Redefining CyberSecurity

The Aerospace Village at the RSA Conference 2024 is gearing up to be an event filled with innovation, collaboration, and excitement. In a recent episode of "Chats on the Road to RSA Conference 2024" with Sean Martin and Marco Ciappelli, the hosts digs into the details of what attendees can expect at the Aerospace Village. Let's take a closer look at the insights shared during this engaging discussion.

Unveiling the Aerospace Village Experience:

The podcast episode kicks off with Marco Ciappelli welcoming listeners to the conversation alongside guests Henry Danielson and Liz Wharton. The trio's palpable enthusiasm sets the stage for a deep dive into the diverse offerings of the Aerospace Village at RSA Conference 2024.

Innovative Initiatives and Collaborations:

Henry Danielson shares exclusive details about the Aerospace Village's collaboration with BuddhaBot to introduce a unique badge experience focused on constellations. The hands-on challenges and engaging activities promise an immersive experience for attendees, emphasizing learning through interactive participation.

Exciting Activities and Exhibits:

The conversation unfolds with discussions on Pentest partners' flight simulator and the AMSAT project, showcasing opportunities for visitors to explore CubeSat technology and ground control stations. The Space Grand Challenge, aimed at educating young minds in the cybersecurity realm, further highlights the village's commitment to fostering innovation and knowledge sharing.

Insightful Industry Conversations:

Liz Wharton sheds light on the importance of vulnerability disclosures in the aerospace industry and emphasizes the significance of building robust security practices collaboratively. The dialogue underscores the village's role in fostering critical conversations around cybersecurity, aviation, and space exploration.

Community Engagement and Visionary Leadership:

Hosts and Guests express their excitement for the upcoming RSA Conference and encourage attendees to join the vibrant community at the Aerospace Village. From showcasing cutting-edge technologies to facilitating thought-provoking discussions, the village promises to be a hub of inspiration and knowledge exchange.

As the episode concludes, the hosts extend a warm invitation to all enthusiasts, innovators, and industry professionals to participate in the vibrant experience awaiting them at the Aerospace Village during RSA Conference 2024. The blend of education, engagement, and collaboration sets the stage for an unforgettable event that promises to shape the future of aerospace and cybersecurity industries.

Stay tuned for more updates and insights as we venture into the dynamic world of Aerospace Village at RSA Conference 2024!

Be sure to follow our Coverage Journey and subscribe to our podcasts!

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Resources

Cal Poly Space Grand Challenge: https://cci.calpoly.edu/empower/space-grand-challenge-program

Learn more about RSA Conference USA 2024: https://itspm.ag/rsa-cordbw

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Episode Transcription

Exploring the Excitement of Aerospace Village at RSA Conference 2024 | A Conversation With Henry Danielson and Liz Wharton | 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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Marco Ciappelli: [00:00:00] Hello, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of Chats on the Road to RSA Conference 2024. Sean is already on the road, but I think he's lost somewhere on the way. Who knows? San Luis Obispo, who knows? I don't know why I said that, Henry, but we'll get to that. But I'm not alone. It's great to be here with friends.

Somebody that I've talked a million times before. And also it's not the first time that we talk about the Aerospace Village, for which we are very, very big fan. We always try to be involved and to promote what they're doing, since when it wasn't even about space. So, That's how long that was.

But anyway, for people watching the video, they already see there is Henry and Liz here with me. And again, Sean couldn't connect with the computer. So technology, there you go. And for those listening, yeah, [00:01:00] they're really here. Here's the voice. Henry, what's going on?

Henry Danielson: Oh, man. So excited. I'm like on my countdown.

I keep looking. Is it this weekend? Is it this weekend?

Marco Ciappelli: Oh, we booked a long way ago. We were like three months ago. We're like, when are we going to talk?

Henry Danielson: Uh, and honored to be with both of you, Marco and Liz. Thank you so much for your time and all that you do for aerospace village and all your other work.

Um, and RSA this year at the sandbox again. Uh, Silly with it. Uh, very excited. Uh, what does Steve like to say? Steve and the crew defend the skies.

Marco Ciappelli: It could be a sci fi movie. You got your own slogan right there. Uh, man. Yeah. We're going to dig into what's, what's going on this year. What's going to happen.

Cause our job is to. to get people excited. And I know with you two, it's going to be a very easy job. Liz, it's been a while. What's up with you?

