Page 167 - Cyber Defense eMagazine September 2022

In the end, DefCon was by far one of my favorite cybersecurity conferences I have ever attended. There
were so many things to do and I know I didn’t cover even a quarter of them. I did my best to try and go
to the hands-on villages over the presentations since those would be recorded. It was amazing to have
a wide variety of topics, as there was something for everyone. Further, the community at DefCon was
unlike any conference I had experienced. Despite the vast amount of attendees, it felt more customized,
personable, and like a community than other conferences.

Networking

With thousands (easily 25k+ attendees) at these conferences, there were so many opportunities to meet
industry leaders and others. Throughout the five days, I found that the Hacker Summer Camp is the time
to meet most cybersecurity leaders in person. There were a few individuals and companies on my list,
but there were others that I happened to run into or meet.

During the conferences, I had time to sit down and chat with Bob Ackerman. He founded Allegis Cyber
- the world's original cyber-focused venture firm. Shifting from a reactive to a proactive approach and
consolidating companies within the industry are some of the things he foresees happening in the future.
With artificial intelligence improving every day, he noted that the offensive capabilities will also be
developed and is something to watch out for.

As he was talking about the state of cybersecurity, it was very apparent that Allegis Cyber has a deep
understanding of everything cyber-related and that they know the entire cyber ecosystem. Bob noted that
a lot of start-ups in the industry are concerned about navigating the entrepreneurial path while trying to

Cyber Defense eMagazine – September 2022 Edition 167
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