Sunday, October 18, 2015

2015 ISSA International Conference

This past week I attended the 2015 Information System Security Association (ISSA) International Conference.  It was held in Chicago on October 12-13.  Before that the CISO Forum was held, and afterwards, they held the one-day Chapter Leaders Summit.  The CISO Forum was only open to members of ISSA's CISO Forum, and the Chapter Leader Summit brought together chapter officers for workshops and sessions to help them improve their chapters.

This is the second ISSA Conference I've attended.  I thought this was was pretty good.  We had a couple of good keynote sessions (Vinton Cerf and Dan Geer).  There were several sessions organized into different tracks, and all were tied to the ISSA's Cybersecurity Career Lifecycle model.  There were a few other special events, such as CISO Forum luncheon and the awards luncheon where several were recognized with ISSA Awards.  There was also a reception at 360 Chicago at the John Hancock Center.

This year they had a conference app, which I've seen such used at other events I attend.  This one also had people scan QR codes on name badges, at the vendor tables, and at events and sessions.  Those who got the most would get prizes.  So, obviously, at an infosec conference, some hacked the app.

They had a good number of vendors this year, tho many I had never heard of.  Disappointed that some of the major security vendors weren't there.

As a chapter officer, I also attended the Chapter Leaders Summit.  A good event.  I almost wish it was longer.

Next year's conference will be in Dallas around the same time.  Hopefully I can attend.