3 Things to See at RSA Conference USA 2019
 

The upcoming RSA Conference USA 2019 taking place from March 4-8 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco will mark my 17th consecutive year of attendance! It seems like my first year attending in 2002 was only just yesterday. But then again, it also feels like it was a long time ago.

As a conference attendee representing security vendors through the years I have pretty much been locked down to meetings with customers, prospects, analysts, partners, booth duty, and evening parties, with only the periodic consumption and delivery of actual sessions allowed. But every now and again I break out and experience the “real” RSA Conference. This year, on my breakout radar screen are the following three sessions and keynotes.

3 RSA Conference Sessions/Keynotes to Check Out

• Cyber-Hustle: Security Lessons from Hollywood – Co-presented by a former colleague of mine, Sam Curry. I have always found nearly perfect parallels between criminality in the physical world and the cybersecurity world. Strategies to rip people off have been a thing for millennia but can now be efficiently and profitably applied in the cyber world. But to the same end of separating people and businesses from their money. Will be fun to hear Sam’s take relating cybersecurity to well-known Hollywood blockbusters.
• A Conversation with Tina Fey, Writer, Actress and Producer – There is nothing more fun than goofing on the security industry. Reminds me of the fantastic RSA Conference closing session in 2014 by Steven Colbert. For those who were there, remember his security company Cloud Fog? I have no specific idea what Tina Fey and Hugh Thompson are likely to talk about, but given the amount goof-able material provided by the security industry, I don’t think they will have much problem filling 45 minutes.
• RSAC After Hours: Whiskey & Wine Tasting – While I always tell my wife that RSAC is all work and no play, and that she would hate it, this definitely is not 100% true. In fact, I strongly suspect some people I know go from breakfasts, to lunches, and to dinners and never even darken the doors of the actual conference during the week. But while in Rome one might as well do as the Romans, at least some of the time. I like whiskey and I like wine, so this “session” had me at the title.

Whether you take any of my session advice above or do your own thing, the key for attending RSA Conference is to do your thing to the maximum. You can’t do it all, but your goal should be to spend as little time in your hotel room as possible! There is plenty of time to goof off or do regular work when you are home.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t encourage you to come visit me and the rest of my Mimecast colleagues on the show floor. Other than the sessions above, you know what I will be doing during the week.