Black Hat USA 2024 promises to be an exciting and groundbreaking conference, and we caught up with Steve Wylie, the General Manager of Black Hat, to get an inside look at this year's event.
Guest: Steve Wylie, Vice President, Cybersecurity Market at Informa Tech [@InformaTechHQ] and General Manager at Black Hat [@BlackHatEvents]
On LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/swylie650/
On Twitter | https://twitter.com/swylie650
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Hosts:
Sean Martin, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast [@RedefiningCyber]
On ITSPmagazine | https://www.itspmagazine.com/sean-martin
Marco Ciappelli, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining Society Podcast
On ITSPmagazine | https://www.itspmagazine.com/itspmagazine-podcast-radio-hosts/marco-ciappelli
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Episode Notes
Vroom Vroom! The Black Hat Tradition with Sean and Marco
It's that time of year again, and Sean Martin and Marco Ciappelli are kicking things off with their customary banter on the road to Black Hat USA 2024. This time, there's no need to "vroom vroom" their way to Las Vegas as they'll be flying there instead. But no matter how they get there, it's all about reaching the grand event that is Black Hat.
A Decade of ITSP Magazine and Black Hat
Marco highlights a significant milestone for their publication: ITSP Magazine is celebrating its 10th anniversary, a journey that began alongside the Black Hat conference. Steve Wylie, who has also been with Black Hat since 2014, shares this sentiment of growth and reflection.
What to Expect at Black Hat USA 2024
Steve Wylie provides a comprehensive overview of what attendees can expect this year. As always, the event will bring the heat—literally, with Las Vegas temperatures scaling up to 108 degrees Fahrenheit. But beyond the weather, the Black Hat event itself will feature a multitude of new expansions.
Key Highlights
Deep Dives and Panel Discussions
Steve reveals a notable deviation from tradition: this year's keynote will be a panel discussion focused on defending democracy in an election year, featuring top cybersecurity leaders from the U.S., the EU, and the UK. This will be an essential kickoff, reflecting on the year’s heavy election schedule and the growing influence of AI.
Fireside Chat with Moxie Marlinspike
Another unique addition is a fireside chat with Moxie Marlinspike, founder of Signal, moderated by Jeff Moss. This discussion will delve into privacy concerns and the ever-important balance between privacy and security in today's technological landscape.
Arsenal and the NOC: Fan Favorites Return
Sean and Steve both tip their hats to recurring features such as Arsenal, which showcases cutting-edge tools developed by the cybersecurity community, and the NOC, where attendees can witness real-time network management and protection.
Wrapping Up
As Sean and Marco prepare to experience another electrifying Black Hat, they remind readers and listeners alike to subscribe to ITSP Magazine for exclusive coverage and insights. Whether you're able to attend in person or follow along remotely, Black Hat USA 2024 promises to be a crucial event for anyone in the cybersecurity field.
Be sure to follow our Coverage Journey and subscribe to our podcasts!
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Resources
Learn more about Black Hat USA 2024: https://www.blackhat.com/us-24/
The list of keynotes can be found on this page: https://www.blackhat.com/us-24/keynotes.html
Direct links to keynotes:
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Behind the Scenes at Black Hat USA 2024: An Exclusive Pre-Event Conversation | A Black Hat USA 2024 Conversation with Steve Wylie | On Location Coverage with Sean Martin and Marco Ciappelli
Please note that this transcript was created using AI technology and may contain inaccuracies or deviations from the original audio file. The transcript is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a substitute for the original recording, as errors may exist. At this time, we provide it “as it is,” and we hope it can be helpful for our audience.
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[00:00:00] Sean Martin: Vroom vroom Marco.
[00:00:04] Marco Ciappelli: You beat me this time. I started the car first. It's all about who vroom vroom first. I know. When we do the chats on the road, it's about vroom vroom. Although, as I said before, and I will say many other times, This time we're not driving. We're gonna fly there. So I don't know if vroom vroom is still part of it But I guess good.
