Security [World|Netwide|Online]

[rslade]

So, a number of us are at home, prevented from going to any of the normal round of security conferences.

But we are creative and inventive people, and we know the tech. So, why not create our own?

I'm thinking the BSides model, trying to keep it as cheap (free?) as possible, for the widest possible access. (I'm thinking this because of the notices I am receiving from various vendors who are trying to actually sell their sales presentations, or combinations thereof, as conferences.) (I may be jumping the gun on that name/brand: I don't know who owns the BSides model or brand, and while I highly respect it, I don't want to step on any toes by simply assuming it.)

[Addendum on May 13th (appropriately enough): The-Powers-That-BSides, while supportive of the idea, do not want us using the BSides name. I have therefore editted the title for this thread/topic.]

I'm thinking this is more than just a big Zoom meeting, or even a series of Zoom meetings.

Anybody in?  I can be reached as rmslade@shaw.ca, rslade@gmail.com, the-usual-suspect@outlook.com, or a variety of others.

[dcontesti]

Definitely worth a conversation.  You know how to reach me 😉

d

[rslade]

Although I thought the idea was a fairly obvious one, a) it isn't fully developed, and b) I realize I'm going to need an *awful* lot of help. Not least with ideas.

So far I'm thinking:

- as cheap as possible, preferably free
- as wide access as possible (which leads to some of the other points)
- minimal vendor involvement (possibly request free accounts from actors like Google, Zoom, etc for the hosting? but if we can keep it cheap we can avoid need for sponsorship?)
- vetted speakers (probably need a pretty wide selection committee)
- all day/all night/24 hour run (for 48 to 72 hours?) (to accommodate world-wide access) (would probably call for pretty wide moderation/MC team)
- multi-modal, Webinar, teleconf, vidconf, posted papers, Website, chat rooms, mailing lists (Usenet? 🙂 - with some integration between modes, such as having speakers provide papers and slide decks for posting, being available for chats, etc.
- some kind of social involvement, not just presentations
- a slot for me to present "Security Lessons from CoVID-19" (that's negotiable 🙂

- as well as multi-modal, multi-platform. Again, with a view to making as much as possible as widely accessible as possible. After a couple of attempts at Duo, and some interesting experiences with Facetime addressing, I have to note that even the simplest vidconf use can be a non-trivial task. And I don't want to cut people off by making it "Zoom only." I doubt that "cross-platform" is possible, unless we find some real video tech wizard. I suspect that "tracks" may be by platform, rather than topic.

(- I'd love to have a Jitsi track 🙂
- in regard to the help and number of volunteers needed, we'll definitely need a moderator/MC/producer for each platform (track?), well-versed in the platform, and able to run things for teh presenter. Not all presenters are going to be capable of doing the presentation, sharing slides, and noting questions and feedback, all at the same time.

(And, I have done this before  🙂

[rslade]

We are wanting to do a Google Meet practice test that we'd like to "pack" with attendees (for a kind of numbers stress test, although it's unlikely to stress Google's servers  🙂

Anybody with a GMail address who'd like to participate, or even just drop in for a while, please contact rmslade@shaw.ca, rslade@gmail.com, the-usual-suspect@outlook.com, or all of the previous addresses (if you're into redundant backup) (which I am).  I'll send you a formal invite/add you to the meeting.

Google Meet/BSides World test meeting Thursday, 14 May⋅10:30am – 12:00pm Pacific Time

(From testing so far, it seems that the Chrome browser works best, with Linux, Mac, or Windows. After that you just need to go to https://meet.google.com/ and log in with your Google/GMail account. Look for the gear icon in the upper right hand corner of the screen and check out the audio and video settings.)

[rslade]

In trying to present this to The-Powers-That-BSides, it seems the first, and most important aspect (even before the concept) is a name.

Since the naming convention is BSides [location], and this idea is for a non-local event, I figure some variation on:

BSides World
BSides Worldwide
BSides Netwide
BSides Online
BSides Cyberspace

Any ideas to throw into the pot?

[dcontesti]

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@rslade wrote:

Although I thought the idea was a fairly obvious one, a) it isn't fully developed, and b) I realize I'm going to need an *awful* lot of help. Not least with ideas.

