The Top 10 Security Events of 2008

Updated: August 20, 2012

The event season is here, bringing a flood of security-related conferences, seminars, trade shows and other gatherings designed to help business owners and managers learn how to better protect their IT environments. Here's a quick rundown of the top 10 events coming up in 2008. And check out theIT Security blog for live blogging and event updates.

1. RSA Conference 2008
April 7 - 11, San Francisco

This is the world's largest security-industry event, featuring a wide array of vendors showcasing current products and debuting new offerings. Attendees will also be able to choose from 19 class tracks and more than 220 sessions covering just about every security interest. In short, the RSA Conference is a one-stop IT-security information bonanza.

2. CSI SX: Security Exchange 2008
April 27 - May 2, Las Vegas

Presented in conjunction with the mammoth Interop-network trade show , CSI (Computer Security Institute) is holding the CSI SX: Security Exchange 2008. This event will enable attendees to meet and interact with security experts and peers in a collaborative and intimate setting. The discussions at CSI SX are designed to investigate useful strategy, policy and technical solutions that work in the real world.

3. IntrusionWorld Conference & Expo
May 12 - 14, Baltimore

This event is entirely built around intrusion prevention . Peer groups will help attendees understand the trends and challenges affecting intrusion-prevention technologies, products, systems implementation and risk management. Experts will exchange best practices and real-world lessons. Participants will be able to swap ideas as well as expand business and professional contacts during lunch discussions, workshops, receptions and other activities.

4. Web Services Security & SOA Conference & Expo
May 12 - 14, Baltimore

Industry, government, legal and academic experts will describe state-of-the-art Web-security practices and present a look at emerging Web-services security technologies. P2P (peer-to-peer) groups will help attendees understand trends and confront challenges inherent in current Web-services security technologies and products. Experts and attendees will exchange best practices and lessons learned. Participants will also be able to share ideas and build business and professional contacts during lunch discussions, workshops and other activities.

5. The 2008 Techno Security Conference
June 1 - 4, Myrtle Beach, S.C.

The 10th annual Techno Security Conference, colocated with the Hacker Halted USA 2008 conference , will feature some of the top speakers in the security industry. The event is designed to raise awareness of the need for increased education and ethics in IT security. The conference is essential for anyone interested in work-force security education.

6. ACNS (Applied Cryptography and Network Security) 2008
June 3 - 6, New York City

The ACNS event will bring many of the world's greatest security minds to Columbia University to present their findings on new ways of protecting systems and data as well as combating attackers . This should be a fascinating event for anyone who wants to investigate the cutting edge of security technology.

7. 20th Annual FIRST Conference
June 22 - 27 Vancouver, British Columbia

FIRST conferences promote worldwide coordination and cooperation among CSIRTs (computer security incident response teams). One does not need to be a member of FIRST to attend the organization's annual conference, however. The event, which will provide a forum for sharing ideas on how to improve global computer security, will include both tutorials and technical sessions. Representatives from the more than 180 member teams of FIRST, including Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc . , Cisco Systems Inc. , Microsoft Corp. , Deutsche Bank AG , Symantec Corp. , Citigroup , Siemens AG , Hewlett-Packard Development Company L.P. , The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. , CERT Coordination Center , British Telecom and the University of Oxford will attend the conference.

8. Black Hat USA Training 2008
Aug. 2 - 7, Las Vegas

Helping security managers think like a system attacker and anticipate future breaches is this event's goal. There will be sessions on application security, malware analysis, cryptography, forensics and several other security issues. Each year, this event's presentations make worldwide headlines, as new security discoveries and trends are announced.

9. The eGov Institute's Ninth Security Conference & Exhibition
Nov. 20 - 21, Washington

This is a must-attend event for anyone interested in securing government systems on the federal, state or local level. Participants will be able to share their knowledge and learn from experts on how to avoid data breaches, deploy wireless-security solutions, ensure security compliance, handle cross-border identity management , manage IPv6-security concerns and more.

10. ACSAC (Annual Computer Security Applications Conference) 24
Dec. 8 - 12, Anaheim, Calif.

ACSAC is an internationally recognized forum where security-business professionals, researchers and developers meet to learn and exchange practical ideas and experiences. Breakthrough security concepts are often introduced at this event, and attendees will be able to network with some of the world's top security experts.