[00:00:25] Sean Martin: Yeah, it's still an engine. It's still
[00:00:28] Marco Ciappelli: I hope it's not the same engine of the car
[00:00:30] Sean Martin: if i'm controlling the engine. It's another another story that
[00:00:34] Marco Ciappelli: Oh my god, that's right
[00:00:37] Sean Martin: Actually, that's not true. Yeah, I was on a holiday once and the guy said, do you want to fly the plane? I'm like, all right ask the people behind us if they care
[00:00:44] Marco Ciappelli: You're not gonna fly the plane when we're together.
[00:00:47] Sean Martin: I can't tell you that I can tell you that Well, this is probably some rules in this country for that
[00:00:54] Marco Ciappelli: look it doesn't matter How you get to Vegas. You can walk if you want to, although I do not recommend that. It's quite hot in the desert. Um, you can drive, you can fly, you can bike. And, uh, the important thing is that you make it.
A black hat.
[00:01:10] Sean Martin: You get there, you get there by August 3rd for the trainings. And, uh, stay for the briefings. That's the main thing.
[00:01:18] Marco Ciappelli: So this is, uh, are really a traditional conversation is a tradition for sure. It's, uh, we were just talking with Steve Wiley before we start recording on how this is our ITSP magazine 10th birthday, which is always marked by Black Hat USA.
And like Steve, you've been, uh, you've been there about the same amount of time.
[00:01:45] Steve Wylie: Yeah, I think our birthdays, um, roughly coincide. I started with my, my first black hat was, uh, 2014. So, uh, roughly about the same time. We're 10 years in, 10 years older. Hopefully 10 years wiser.
[00:01:59] Sean Martin: 10 years wiser. Yeah.
[00:02:00] Steve Wylie: Yeah.
[00:02:01] Sean Martin: Black Hat goes way
[00:02:02] Steve Wylie: back.
[00:02:02] Sean Martin: Yeah.
[00:02:04] Steve Wylie: So this is actually our 28th year of Black Hat. So it goes back to 1997 and sometimes, you know, all of our archives are on our, our website. Sometimes I enjoy going back through some of those early events and seeing some familiar faces. I mean, I can't tell you how many times I've been at Black Hat and someone will come up to me and say, I was at the first Black Black Hat, you know, and it's always been in Vegas, right?
Um, uh, always been there alongside DEF CON. So it's, um, yeah, 28 years of, uh, Black Hat history there, which is pretty remarkable.
[00:02:36] Sean Martin: Yeah, it's a super cool one. Not as with a lot of things in tech, constant change as well. A lot of growth, I should say as well. And, uh, I see we'll get into some of this, I'm sure, but I see new summits.
This year and micro summits and all kinds of fun stuff. So we're going to, we're going to get into that, but, um, kind of give us an overview, Steve of what, uh, what folks can expect this year is big picture.
[00:03:03] Steve Wylie: Yeah, big picture. So, um, one thing's for sure. It'll be hot. Um, that's the consistent factor with Vegas that we've grown to know and expect.
So I'm just looking at the weather here, 108 degrees Fahrenheit. in Vegas, so definitely, um, you know, dress, dress accordingly. Um, but the event, the Black Hat event itself, you know, there's a lot of new things, so I, I would say kind of at a high level, um, expanded, Content program and you mentioned the summits.
There's all we're doing a lot sort of on the what's effectively becoming a third day of the event. I mean, the overall event is 6 days when you include all the training programs and everything that we do, but the, the conference itself is a 2 day conference, but we've been gradually and, and. Taking more deliberate step this year into a third day.
There'll, there'll be the Tuesday before, um, the briefings and the, and the business hall open up. So we've got a lot of things happening, um, there. I would say another, um, which I'm sure we'll talk about, um, some other things that I'm, that I'm. Uh, excited about this year is there's a lot more networking opportunities.
I mean, we consistently hear from our attendees and their feedback that they love, you know, the LobbyCon, um, and they want more time for interacting and more opportunities to, um, engage with like minded people, et cetera. So we're doing a lot of things in that regard. Um, we've got this, you know, meetup lounge, which we had last year as well, but we've just, you Broadened out the, the lineup in there where you can meet and greet with, um, selected speakers, you know, some more notable speakers that, you know, people will want, would love to have a sort of a more intimate, uh, exchange with, um, taking place in the meet and greet lounge.
