While I was one of the youngest attendees at the RSA Information Technology Security Conference in San Francisco, I certainly did not let that keep me from making the most of my time there. I was afforded the opportunity to attend this weeklong conference at the start of March in part due to generous assistance from the PAF Professional and Academic Development Fund. The conference was an extremely valuable opportunity to engage with thought leaders in the fields of technology, law, and security. While there, I had a front row seat to demonstrations of cutting edge cybersecurity technologies as well as to some of the most important debates in the field, including the “Apple vs. the FBI” debate over encryption.
During my time in California, I was able to learn about the developing market in cybersecurity insurance, export control policy on dual-use technologies, and the potential for public private partnerships to mitigate the activities of international cyber criminals. I also had the opportunity to take part in the first public event related to my work on the subject of active defense against cyber threats in the private sector. On the last day of the conference, the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security’s Frank Cilluffo moderated a panel with Stewart Baker, Michael Chertoff, Geoff Hancock, and Nuala O’Connor based on the work we have done within the Active Defense Task Force that I am coordinating in my placement. If you’d like to learn more about my experiences at the RSA Conference, please reach out to me at [email protected]!