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these massive data sets and turn intelligence into
preventative or corrective actions� How should the
Hugh Thompson, Ph.D.
government be involved� These questions are likely to take
Program Committee Chairman, RSA Conference
center stage at the Moscone Center this week.

As an industry, we are also coming to terms with a massive
�The year of the breach.� It�s a headline that hit some of the
shift in the way employees consume technology. Most
mainstream press in January, trying to sum up one of the
workers now have access to a better, more enjoyable and
most intense and bizarre years in the history of information
richer technology experience at home than they do at work.
security. No matter how you label 2014, it is clear that
The result has been the democratization of technology and
Information Security has never been more important to
a dilemma for security professionals: how do you allow
our lives, our businesses and our nations as it is today. This
employees to use the great consumer devices and services
week, tens of thousands of information security
they want and still defend the business� As security
professionals will come together in San Francisco for RSA
professionals, we are being forced to think more about user
Conference 2015. While it has only been a year since RSA
experience more than we ever have in the past. We are
Conference 2014, it feels like decades worth of cyber
being challenged to add security (and confidence) to
security incidents have hit the popular media. Countless
services and devices without sacrificing usability. This
personal records have been stolen. Companies have been
�Human Element� of security is coming into focus in many
forced to bend to the will of hacktivists and nation state
ways, and I�m happy to say that our �Human Element�
attackers. Individuals have succumb to ransomware. This
Track at RSA Conference 2015 is bolder and more thought
wave of attacks has shifted the focus of some enterprises
provoking than ever.
from �How do we prevent�� to �How do we recover��

There has never been a more important time for us to come
Changes in the technology landscape have brought new
together as a community of security professionals to share
topics into focus at this year�s conference. Many attendees
ideas and further our profession. We are in a very young
will be thinking about the Internet of Things. In fact, this
industry at a time that is both exciting and perilous. We are
year we saw a 450 percent increase in talk submissions
being compelled and inspired to innovate and collaborate.
focused on connected devices and how to attack and
This week take advantage of the sessions, forums, hallway
protect them. Threat Intelligence sharing is also in the
conversations and opportunities to meet new people and
spotlight. With the popularization of frameworks like STIX
learn about new technologies. My hope for this year�s
and TAXII, we now have the mechanics in place to share
conference is that you come away with new ideas and
threat data, but we continue to wrestle with issues of
relationships. We are all in this fight together.
liability, privacy and regulation. How quickly can we share
data� Who can (and should) we share it with� How can we Hugh Thompson, Ph.D.
be sure the data is accurate� How do we run analytics on Program Committee Chairman, RSA Conference

CYBER DEFENSE MAGAZINE - ANNUAL EDITION 3