The RSA Conference is a cryptography and information security-related conference held annually in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The RSA Conference started in 1991 as a forum for cryptographers to gather and share the latest knowledge and advancements in the area of Internet security. The RSA Conference is still vendor-independent and managed by RSA Security, the Security Division of EMC, with the support of the industry. The multiple day event consists of two entities: the conference, which hosts speakers for a variety of topics, and a vendor expo. The conference consists of a multitude of presentations on the topic of Internet Security. Individuals may submit topic proposals to the RSA Conference website, which will be reviewed and selected to partake in the conference by an independent panel of judges that make up the Program Committee. [1]:


Conference Topics

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The conference presentations are organized into themed “tracks,” each covering a specific field in information security. At the 2012 USA Conference, there were 17 tracks:

(* denotes new track for 2012)

This is a large increase in topics from the first European conference in 2000, which had only 5 tracks[2]:

  • Cryptographers’ Track
  • Developers’ Track
  • Implementers’ Track
  • New Products Track
  • RSA Products Track

The tracks cover different topics for their respective fields with the RSA Conference program committee selecting presentations for each track. During the conference, multiple tracks will run simultaneously, giving attendees the option of jumping from track to track to sit in on various presentations.

Conference Themes

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Since 1995, a theme has been chosen every year and predicated on a specific contribution or illustration related to information security. A story and design are developed and carried throughout the event.


Around the World

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The RSA Conference originally started as an annual event held in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. Since then, the need for Internet Security has increased, and RSA has added conferences in other countries. In 2000, RSA had its first European conference, held at the Hilton Munich Park Hotel in Munich, Germany from April 10-13. In 2002, Japan hosted its first annual RSA conference, and has continued to do so ever since. In 2010, RSA expanded to China, hosting its first conference there from October 21-22 of that year.[3]:


RSA Expo

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Security Expo at the 2010 RSA Conference

The expo at the conference allows for many companies involved in the network security field to showcase their products. Vendors gather in a designated area and set up booths to present and/or demo products and ideas they have been working on. Past expos have included companies such as Microsoft, Safenet, Barracuda Networks, ESET, McAfee, Verizon, Websense, Intel, Cisco, and Hewlett-Packard.[1]:

Attendance

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With the widespread use of security and the necessity of information security, attendees hail from all different types of industries including Banking, Computer Software Development, Finance, Government, Healthcare, Manufacturing, and Pharmaceuticals. All levels of security professionals can be found in attendance, from C-Level executives to low level IT staff. Individuals above the age of 18 are allowed to purchase one of three passes: A full conference pass, a one-day pass, and an expo only pass. Regular attendees are allowed to be a part of the Members Circle program, which gives special perks such as discounted prices and priority seating.[1]:


References

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  1. ^ a b c "RSA Conference 2012". Retrieved 2012-04-25.
  2. ^ "E-Security Leaders to Gather in Munich for First European RSA Conference". 2000-03-06. Retrieved 2012-04-25.
  3. ^ "Kaspersky Labs Japan to be a Silver Sponsor of RSA Conference Japan 2008". 2008-04-11. Retrieved 2012-04-25.


Category:Cryptography conferences Category:Computer security conferences