We're doing track chair, meet and greet. So you can talk to the folks that organize the track, um, and understand a little bit more about kind of what they were seeing and key themes and, um, and that sort of thing. So a lot more of that sort of. You know, planned and unplanned networking opportunities. Uh, we've got our, our, our day zero program, which is that happens on the day before, um, the main event.
And that's sort of a, an introduction to Black Hat and a great opportunity, especially for newcomers to the event to really acclimate themselves to what the event And, you know, how to, how to spend their time to make the most use of their time there. So that that's back again this year, you know, we, we changed that up each, each year, trying new things.
So, um, all in all, just a lot of, uh, great, uh, opportunities to connect with others.
[00:05:26] Marco Ciappelli: Yeah. You got the know before you go. I'm looking on the website cause it's important. It's, it could be intimidating. I always remember the first time that Sean dragged me there and I was like, uh, Okay, where are we going now?
Yeah, and it's been growing and growing and growing since so what's up? What do you think it is? What are you really excited this year compared with last year? Is it the theme? Is it the conversation? That you know are going to happen or what is it?
[00:05:59] Steve Wylie: Yeah. So, you know, I've done this with you guys a few times, so I've kind of, you know, generally kind of the direction you're going to go.
And I always spend a lot of time on the on the Black Hat website preparing for this, uh, this conversation. And, um, yeah, I mean, I, I always, you know, you guys know me, I will always come back to the content program. It's what Black Hat's known for, right? So that's the generally is always the part that I get the most excited about.
And once again, that's, uh, the part that I'm most excited about this year. Um, I mean, every year I've been doing this 10 years now, every year you kind of get an early peak when we do the call for papers and you, you just see the volume of, of, of submissions that comes through. And every year that just keeps getting bigger.
Uh, and every year our review board gets bigger to try to. Manage all the volume of calls, call for papers, submissions that we get. It's rigorous. I mean, it's really rigorous, but you get like that, that early insight into is this going to be a good year? You know, there's going to be some great, great stuff here.
And, um, you know, there's so many great, Um, sessions. I'm sure we'll, we'll dig into some of those as well, but there's just a lot, a lot this year, uh, to get excited about in the conference. Um, so that's good. I am, yeah, excited about the conference expansions that we've done as well. So these summit programs that we're running on the, on the Tuesday prior to the main event, um, all go into some, you know, important topical areas, uh, and are geared a bit more towards a managerial audience.
Right. So the briefings are, as you guys know, very technical, very in the weeds for the most part. Um, our summit programs are by design going to be more targeted at a managerial and up, um, audience. We've got some new ones happening this year. So we've always had the CISO summit. That's been around for about 10 years now.
And that's always very popular, always sold out. And it's exclusive to CISOs. Um, this year we're adding an AI summit, uh, into the mix, which is, Going to be very popular. Um, we're adding, um, a, a summit on, um, uh, innovators and investors. So really looking at, you know, there's a, there's the money is flowing again, back into cybersecurity, uh, from an investment standpoint and startups.
Um, that's great to see, great to hear. So we really wanted to have a program this year that was really going to be for that part of the, um, the sort of, you know, Cybersecurity ecosystem. It's the, the entrepreneurs, it's the VCs, it's the corporate development people. It's the, the CISOs themselves, the ones that ultimately will be buying these, these solutions.
Um, so Innovators and Investors Summit, that's brand new. That's happening on a Tuesday. I'm really excited about that. Uh, we have our Omdia Analyst Summit. That's really our own, uh, analyst firm, Omdia, and their insights into what's happening more on the vendor side of things from a, just a You know, vendor developments, uh, and, and key developments there.
Um, so that's back again. We've got a new industrial controls summit that we're launching this year. Really, you know, digging into the more of the, you know, operational technology side of things, uh, SCADA systems, et cetera. So that's, uh, that's brand new. Uh, we're bringing back our cyber insurance summit.
Again, a lot of, um, great extensions to the main conference, the Black Hat Briefings, which is, uh, will always be sort of that very, um, technical, cutting edge, research based, um, program that it's known for.
[00:09:20] Sean Martin: Yeah, and pretty much anybody I speak to when I talk about the content at Blackhat, it, the feedback has always been really good, deep, technical, research driven, no fluff, you're going to learn something that's valuable and applicable to you.
