism – Extreme Altruists go out of their way to try and do the right thing, regardless of what others may think or what harm they may face. But these features can become bugs if they don’t find the right outlet.
Disclosure – Handling the delicate issue of notifying manufacturers about security vulnerabilities when packets meet blood and bone.
Communications – Many of us are less afraid of shaking hands with SSL or modems than real people. But that doesn’t mean we can’t effectively get our ideas across to manufacturers, managers, politicians or parents.
Agenda
10:00 – 11:00 Introduction and Overview – I Am The Cavalry
11:00 – 12:00 Areas of Interest (Medical, Auto, Home, Public Infrastructure, Policy)
12:00 – 17:30 A&Q Sessions (see online schedule for details)
12:00 – 17:30 Drop-In Sessions (see online schedule for details)
17:30 Wrap Up and Next Steps
