New Infosec show in town: Security B-Sides arrives in London – Call for speakers!

By Steve Gold, @stevewgold

It’s taken almost two decades, but Infosecurity Europe – held each spring in central London – has a rival. In the same week, no less!

Well, not exactly a rival – more a parallel universe called Security B-Sides, which is billed as an `unconference’ which takes place on day two of Infosecurity Europe’s three-day run across town.

Unlike Infosecurity, Security B-Sides – organised by a team of experienced volunteers – is a collaborative effort, with this, the first UK event, scheduled to have just a few hundred attendees.

There have been 13 events in the Security B-Sides calendar in the US, where the first ever conference, sorry, unconference, was held in parallel with Black Hat USA back in 2009.

The event looks interesting. It’s actually a shame that the conference is taking place in parallel with Infosecurity Europe, as the speaker list looks attractive, but given the fact that there will be around 12,000 warm bodies in London with an interest in IT security that week, it’s entirely understandable.

Like the low-key Chaos Computer Club conferences held each Christmas/New Year in Berlin, there will be presenters at Security B-Sides that will reveal riveting security geek stuff. And that’s just for starters.

The event stands a good chance of taking off and, if it does, it will probably move to just after Infosecurity Europe next year or the year after, making it an add-on event, in much the same way that Black Hat comes after DefCon in Las Vegas each summer.

Matt Summers, Security B-Sides’ London founder and a Symantec consultant, describes the event as a movement by the information security community.

“It is not your typical conference, as the events expand the spectrum of infosecurity discussions by encouraging participants to give voice, creation and refinement to the ‘next big thing’,” he added.

“The London conference has already seen an enthusiastic welcome from the Infosec community in the UK and Europe by having the quickest sell-out in Security B-Sides history,” he added.

Mike Dahn, founder of Security B-Sides worldwide, also added his voice, noting that B-Sides is about collaboration, not merely exposition.

“The events provide an open platform that gives security experts and industry professionals the opportunity to share ideas and insights, and develop relationships with others in the community. B-Sides London will provide a rare opportunity for attendees and speakers to directly connect and create trusted relationships with key members of the security community,” he said.

Verdict? Definitely worth checking out – if you’re quick, you might even be able to present at the event. Deadline for submissions is February 15th.

http://bit.ly/BSidesLondon