The Evolution of Black Hat and Cybersecurity by Paul Lee
Black Hat USA 2019 will be my fifth Black Hat event over the past decade. When I look back over the years, I am amazed by how much Black Hat – along with the cybersecurity industry itself – has evolved. One memory in particular that stands out is that “back in the day” the entire Black Hat expo fit into just one ballroom! Today, Black Hat takes up nearly the entire expo center at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino to accommodate the thousands of vendors, security experts and business leaders who descend upon Las Vegas to share their insights on the latest challenges and solutions in cybersecurity.
What has fueled this change are data breaches, and these data breaches are getting bigger and bigger, resulting in businesses of all sizes around the world spending billions of dollars to recoup losses and regain the public’s trust. As a result, cybersecurity is now a business “must have” and this new way of viewing cybersecurity has led to an overflow of cybersecurity products being released to the market. And with this explosive growth, Black Hat has also evolved – from an event that once attracted primarily practitioners to one that is now mainstream.
I’m always excited to see how Black Hat will differ year over year, but one constant that I have noticed is that with each event, there are common buzz words. And as you walk through the show floor, that one common element becomes clearly evident, as you’ll see the same buzz words in vendors’ marketing materials and hear them in conversations.
Personally, I’m always looking to see how a vendor stands out – and for me, that boils down to data – verified data. Why data? Because without it, how do you know which product is really working the way you need it to? How do you know if that “next big technology solution” is what you really need? How do you know you’re not just buying another “me too” product because that is what everyone is talking about?
As attackers become bolder, companies have more to lose in the event of a breach. So, knowing this, companies need to look beyond the “me too” solutions and find the right tools – and team – that can provide them with the right type of evidence.
I’m looking forward to Black Hat USA 2019 to see what this year’s buzz words will be, which vendors stand out from the crowd, and what new tools are available. I’m also excited to attend with my Verodin colleagues to show companies the data – or evidence – they need NOW to remove assumptions from their norm in order to know if their controls are actually working.
Curious to know what Verodin is doing for Black Hat this year and where you can find us? Check out the details here!
- Malicious File Transfer: What You Need To Know About an Attacker’s Methods and Techniques To Protect Your Organization From Malware by Ursula Cowan
- Verodin LATAM Party (Porto Alegre Brazil) by Brian Contos
- Policy Evasion: Evasive Techniques You Need to Understand to Prevent Breaches and Attacks by Major General Earl Matthews USAF (Ret)
*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Verodin Blog authored by Verodin Blog. Read the original post at: https://www.verodin.com/post/the-evolution-of-black-hat-and-cybersecurity