Whatever program you're trying to run. And I love these summits as well, because it, like the CISO summit, um, sadly, I don't get to go to those, but I don't, I don't want to be a CISO. So I don't, I don't, I won't be able to go to those, but I guess the point of, um, I want to make is with some of the summits is you do uplevel them.
To me, to be higher level program oriented. Business oriented, operationally oriented. And I think it's a good way for the two groups to come together. Right. So the bottom up technical, tactical, operational mixing with the operational business, economical policy, that kind of stuff. And yeah, I need to, I need to get, get on with some of the analysts to talk about what, what's going on with the analyst summit.
[00:10:32] Steve Wylie: Absolutely. There's always a wealth of information there. Um, yeah, you bring up a good point, Sean. I mean, I think, you know, AI is a good example. We've launched this new AI summit. We've had an AI track in the briefings for years, right? So it's not a new topic for Black Hat, but it's, there's a very different lens on the, the AI sessions that are going to, Find their way into the briefings program versus the, uh, the AI summit, which as you said, it's, it's been up leveled.
Um, there's a lot of big, um, things to think through, um, you know, around AI, um, that that's what we really aim to address in the AI summit. Um, you know, it's protecting the AI. It's, you know, how is AI being leveraged both by adversaries and by our vendors and our internal teams. Um, it's like a, an AI, you know, arms race, uh, who's going to be, who's going to be quicker by leveraging, uh, advances in AI.
So there's a lot of sort of, you know, bigger picture things to discuss there. That's never going to be sort of the type of content that we would put in the briefings, which is always really the more of that technical. Deep dive, um, uh, into the research.
[00:11:42] Marco Ciappelli: Yeah. And you mentioned how the focus on networking, I mean, that's, that's why we go to.
We go to conference, right? We go to chat with people to reconnect and to meet new one. And as time goes by, there's a lot of younger people than than us, which is a great thing. Um, but I like the fact you have also like a meet and greet with the speakers so people can get to know you. And then of course, uh, keynotes and anything that stand out there, you know, that's another question that will come from me, like who, who is coding and who else are you, do you want to highlight?
[00:12:21] Sean Martin: Yeah, so this is the name your favorite child. Name
[00:12:24] Steve Wylie: your favorite child. Oh boy
I think that's probably another big Development this year is I think we've taken some different, you know direction this year with our with our keynote program You know, we, we generally have a traditional keynote, you know, the person that starts off the event with, you know, with the talk. Um, and this year, so it kind of goes this year, our, our key opening keynote is actually a panel discussion.
So, and it goes back to, and it's all on, um, sort of defending democracy, right? Um, the big year for elections. And it's a big topic for, for us, you know, around the world, right? So this goes back to actually, Jeff Moss, when he was, um, introducing, Uh, Black Hat Asia in Singapore this past year made the comment that this year, over half of the world of democracy, democratized world will be going to the polls.
So it's just, it's an unprecedented thing where you've got so many big democracies, um, going to the polls this year. Um, and you've also got sort of this, like, there's new And different threats to that democratic process, right? And AI being, being one of those, right? We're yet to see really how AI will be leveraged, you know, on top of the things that we've, you know, been seeing in, in elections around, you know, uh, disinformation, misinformation, you know, that sort of, sort of thing.
So, uh, we, the, we asked ourselves the question, well, who's the, who's the person? That can really, you know, address this phenomenon that is, you know, we've got, you know, half the world going to the polls, um, and concluded that that's, that's not really a single person. It's really, you know, um, uh, it's a government by government, you know, issue, but we thought there's.
Probably tremendous value and bringing some of the leaders across these different governments together to really talk about this is an issue. So we, you know, we've put together, I think, a fantastic, um, panel that I think I'm especially excited to see how this one comes together. We're, we're, um, It'll be moderate, a moderated panel.
So we've got, um, a reporter from AP, Christina Cassidy. So she's the person with, with Associated Press that covers all of the national election and election security, those sorts of things. So she's going to host it. Uh, we've got Jen Easterly, the CISA director for the United States. We've got Hans de Vries, chief cybersecurity and operations officer for the European Union.