So far I'm thinking:

- as cheap as possible, preferably free
- as wide access as possible (which leads to some of the other points)
- minimal vendor involvement (possibly request free accounts from actors like Google, Zoom, etc for the hosting? but if we can keep it cheap we can avoid need for sponsorship?)
- vetted speakers (probably need a pretty wide selection committee)
- all day/all night/24 hour run (for 48 to 72 hours?) (to accommodate world-wide access) (would probably call for pretty wide moderation/MC team)
- multi-modal, Webinar, teleconf, vidconf, posted papers, Website, chat rooms, mailing lists (Usenet? 🙂 - with some integration between modes, such as having speakers provide papers and slide decks for posting, being available for chats, etc.
- some kind of social involvement, not just presentations
- a slot for me to present "Security Lessons from CoVID-19" (that's negotiable 🙂

- as well as multi-modal, multi-platform. Again, with a view to making as much as possible as widely accessible as possible. After a couple of attempts at Duo, and some interesting experiences with Facetime addressing, I have to note that even the simplest vidconf use can be a non-trivial task. And I don't want to cut people off by making it "Zoom only." I doubt that "cross-platform" is possible, unless we find some real video tech wizard. I suspect that "tracks" may be by platform, rather than topic.

(- I'd love to have a Jitsi track 🙂
- in regard to the help and number of volunteers needed, we'll definitely need a moderator/MC/producer for each platform (track?), well-versed in the platform, and able to run things for teh presenter. Not all presenters are going to be capable of doing the presentation, sharing slides, and noting questions and feedback, all at the same time.

(And, I have done this before  🙂

---

SO my thoughts, love most of what you have listed.

- Free (for so many reasons)

- Have you considered recording sessions? such that people who can't attend can still see the proceedings.

- Vendor involvement is okay as long as it is not a dog and pony show (sometimes they have very useful information......

We should look at the "platform" that (ISC)2 is currently using for their webinars as they seem to be working well and have heard very limited negative feedback.

I can assist you with some moderation but their are a few folks that are really good at it....

my thoughts only

d

[CraginS]

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@dcontesti wrote:

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@rslade wrote:

Although I thought the idea was a fairly obvious one, a) it isn't fully developed, and b) I realize I'm going to need an *awful* lot of help. Not least with ideas.

So far I'm thinking:

...

---

So my thoughts, love most of what you have listed.

- Free (for so many reasons)

- Have you considered recording sessions? such that people who can't attend can still see the proceedings.

...

We should look at the "platform" that (ISC)2 is currently using for their webinars as they seem to be working well and have heard very limited negative feedback.

---

Rob and Diana,

Both (ISC)2 and ISSA use the commercial meeting service BrightTalk.com. I have taken part in several BrightTalk webinars, both as attendee and as speaker. They clearly have the available bandwidth, and offer recording, moderation, and chat for questions during the meetings. Participants, including attendees have to create a user account with BrightTalk, another darn ID & PW to maintain.

However, I doubt we can get more than a single session free for them. That said, if we were to get sponsorship for the BSides Worldwide(?), that might pay for BrightTalk. 

REMINDER: Rob is running a Google Meet load/stress test on Thursday, May 14, midday in Canada/USA. Contact him for an invitation. The more the merrier!

For an intro to Meet, watch my8 minute YouTube video, Google Meet Controls Demo

Craig

[rslade]

For those who may be wondering why GMail addresses only for the stress test meeting: As far as we know so far, the "free" version of Meet only allows you to add/invite Google accounts. Apparently, the paid/commercial version does allow you to invite non-Google attendees, but neither Cragin nor I have a commercial Google account. So far there are three attendees who have Google registered [but not GMail] domains, so we'll be testing that as well.

Again, if you want to participate in the test on Thursday, May 14th (10:30 am to noon, Pacific time), please contact rmslade@shaw.ca, rslade@gmail.com, rob-the-virus@outlook.com, or all of those.

[denbesten]

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@rslade wrote:

Any ideas to throw into the pot?

---

BSides at home

Bsides besided

[rslade]

OK, The-Powers-That-BSides, while supportive of the idea, are not supportive of using the BSides name for it.  (As is their absolute and perfect right.)

So, as well as changing the name of this topic/thread, I think the need for a name (or, at least, a working code name, so we know what we are talking about) has become significantly more acute.

So:

Security World?

Secure World?

Information Security World?
Security Worldwide?
Security Netwide?
Security Online? (which sorta gives the impression that it is only about netsec ...)
Security Cyberspace?

per Bill's suggestions:

Security at Home? (might give the impression that it is home security?)