Liz Wharton: You know, just [00:02:00] trying to get, uh, trying to keep up with all the news that's coming out with the various airlines, because Each time I see another story about Boeing or when there's, I'm like, Oh, we need to add this to our list.

We need to add this to our, so, you know, just started my own company and can't wait to, uh, join the stage at RSA and then the sandbox, the airspace village with, I mean, you talk about it's not often you get a, you know, The cyber team at a major airline, one of the oldest in Canada, you get one of the grandfathers, or don't tell Casey I said that.

I mean, it's a good thing it's not on a podcast. Uh, but you have someone who created bug bounty programs and these disclose vulnerability disclosures to gossip about hot, uh, I mean, There's nothing going on [00:03:00] in aviation these days with software, hardware, and defending.

Marco Ciappelli: Well, definitely we don't get bored in this industry.

That's, that's for sure. Sometimes it's even like, uh, can I get a break? You know, but the thing here is that we're not here to talk about breaches. We're not here to talk about, you know, bad stuff happening. We're talking about the good job that the aerospace village has been doing since many many years ago at this point it's been a few years and uh yeah steve is not with us this time it's the first time i think that we're presenting something and steve lucinski is here we're here so hi steve sorry i missed you but i'll see you love you

Henry Danielson: man i love you man We are defending the skies, us three, right

Marco Ciappelli: here, right now.

I don't know if you can trust me in piloting an airplane or, or, or a space shuttle or anything, but,

Henry Danielson: uh He'll help you through it, no problem.

Marco Ciappelli: Like airplane, like the movie? [00:04:00] Yes. I'm already sweating, you know?

Henry Danielson: Don't call me Shirley. Don't call me Shirley. Love that one.

Marco Ciappelli: Exactly. All right. So let's do the job. Uh, who wants to start?

I mean, Lizzie already kind of dropped a couple of, of, uh, of candies there for what's going to happen, but Harry, uh, what's the plan? What's the plan, this year?

Henry Danielson: Well, my big news is, OMG, so excited, um, we will be having an Aerospace Village badge for select few. Uh, we partnered with, uh, BuddhaBot, uh, and they, uh, wanted to do a badge in the Aerospace Village.

Um, and just let me tell you, it has to do with constellations. That's my secret give. Uh, and constellations are pretty fun. So, um, I'm hoping that you're one of the winners. Uh, those badges, uh, so anyway, it's going to have a few challenges on it, uh, that have to do with constellations [00:05:00] and other space type activities.

So that when it came to fruition, like two weeks ago. So the fact that I'm able to say that today, and I did ask permission and didn't really get an answer. So I hope I didn't blow it, but that's, um, that's a secret that's coming. So please stop by, uh, Aerospace Village and talk to us. Play a few games on a badge.

See if you can win something. All the games will be directly on it. We noticed a lot of people don't bring their laptops to game. Um, so we wanted to make sure you could do it with a hands on right then. Uh, just super excited about that. And then Pentest partners are coming again with their wonderful flight simulator.

So you get to actually, you know, How should I say this? Land a plane appropriately. Um, and have a good time. Uh, I will be there again this year. I'm super excited. I'm bringing an AMSAT, which is a cool project by this AMSAT group. That, uh, allows you to build your own CubeSat and a ground control station.

So [00:06:00] I will have that with me demonstrating how that works and how cool it is. And then of course, Space Grand Challenge, teaching middle and high school kids how to get into the cyberspace industry. Um, And young people are out of this world, as you know, and we want to, uh, up their game. Because right now there's so many jobs available, uh, at Space Force.

You, you can go online right now and find them. Even at Vandenberg, they posted three yesterday. Um, so anyway, really cool. I'm very excited about that. And then we got a secret sauce of CISA, um, Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency, some friends from the supply chain risk management are coming, and I'm very excited about them, uh, being able to attend and talk about a supply risk, uh, having to do with the aerospace industry.

So we're, those are our three humans that'll be there, of course. And Liz, of course, doing phenomenal things up on stage, super jealous. I go back with Casey. Uh, we did a bug bounty in San Luis Obispo on the San Luis Obispo, um, [00:07:00] uh, Army National Guard base. It was a hoot. Uh, we did it on a little routers and, um, cameras that are on your doors, those types of things.

And it was so fun to see hackers come from all over the planet and do that. But back to Basically, we're going to have a great time at Aerospace Village. I do have swag, so Liz, yes, I just bought a bag of shwiggity shwag. Um, and again, I'm so excited to share with you the CubeSat, the Amsat, how we built that, and why it's teaching young people and other os, other people, how to understand how CubeSats work in low Earth orbit.

