General
Want to Make a Difference to Application Security in 2018?
May 28, 2018
Then join a VW t3 and a bunch of passionate developers at Woburn Centre Parcs on 4-8 June
Who would have thought a conversation I had with Dinis Cruz and Seba Deleersnyder – back in 2016 at DevSecCon London – would once again have us packing up our (hopefully) trusty VW t3 and setting off from France. Our destination is the wonderful Woburn Forest – pretty much in the middle of the UK and just an hour away from London.
Well for those of you that don’t know, that conversation led to a dinner and basically the first draft of an event format and sessions designed to revive the Open Security Summit and to tackle the hardest security problems we’ve ever faced.
The idea behind the Summit was to create an environment where people collaborate to solve the hard security challenges I mentioned. This is actually something quite different to uni-directional conference-type of events, where attendees tend to listen and learn from experts. The format is something we believed would get the best results for all involved and I’m glad to say in 2017 we were right.
A key feature of the Summit is it is driven by the participants. These comprise leading figures from OWASP, security, development, government agencies, risk experts, business analysts, heads of Security, CISOs, researchers – and many more roles – all working side-by-side and connected by their passion for App Security. If that sounds like something you’d like to be involved with then read on.
During the 5-day Summit there are four different session types to choose from: Working Sessions, User Sessions, Product Sessions and Keynotes.
- Working Sessions focus on creating and evolving ideas, to create outcomes that will have an impact in the real world. They are a great way to join a group of practitioners to share expertise and knowledge on a particular subject.
- User Sessions are much more practical sessions, which will enable you to learn new skills or develop existing ones. They are also an opportunity to test out the outcomes of some of the Working Sessions. These are a presentation-free environment, driven by practitioners working with users.
- Product Sessions are based around commercial products or services (i.e. not freely available). These sessions are designed to provide an environment to share real-world insights about these products, to learn more about how to use them and to engage directly with the vendor.
- Keynotes. They establish the framework for the programme of the summit. The keynotes speaker at the summit includes the central subjects in his speech giving an overview of the spirit in which the summit will be realised.
Every thoroughly prepared session is geared towards a specific Application Security challenge and focused on actionable outcomes.
If that wasn’t enough to whet your appetite there is the venue…
To help create the best conditions and atmosphere to encourage creativity and to remove everyday distractions we are returning to Centre Parcs Woburn Forest. As they say on their website – this is a place only an hour from London yet a world away from the city in beautiful rural Bedfordshire.
It is a truly unique collection of lodge-style villas located around the conference venue and set in a 365-acre magnificent and tranquil forest. Definitely, an environment designed for maximum geek-time, synergies and collaboration!
So what happened in 2017
In 2017 over 100 of OWASPers and AppSec experts gathered at the then named ‘OWASP Summit’. During the five days, great minds met – often late into the night – fuelled by a wave of AppSec passion. There was a special atmosphere and amazing achievements. Why not take a look to see for yourself at the outcomes: https://owaspsummit.org/Outcomes/
If you prefer, you can get a feel of the 2017 Summit by checking out what the attendees had to say or by having a browse through the photo gallery by clicking this link https://open-security-summit.org/about/
You may by now be wondering where the VW t3 comes in. Well during every evening of the 2017 Summit we filled it with beer and soft drinks and driven around making deliveries to the lodges. The goal was to make sure the inhabitants of said lodges (the summit attendees) and their ideas didn’t dry out! Looking back at the 2017 outcomes I think it definitely helped. That’s why, one year on, we are preparing the VW t3 to perform the same duties and to help lubricate more great minds at this years’ Summit.
What’s in store for 2018
The Open Security Summit 2018 will build on the successful collaborative approach. It is once again for each and every one of you who cares about Application Security and wants to collaborate with the key players in this industry.
The tracks are plentiful and challenging – you can find out more here. However, I’d like to highlight the track which I’m helping to organise and which is of personal interest to me – DevSecOps.
There are many reasons why I’d love to collaborate with you during 4 – 8 June. That said I am particularly looking forward to the working session for the creation of the DevSecOps Maturity Model (DSOMM).
In this session, we are going to create the first maturity model for DevSecOps to not only allow companies to create a security programme but also to integrate security seamlessly throughout their businesses. There are some great people already signed up – we’d love you to join us!
So how do you get involved?
The first step is to take note of the date: 4 – 8 June 2018 and the second step is to grab your ticket. We are aware not everyone cannot afford or commit to five days so we have five ticket options ranging from a ‘Remote’ to a full ‘5-day Summit plus Accommodation’ ticket. All options and further information can be found here.
Don’t worry though as the outcomes of the sessions will be published under CC for everyone to use. We also have amazing companies attending the Summit to go through our product review to receive feedback from the community.
Of course I cannot wait to get working on DSOMM but I am also very much looking forward to spending time with everybody to exchange new ideas. I for one aim to participate in as many sessions as possible.
What’s more, if the British weather forecasters are to be believed, we will also be able to enjoy outdoor working sessions in temperatures ranging between 20 and 23 degrees – with shade from the sun provided by the great pine trees of Woburn forest.
You can find a list of FAQs here but do get in touch at francois@devseccon.com or info@opensecsummit.com if you have any other questions.
I hope to see many of you soon.