We've got, uh, Felicity Oswald, CEO at the UK's National Cyber Security Center. Um, so it's going to be, you know, three, um, prominent leaders within their respective governments dealing with this, um, in a, in an unusual year. And I think that will be probably, um, a different twist for Black Hat, but I hope really useful, uh, a useful way to kick off the conference.
[00:15:15] Sean Martin: Yeah, it's a really, really cool panel and, uh, definitely caught my attention. And you, you, you mentioned. Jeff as well, um, who also has a keynote with, um, Moxie. Can you tell us a little bit about what that's going to be about?
[00:15:31] Steve Wylie: Yeah, that's another, uh, you know, a little bit of a left turn for us. We don't usually do fireside chats, um, as keynotes, but, uh, we wanted this one to be a bit more discussion based.
So, you know, Moxie, of course, he's the, the, uh, the founder of Signal, uh, has played such a prominent role, um, in, in. with the signal protocol. And really that's, that's the protocol that is leveraged by a lot of the messaging apps, Facebook, WhatsApp, you know, Google Messenger, et cetera, all leverage that. So he's one of those big thinkers, um, in privacy.
Um, and people want to hear from him because he's played such an instrumental role, uh, in the development of privacy across, you know, what a lot of the modern tech that we're all using today. So really, um, It's going to be a different format, more of a fireside chat with Jeff, where they can dig into some of the things that are on Jeff's mind around privacy.
You know, those trade offs between privacy and security is a big one. You know, you know, how do we, how do we shape communication? Privacy topics in the future as well would be something that will be covered, uh, as, as well, safeguarding personal information, um, you know, in, in this sort of modern era, uh, there's a lot of good topics there that we want to dig into.
And we're real excited to hear from Moxie because he's not a guy that tends to be out, um, speaking on the public circuit much. Um, so that's a nice addition to our lineup this year.
[00:16:57] Marco Ciappelli: Yeah, just Sean shared with me this morning a post from Jeff that was very, very profound about political situations and protecting the election.
And so I'm sure it's going to be, it's going to be good. And I love to see the fact that It's, uh, it's funny because we actually had another, uh, speaker today, um, that is going to be there, a black cat, and he's all about, it was about social politics and international relationship and how, uh, different country grades from a cyber security stance and readiness and resilience and, and so the fact that you also have Jen again talking on the main stage and, um, You have the International Cyber Security Director for the Office of the President.
So it's not just AI, you know, although I see Anne and Anne Johnson has shared the group of talking about that. But the point is the complexity and the fact that cyber security touch all our life nowadays. And I love to see how the conference has always been ahead. Of course, always being blackout ahead of the game.
Oh, no, no. And keep doing that. So, um, I'd love to see that.
[00:18:13] Steve Wylie: Marco, are you referring to, uh, this session caught my attention as well. It's, um, it's the one that, um, a gentleman from Harvard or some folks from Harvard. Or yeah, that caught my attention as well. So
[00:18:25] Marco Ciappelli: yeah,
[00:18:26] Steve Wylie: I'm, I'm really interested to see what the, what the findings are in that one.
And just for, for, for the audience. So this is, um, uh, you wouldn't
[00:18:33] Sean Martin: tell us. Yeah, I mean, yeah, so you asked them, okay. No, we didn't, of
[00:18:38] Steve Wylie: course. They're looking across the US, China, UK, Germany, um, South Korea, Singapore, UAE. So big, you know, big countries and looking at their cybersecurity approach to national defense.
Um, and a bit of a, as I understand it, a bit of a grading system. Who's doing what well and who's, you know, who comes out on top. So I think that one, it's super interesting topic, but I think more interesting for me, we'll be hearing the, uh, the results from that. So that's what I, I plan to attend for sure.
Yeah.
[00:19:07] Marco Ciappelli: I think he's going to be pocked out one.
[00:19:10] Sean Martin: Yeah, that's a good one. That's a good one. Um, are there any tracks that, cause I mean, when we, when you just throw AI in the mix and it kind of, you know, Swallows up stuff. We talk about election and, and misinformation and kind of that big, big bubble and it kind of swallows up stuff.
How does some of the other tracks hold up? Um, given some of those big things that are, are there any new ones? Are there any that, that have fallen off that, uh, That get bundled up and somewhere else. Tell us, tell us about what's going on with the tracks.