Um, but anyway, that's my Quick spiel, um, and I'm so excited to be back with RSA, uh, enjoying myself and enjoying all the people that I see and talking with young people. And of course I got my DEF CON hat on because hackers are going to hack. So hack the planet, all of you, in a good way.

Marco Ciappelli: Yeah, this is a tough, this is a tough act to follow.

So.

Liz Wharton: Well, [00:08:00] I mean, the Aerospace Village for me has always been one of the coolest hands. I mean, you are absolutely getting to see, you know, because most people flew or are flying, uh, we are all using our devices that are connecting through, you know, using the low orbit, uh, Satellite communications or we use them to get the directions that we do.

So it's like all these different aspects that you forget about is like, and then you get to touch, feel, see, and talk with the people who are doing that. And that's such a rare opportunity. It's not just folks sitting around a booth talking about it. It's like, Oh, do you want to do this? Do you want to touch?

So I love that I get to participate more directly. Uh, this go around in person too.

Marco Ciappelli: You know, and I, and I have to, I agree [00:09:00] with all, all of these. And as a matter of fact, we. Sean and I remember when we met the first time you guys at Defcon a few years ago And yeah, there was the fly simulator already there.

And of course Defcon is more about smashing stuff, right? I mean breaking we're smashing the tesla nearby uh, but But I am excited about the fact that that now you guys are Into a more I don't know business formal You

And it's keep happening and it's not just you. There are other villages there. All together, you're bringing it together. To the audience that is not the one that was originally made for and Liz It's because it's so part of our society now that we we just can't deny I mean every time I talk about hacking satellite is like Yeah, it's not just about space.

It's about [00:10:00] everything we do on our planet.

Liz Wharton: So, I mean, everything is kind of linking back. And so you need to move beyond just the researchers and getting into that C suite, getting that buy in from the top so that when, you know, it's not just going to the airline going, Oh, we had a data breach. It's like, Hi guys, this is, this is how this all plays together.

And by investing or knowing about how these. pieces work that when people are coming to you asking for budget or doing things, you know, what's going on. It's like, Hey, let's connect the dots. It's the threat landscape. And really, I think that gets lost so frequently in the aerospace industries. People think of like, Oh, it's a satellite.

Well, yeah. But what about the vendor, the supply chain, all these pieces had to move together and getting to see that. And

Henry Danielson: The witnessing too of the change and the [00:11:00] collaboration of, I'll call them aerospace innovators, um, security experts or InfoSec, um, and the government initiatives, right?

So many working together and trying to shape the future of the safety of humans. Mm-Hmm. in the future. Uh, reali real, uh, reality, um, checks, and then trusting in what's coming in the future. Um, and I'm also part of a IPN sig where we're shaping the inner planetary network for the future. How Mars is gonna talk to the Moon and Earth.

Uh, there's, there's a company that just got 5G on the moon that's gonna happen. That's going to be there. So I dunno, I, I find it so fascinating that we're living in this phenomenal time right now where changes are happening. Um, and we're almost in the Jetsons, right? We're, we're going to be in the, in that little ship, like, yeah, I'm going to zip over to Mars real quick.

I'll see you in a little bit. And we

Liz Wharton: just, [00:12:00] right. Well, and, uh, but the better question is what time zone is going to be. The moon. Um, and, uh, you know, things like that, that I love hearing these conversations. It was like, wait, what? It's like, well, yeah, I mean, in 30 years on the moon, you'll lose a second in time.

So NASA needs to figure that out. It's like. Okay. Yeah. What is going to be the lunar standard?

Henry Danielson: I love that. I love the fact that you're thinking, see, these are future conversations that we have to have and delay tolerant networks, DTNs, they send up a packet, ask to wait a little while. Because of Orbitology!

Right? We don't get to see each other the whole time. It's 39 minutes out, then you can talk to that satellite again. So I just think it's so, we're living in a phenomenal time. I know I said that already, but it's really cool. And I, I want to know, Liz, so You're going to get to talk to Casey about what, what are you going to talk [00:13:00] to him about?

Liz Wharton: Yeah. So, and this is a good chance to also hype up the fact that the Aerospace Village has been following this thread of things for a while. So, building on prior discussions where you had folks from CISA coming in and talking about vulnerability disclosures. You had gaffers come in and talk about prior.

