The Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) has its 31st Annual Conference at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre in Edinburgh, from June 16 to 21, 2019.
The commentator on all things hacking – from cars to hot tubs – Ken Munro will open with a talk titled “Backdoors in Back Doors”; asking how security issues surrounding the Internet of Things (IoT) can be fixed when they have already been public and are therefore vulnerable to attack. In a nod to the event city, 2019 will see talks and workshops around the theme of “Defending the Castle”. Sessions will promote worldwide coordination and cooperation among Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs).
The five-day conference contributors from industry and academia will explore the security implications of the IoT; and how to anticipate what an attacker might do to a system and avoid it. As for UK speakers among the worldwide ones, Dr Leonie Tanczer, Assistant Professor at University College London, will lead a session on ‘Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Smart Fridge: Governance Challenges of the Internet of Things’; that is, the security and privacy implications of ‘smart’ technologies that need to be considered from an early, development stage. Delegates will also hear from Professor Monica Whitty, a Cyberpsychologist at University of Warwick; and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
Andrew Cormack, Chief Regulatory Adviser at Jisc Technologies and FIRST Annual Conference Programme Chair said: “As technology advances, so do security implications. It comes down to a community of security incident responders to come together at times of crisis to resolve system attacks in a united fashion to create a fix and ensure organisations can continue to operate with limited disruption.
“The conference this year looks to be our most insightful yet with our keynoters covering topics across the full spectrum of computer security – from the practical to the psychological. As a membership organisation, we work to ensure that our annual conference brings as much value as possible. This year, we were inundated with 275 proposals for sessions and workshops, and we feel that of the 66 sessions that will take place during the five-day Conference, these will inspire and empower delegates to take new thinking and tools back with them to their everyday roles.”
About FIRST
Founded in 1990, the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) consists of internet emergency response teams from corporates, government bodies, universities and other institutions in 91 countries. For the full conference programme and to register, visit https://www.first.org/conference/2019/.
Picture by Mark Rowe; Edinburgh Castle.