[00:19:47] Steve Wylie: Yeah, the tracks kind of, kind of tend to morph a little bit.
Not, nothing major changes there, but I, I'm always sort of interested in this, this topic as well. Like, you know, as the program's coming together, where is the, where is the sort of concentration of research? Is it around, you know, mobile? You know, that's, we've, we've seen years where there's a lot of mobile, um, Uh, talks.
Um, I would say, you know, kind of just in reviewing, there's about 100, there's 100 plus sessions, right? So it's a big, it's a big program, always is. Um, it goes, it goes wide, right? But I think you could certainly say that, you know, AI, yes, there's a lot of AI, but I'm actually very proud of the AI program because, uh, Um, it's, you know, it is the most hyped thing right now in tech, but like, I think our review board did a great job of really pulling out some gems and, um, providing some AI talks that are going to be very, very useful and, you know, and necessary.
So, um, I'm excited by that. I think there was, there was also quite a lot around cloud vulnerabilities. So as a, as a theme, at least that was my take on it this year. Um. There seems to be a lot of that, um, that kind of ebbs and flows. Sometimes we get a lot of cloud. Sometimes we don't. A lot, a lot of times the cloud systems are, they tend to be a bit, you know, insular, obviously, so we don't have a lot of insight.
So it's, to me, it's always nice when we get a good year of cloud talks, because it means that the cloud, whether it's the cloud providers or the customers of the clouds are talking more about what's, what, you know, What customers need to be thinking about and at this point, you know, most of our, our systems are running on cloud based environments.
So that's super critical. Um, and you know, and there was one talk that caught my eye around just, you know, sort of not treating the cloud like a black box. Like you really do need to understand what's happening there from a security standpoint for your own enterprise as well. So, um, I think that was, that was probably the other one that was the most interesting for me is just the number of cloud sessions.
[00:21:41] Marco Ciappelli: And, uh, My last question, uh, I don't know if Sean has one more, but it usually does. So I count on it. Of course. My last is, it's actually about, uh, the startup spotlight competition. Cause it's a, it's a third year and, uh, I think, uh, a nice little healthy competition is always a good thing. And especially when it highlights the up and coming, uh, new solution and startup company.
So can you tell us something about that one?
[00:22:09] Steve Wylie: Yes, so we're going to up level the spotlight competition this year. As you said, it's our third year doing it. Um, and we're, so each year we want to get it, you know, bigger, better, and, and, and a more, you know, prominent part of Black Hat. And I would say that's probably one of our biggest, you know, areas of focus this year is really having a much more robust uh, program around the whole startup and investment ecosystem.
So it starts with the, uh, the innovators and investors summit that we launched. Right. So that's a full one day summit, really, you know, bringing together, um, all of those constituents that care about that part of the cyber ecosystem. You know, it's the, it's the innovators, the entrepreneurs themselves, the VCs, the corporate development people that want, you know, the companies acquiring these, these businesses, and it's the CISOs, you know, the actual practitioners that are, um, That are the ones that are buying these solutions.
So the innovators and investors summit, and then we've got the spotlight competition happening that same day at night. We've up leveled that by putting it into one of the proper room versus it used to happen on the business hall. Now it will happen in a briefing room. with a bigger production, um, right after innovators and investors.
And then of course, we've also always had the, the startup zone on the floor. So really trying to, you know, build an entire program around that. And, and they're all integrated, you know, the, the, the four finalists for the spotlight competition are being given the chance to speak at the innovators and investors summit.
They are being given a complimentary space in the, in the startup zone on the, Black hats floor, um, as winners for the spotlight competition. So I think, um, yeah, definitely look for that overall arching program just to get bigger each year. We really want to dig into that again, as I mentioned earlier, especially as investment money is now flowing back into cybersecurity startups, which it, you know, it, it hadn't been for a while, so that's really good to see.
[00:24:03] Sean Martin: So, I want to, and my, my final question here is to the type of audience that we expect. Cause over the past few months, I've had a lot of conversations where the CIO has been a role that's come up quite a bit in connection with security. So I could, I could say they might be an AI summit. They might find themselves in the CISO summit with.