We're taking all this research and saying, okay, now what happens when you build a vulnerability disclosure program with an airline? So we're not talking about the avionics. of the airplanes necessarily, because those are important. And those are, we're not talking about, okay, the government regulatory, but we're talking about what happens when all of that comes together.

And how do, I mean, United famously had some stuff, maybe go sideways with some of their past. So how is Air [00:14:00] Canada doing it right? And how are they doing this? Where you have, you're inviting these folks into your environment. And so I've got, you know, both between Casey with, uh, Buckrub and we have Richard, who will be joining from Air Canada.

And then with my background being a former airport attorney, what happens when we all sit together and. do it correctly. And how do you get that buy in? Cause I can't imagine the board meeting or going to the C suite going, Hi, so I'm going to have hackers break our stuff and it's going to be a good thing.

Henry Danielson: Yeah. And we're good with this, right? Yeah. And the best part about what you described is We're trying to do the betterment for society. This isn't a bad thing. And I think that shift has to be changed. And I think it's happened way hard. Just like we have, um, Hackassat, the [00:15:00] Air Force, as well as all those.

We were doing it, showing how to break things. But for the betterment of society. And that's what you're doing. And applauds to you, Liz and everyone else that's involved because it just makes me tingle. It's making effort and we're moving forward.

Liz Wharton: Well, it just highlights how, Marco, as you said, how far the villages have come, but particularly their space.

And how do you bring all these people in for these conversations to educate, not to scare? Because it's like, hey, how do we do this better? How do we, because we all arrived on a plane, or we used, again, the satellites, their navigation, or Marco, when we get our swag to go to Mars, you know, it's, how, how does all of this come together with the IT, OT, all the T's?

So we'll be, we'll be dishing the T on stage.

Marco Ciappelli: Yeah. I, I'm a big fan of, Everything, [00:16:00] Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and all of that, right? So wherever there is a documentary or book about that, I, I, I'm on it. And I've been lucky. I talk to many astronauts on my show, and I'm always like picking up, you know, the history of the space shuttle, one thing and another.

But I look at now, and even if we haven't gone back in a while on the moon, and we are, but the, the technology has improved. I mean, we can't even count it. But also the cyber security, like you said, you know, Casey, I mean, I've known Casey for a long time when it was kind of like, what is he talking about?

Company are never going to allow that. But, but that's exactly like Henry said, that we need to do this because otherwise we're going to have to always react and we can't be the Prevention force right. In doing things. Mm-Hmm. . So yeah, if something doesn't work, doing the little monkey and covering your ears and, and, and your mouth and your eye [00:17:00] is not gonna help us.

Our society, and it's too important. I mean, in general healthcare and, but, but the space industry there is , the airplane and security. It's, it's incredible. And then one thing happened. But we didn't realize how so many things didn't happen, but, right? It's like that one thing in cybersecurity that you fail now, it doesn't work like that.

Liz Wharton: Well, it's kind of fun because you think of, it's hard enough, companies struggle enough right now to patch on the ground. How are you going to build the systems or the processes to patch in space? And when you've got, as Henry pointed out, when you've got those delays that you don't have when your feet are on the ground, uh, communications, and how do you build in that lag time?

How do you do this? And then I love thinking about to the, like, We still [00:18:00] have problems. There's a storm, a tree falls on somebody's house. You have to figure out. Okay. Well, what if it's, you know, what if there's a crash between two, you know, we know what happens with some of this junk, but how do we do it?

Like, well, your satellite clipped my shuttle, which then caused a fall here. And now I'm picturing, picturing the Jetsons esque lawyer commercials of like, has, you know, did Starlink, uh, crash or, well, one call solves all, you know, like call us.

Marco Ciappelli: You're going to have that banner and there's some, some space orbits that says, you know, got injured.

Call.

Liz Wharton: Right?

Henry Danielson: Yeah, and I think, too, the, uh, give you another example is International Space Station. They have a 3D printer on there to fix stuff so they can do it live. To [00:19:00] me, that's genius, right? So, they have a part. They don't have to wait. for the next rocket to come up. They got a 3D wizard and they make it.

That's cool innovation, right? That's what RSA Sandbox is about, is sharing and showing those cool things. I know Black Hills is going to be there. Uh, Tim Fowler, just an amazing course.

Marco Ciappelli: He was on a podcast with us, uh, not too long ago. He's coming back to talk about space, uh, and society. So I'm excited

Henry Danielson: Real rock star.

