And we’re off! Day one at RSAC 2021 is in the books and the start to this year’s Conference was jam-packed with virtual content, interactive sessions, and of course the Digital Expo. Industry experts shared insightful keynotes to kick off this week’s events, we announced the winner of the Excellence in the Field of Mathematics Award, and the FAIR Institute presented a seminar on the business benefits of cyber risk quantification.

With so many sessions and activities it’s impossible to see it all. But no worries, we’ve broken down all the big moments from day one and outline what’s to come tomorrow! And don’t forget, all the traditional sessions are available OnDemand, so you’ll be able to continue to receive CPE credits.

Keynote Highlights

• In an industry that is built to evolve and adapt, this past year’s challenges and hardships were no match. During A Resilient Journey, Rohit Ghai, CEO of RSA, reflected on these challenges and broke it down into three examples to inspire the cybersecurity community to remain vigilant and help one another. “Being resilient is not good enough, we must be good at resilience,” said Ghai. “When one of us falls, all of us learn and we rise up stronger.”

   

• Founders and leaders of cryptography took part in The Cryptographer’s Panel to debate and discuss the most pressing issues facing the cybersecurity industry and our increasingly digital society. This year’s panel was led by Dr. Zulfikar Ramzan, Chief Digital Officer at RSA , Ron Rivest, Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Adi Shamir, Borman Professor of Computer Science at the Weizmann Institute in Israel, Carmela Troncoso, Assistant Professor at EPFL (Switzerland), and Ross Anderson, Professor of Security Engineering at Cambridge University and also at Edinburgh University. Panelists covered a wide range of topics, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs), responsible disclosure in the cryptography space, and the risks and challenges of machine learning. Overall, the theme of the discussion focused on how trustworthy, secure and resilient today’s systems are as each panelist brought different viewpoints and backgrounds to the discussion.

   

• There is no doubt that every organization in every industry is focused on keeping their business more resilient than ever before. In Cybersecurity for an Inclusive Future, Cisco’s Chairman and CEO, Chuck Robbins, discussed rethinking the current business model and training, reskilling, and redeveloping existing talent while engaging new talent to grow the cybersecurity community. “We can only go forward and deal with the opportunity and complexity of the future if we look at security as the foundation,” said Robbins. “It really is the most critical piece.”

   

• Head of Global Governance, Risk, and Compliance at VMware, Angela Weinman, and Information Security at Netflix DVD, Jimmy Sanders, shared their “Zoom Out, Throw Out, and Reach Out” approach during Telling Hard Truths to Impact Change in Cybersecurity. “The technology community has shown amazing resilience in these trying times,” said Sanders. “Shared accountability, increased diversity as well as embracing innovative scientifically effective techniques will allow us amazing progress and change within our industry.” Covering three hard truths about security, Weinman and Sanders challenged their peers to broaden their views and prioritize what is necessary, get rid of old and useless practices, and connect with one another to learn and gain perspective.

Announcing the Excellence in the Field of Mathematics Award Winner - We would like to congratulate Professor David Pointcheval as the recipient of the 2021 RSA Conference Award for Excellence in Mathematics. He was selected as this year’s winner for developing provable-security arguments for applied public-key cryptographic systems and protocols.

FAIR Institute Seminar – How to Manage and Communicate Cyber Risk in Business Terms - Attendees learning about cyber risk quantification and the value in quantitative risk management for businesses. And discussed why the industry has evolved toward quantitative methods, as well as the challenges and practical solutions for leveraging these methods.

Coming Up…

Tuesday’s agenda is one you will not want to miss! Starting off with powerful keynote presentations, the CSA CIO Summit and numerous Sandbox sessions, be sure to have your schedules set for another day of great content at RSAC 2021.

Here are the upcoming keynotes you’ll want to catch:

• Bathtubs, Snakes and WannaCry, Oh My! Risk in the Physical and Cyber World – 8:00am PT – Steve Grobman, SVP and CTO at McAfee, will discuss how to be aware of biases and embrace data and science-based approaches to assess and mitigate risk.

   

• Safeguarding Privacy with Purpose and Passion – 8:20am PT – Vasu Jakkal, CVP Security, Compliance, and Identity at Microsoft, will discuss the shared responsibility to protect privacy for all, as well as key ways to lead, build trust, and create enduring business value through comprehensive privacy and security practices.

   

• Reshaping Security to Power Business Growth – 8:30am PT – Mary O’Brien, GM at IBM Security, and Mauricio Guerra, CISO at The Dow Chemical Company, will discuss putting zero trust into action to manage security while enabling business.

   

• Cybersecurity as a National Imperative – 8:50am PT – Anne Neuberger, Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology, will frame the Biden Administration’s approach to safeguarding U.S. cybersecurity and modernizing cybersecurity defenses.

   

• Spanning the Globe – 3:40pm – 4:30pm PT – The job of a CISO has always been challenging and varied, but the last year has been a stress test above all others. In this keynote moderated by Hugh Thompson, global CISOs share their insights and learnings on priorities, surprises, and “ah ha” moments.

On Tuesday, don’t miss the CSA CIO Summit: Executive Strategies for the Cloud-Centric Enterprise from 8:30am – 2:30pm PT. The summit will focus on Executive Strategies for the Cloud-Centric Enterprise as more organizations adopt a cloud-centric IT approach, enabling a flexible workforce, virtualizing operations, and minimizing business disruption.

Also, don’t forget about the Digital Expo where you can meet with company representatives, attend Sponsor Briefings, download educational materials, and see the next generation of cybersecurity stars in the Early Stage Expo.

Last, but certainly not least, be sure to check out the Sandbox sessions from 10:00am to 4:00pm PT. These interactive sessions range in a variety of relevant topics shaping our industry today and feature engaging activities and workshops.

We hope you are enjoying RSAC 2021 and stay tuned because there is much more to look forward to in the days to come!