What an exciting start to RSA Conference 2014!
It was fantastic to see so many of you yesterday for our welcome reception in the Expo Hall. I hope you all had as much fun as I did. Seeing so many familiar faces I felt like I was at a family reunion.
The week kicked-off on Monday with the first annual International Cyber Leaders meeting and witnessed RedOwl crowned as “The Most Innovative Company,” winning the coveted Innovation Sandbox competition. RedOwl joins previous winners like Appthority, Remotium and Invincea!
Today we launched into our exciting keynote series with speakers such as Art Coviello, Scott Charney, Nawaf Bitar, and of course our annual Cryptographers’ panel! What an opener – thank you again to William Shatner! Who knew Captain Kirk could do such a killer rendition of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds!
Also on stage we witnessed four security pros receive the honor of winning the coveted RSA Conference awards. Zurich Insurance Group received the award for Excellence in the Field of Information Security Award, Prof. Bart Preneel received the Excellence in the Field of Mathematics Award, and Dr. Patrick Gallagher received the Excellence in the Field of Public Policy Award. We were also pleased to welcome Peggy McNulty who accepted the Lifetime Achievement award on behalf of her late husband, F. Lynn McNulty. Many of you know McNulty for his countless contributions to the field of cybersecurity, being characterized as the “father” of U.S. federal information security.
During the keynotes I went from the main keynote room to the "Viewing Point" where I heard insightful and humorous commentary from Hugh Thompson, Josh Corman and Wendy Nather. The Viewing Point offered a great way to see the keynotes and offers a glimpse into how the RSA Conference is evolving to deliver content in different ways based on how our attendees are consuming information. How can you complain with charging stations and iPad kiosks, coffee, and Nutella banana sandwiches.
Another exciting new addition to RSA Conference was our kick off of The Sandbox! For those that wanted even further insights from the Cryptographers’ panel we offered an extended conversation with Ron Rivest and crew! I highly recommend you swing by the Sandbox for creative sessions and interactive games. We will also be offering charitable activities such as the charity:water challenge. I am excited to inform you that on the first day of the challenge 64 people took the opportunity head on, bringing us closer to our goal of 300. I urge everyone to take the walk so that we can close the gap and fund two water projects in Nepal. Come by Moscone North Room 134 see The Sandbox in action!