I'm not sure if he's at RSA, but anyway. Great stuff. Great people. And I want to go back to what Liz said. Innovators. My current boss or whatever leader visioning Space Grand Challenge for middle and high school kids four years ago. Let's get them into space so they can do cyber security. That wasn't even thought about.

So visionaries, the people pushing the envelope and making this super For Uh, we, reality for everyone else. And yeah, [00:20:00] so here's a shout out to Bill Britton and Tim and all these other great people that are moving forward. And you, Liz, I mean, your field is very different from mine, very different, but we know some of the same people and some of the same things, so that's why we can sit down and have a conversation about this.

And I can ask like, well, what's the policy on that? Cause I don't know. But you could ask me a question that you don't know. And I really find the learning capacity always goes up when, uh, you hang out with cool people that,

Marco Ciappelli: that look, it's in the name, right? I mean, we're going to, we're going to start wrapping here because I know we could go for hours, but it's in the name.

It's the village, right? I mean, what I loved about the concept of the Def Con village is. It's you, you're there and it's, it's the village, the town where everybody meets and, and you have this conversation and you figure out the future and those, everybody, it's really smart people. It's like incredibly [00:21:00] smart.

And so I want to give you, a couple of minutes each to make a call for. Inviting people. This is happening. RSA conference, which is um, the sixth to the ninth, uh, of uh, may, may, we are gonna be there again. Sean is gonna be there. I'm gonna be there. You guys are gonna be there. Um, and the sandbox where you guys are actually Moscon south.

So, uh, make a note for that. But I'll put everything in the notes for the show as well, but awesome. This energy, it's going to be there. Uh, even more, cause it's going to be, you know, in person. So two minutes of your energy each to just tell people to come by and, and visit the village. Liz,

Henry Danielson: you please start.

I can't hear what you're going to say. Well,

Liz Wharton: and it really, the, Benefit and where, where it really becomes a sandbox in a village is understanding that aerospace and [00:22:00] defending, protecting, and also building, designing takes all of these pieces that it's bringing the researchers, the business team, the sales team, all the folks, the policy makers, and the users.

Because we all fly. We all use the navigation systems, the communication systems. Come get that hands on experience and have those conversations with all those different pieces that you can only get with the Aerospace Village, because they do such a good job. of bringing together all those voices, understanding that it's not just a silo here in a silo there.

So I look forward to seeing folks come by. Let's start these conversations and spark solutions for tomorrow, today, and going forward.

Henry Danielson: Awesome. I can't wait to see you. Give you a big hug. We're going to have a great time. So, [00:23:00] Again, let's defend the skies in the Aerospace Village together. Uh, as a community, it takes more than anyone or everyone to do all of this.

I respect all of Liz today and Marco, thank you for having us today. The Cal Poly Cybersecurity Institute, very honored to be a part of Aerospace Village. Getting young people with the Space Grand Challenge that happens April 26th this month. For little young people to change their lives, uh, do great things.

Pentest partners, who's going to be with us, CISA and their supply chain risk management folks. Very excited about that. Um, and of course Buddha bot and we have our badge maker, Abhinav, who's coming. Uh, and please stop by to check out the badge that has to do with constellations. That's the secret. Um, but I'm very excited.

Very excited to be here and cannot wait to see you all in person. So please stop by, uh, the, the RSA sandboxes here at Moscone Center in San Francisco. Woohoo! May 7th, um, and through the 9th or 6th, sorry, 6th. [00:24:00]

Marco Ciappelli: Oh my God, this is such a great energy here. It's, it's, it's incredible. I'm excited. I am glad that we had this conversation.

I know Sean, when he looked at this, when he watched it, he's going to be very jealous, but that's okay. You will be there. We'll stop by we'll spend a lot of time at the at the village And uh for everybody else, you know again, we're gonna be there. We're gonna be on broadcast alley We're gonna record right there.

We're gonna do a lot of things and of course meet All our friends and uh, if you can't make it to san francisco, that's okay. We'll uh, we'll share Everything that is happening there, at least the cool stuff. So that's the Aerospace Village. Right?

Henry Danielson: Thanks, Steve, Pubs, and all the rest of the crew for Aerospace Village.

We honor you as well, because it does take all of us. So thanks again.

Liz Wharton: Congratulations.

Marco Ciappelli: All righty. Bye, everybody. Stay tuned. More to come for RSA Conference 2024. [00:25:00] Bye bye. Bye bye.