About six months ago, Chuck approached the HTH team wanting to host an information and cybersecurity event. He said “It’s a bsides conference. It’ll be fun and easy.” My first honest thought: what does the b-side of a cassette have to do with  cybersecurity? A deep dive into the Security BSides organization and 6 months of hard planning, and we’re just over a month away from hosting our FIRST BSides conference!

Now, maybe you’re already a supporter of Security BSide events. Or maybe you’re like me and thought he was referencing some
“old school” music technology. Either way, I’d like to introduce you to the event by providing answers to some of the questions I found myself asking Chuck.

Q: What is BSides?
A: In short, it’s an information and cybersecurity event where we bring in non-sponsored speakers from different arenas
to educate attendees. The event format allows for participants to network and gain inside connections and information about
IT and security. These events are hosted all over the world and all follow the same principle of gaining knowledge and insights
on how to better protect our businesses and community.

Q: Why BSides? Why Now?
A: I was talking to an old business partner Chris Ensey, CTO at BlueVoyant and Sean Metcalf from Trimarc Security, they were
talking about a conference called BSides. I thought it would be great to do this in Hawaii. I used to throw big keg parties back in the day, I thought this would be kind of similar but an adult version (without the alcohol) – bringing the tech community together to learn about cybersecurity. A lot of the people in the local industry are my friends and I wanted to bring us all together to learn and really help protect the community. Hawaii is getting targeted and not all companies here are equipped to
properly protect themselves.

Q: What role do you feel today’s cybersecurity threats play in coordinating this event?
A: Cybersecurity threats are a continuous and evolving threat. The threats are resilient and tiresome. Our desire is to provide continuing education and practices so that combating those threats become less work and second nature. There’s a concern that people have become complacent with their security. Just because you’re protected today, doesn’t mean you’ll be protected tomorrow. We want you to be in the know. Data breaches happen time and time again, can you really “protect” your info? You can, and not only that, but we want to provide you with knowledge to advocate for it.

Q: What would you say to someone not sure if they should attend?
A: Just come! Our sessions are chosen for all levels of technical experience. We’re positive you’ll walk away having learned something new, having made new connections and hopefully friendships too. You have nothing but your information security to lose. We hope to see you at the conference!

For more information on the sessions, speakers and sponsors visit BSidesHawaii.org.

– Ally Turner, HTH Marketing Manager

Download a copy of the FEBRUARY 2020 NEWSLETTER.

Related: HI Tech Hui Newsletter – Our Message – February 2020 Issue 34

Related: Top Strategies I Learned To Fight Off Complacency And Get Out Of My Comfort Zone