But they're CISO peer, but talk to me a bit about kind of the, the, the business level. Do you see attendees expanding beyond just peer security? So that's kind of the first part of the question. And then the other part is the level. Of experience with cybersecurity, maybe still in the same theme of, I mean, we saw bad stuff happen last week that was from cyber impacting it.
So I think there's a broader or a deeper connection that I, with it and cybersecurity as well. So. Talk to me a little bit about the audience and the attendees beyond just pure cyber and do you see much there?
[00:25:19] Steve Wylie: I think the, the trend that we've seen is more, um, not that, that our cyber audience is broadening, but more that there's more people from IT that need to be, um, More in tuned with cyber security, right?
I, I say this to the black team all the time. Cyber Street touches everything. Every facet of our modern life is affected by is, is, uh, uh, by cyber security. And so therefore, um, it, you know, it, it affects all sort of jobs within the, within the, uh, the enterprise. So you're seeing more, um, people coming from the, more of the IT side of the house that do that.
need to be absolutely plugged in on what's happening in cybersecurity. So that's, I, I see that as a good thing. You know, that's sort of the long, um, arguing about, argument about the lack of, of, of, you know, coordination, cooperation between IT and, and, uh, and security. And, uh, and clearly that, you know, the results, the, the issues last week is a good example of that, um, where they need to be more coordinated.
Um, you know, obviously, um, there still is, you know, in, in cybersecurity, there still is a massive. Job gap. Um, so, you know, ISC squared puts out a really good report on, on jobs every year. And even though the workforce is growing at this tremendous rate in cybersecurity, the gap of unfilled jobs is actually growing faster than the workforce itself.
So, um, I think there's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's more of that, that you're seeing other, People from other walks of life, largely I. T. needing to come in and, uh, and be a part of that cyber security workforce as well.
[00:26:55] Marco Ciappelli: Well, the universe is expanding, so we're not catching up with that, if that's an excuse. I don't know if we can apply physics to cyber security, but anyway, well, uh, I'm going to, I'm going
[00:27:08] Sean Martin: to close.
I'm going to close with with two shout outs because they're always my favorite. The first is Arsenal, uh, always a good collection of tools that, uh. I come from really smart people and, uh, the other is the NOC. Uh, go, go see the team in the NOC and see how, how very, uh, active network is managed and protected.
Grifter and team, I'm sure, uh, I'd love, love to see you there. So those are my two shout outs to you.
[00:27:38] Steve Wylie: Grifter and, uh, and, and Bart and, and, uh, and Steve Fink and, and those guys are doing a, um, uh, briefing again. Uh, it's, it's, it's become one of the most popular sessions, right? It's the tales from the knock, um, where they're really looking at kind of some of the, the, the, the actual activity from the week, uh, and what they've been dealing with in defending black cat, uh, from the world, um, and probably from itself as well.
Um, so that's always a great, uh, A great one. And we always put that sort of towards the end of the week. It's a great way to round things off.
[00:28:09] Sean Martin: Yep. I love it. Alrighty
[00:28:11] Marco Ciappelli: then.
[00:28:12] Sean Martin: Well, I'm so excited to, uh, to be there and see everybody and to, uh, see you Steve and hear some of these chats and conversations and Yeah, always a good time in Vegas with the Black Cat team.
So thank you for thank you for pulling it together and for sharing a few minutes with us to give us the highlights of this year's event.
[00:28:33] Steve Wylie: Yeah, thanks. Thanks for having me on guys. And I look forward to listening to some of the other interviews as we lead up to the event. I always enjoy those. So thanks for being here.
For, you know, continuing to put those out and getting some good speakers on, um, really enjoy it. Yeah, absolutely.
[00:28:48] Marco Ciappelli: And for everybody stay tuned because as we have many before the event, we are actually starting to get pretty booked for the event itself. So we're excited. We're going to be running around that if you see us.
Just wave and say hi. And of course, Steve, I'm looking forward to say hi to you in person. Thank you, everybody. Subscribe. Stay tuned. If you cannot make it to Vegas, ITSP Magazine is the way to enjoy Black Cat as well, at least from our own perspective.
[00:29:19] Sean Martin: But get there. It's worth it.
[00:29:21] Marco Ciappelli: Take care, everybody.
[00:29:22] Sean Martin: Thanks, everybody. Thank you.