What to expect at the Gartner Security & Risk Summit 2018

Four days of security discussions, over 120 sessions, 60 security analysts and 3,400 attendees. These are just some of the numbers luring security professionals worldwide to the mecca of all analyst conferences in the security sector. The doors of the Gartner Security Conference this year will be opening on June 4 at the National Harbor, Maryland.
Our team will be there to hear the latest IT security trends disrupting the cybersecurity space from cloud and IoT security to automation and threat hunting.

Gartner already touted in its webinars and reports earlier in the year, that if you think security is bad now, it’s set to get worse. On the other hand, after working in the shadows for a long time, it’s time for security leaders to shine.

Positioning pivots in favor of security team: Gartner recently sited:  Security breaches threaten C-level jobs and cost organizations millions, as proven by Equifax and Maersk. No wonder senior stakeholders are focusing more on what’s happening in their security department. This can pan out as a perfect opportunity to link security strategies with business objectives and raise the skills shortage issue.

Not all cloud security services are created equal: Beyond shifting legacy systems to the cloud, cloud scaling, increased data telemetry, staff augmentation and more are disrupting security in the cloud space.

The worrying source of security products: Recent US government bans on Chinese smartphones and Russian-based security products are some of the latest results of a growing distrust in competing cyber products. Organizations that deal with government agencies should be especially sensitive to the geopolitical demands.

Here are some must-see sessions we believe worth grabbing a seat:

• The state of security operations, Monitoring and Analytics, 2018

This session should address; the role of security analytics, 2018 best-in-class security operations and the role of security automation solutions in stopping threats.  We hope there will be a shift from fear flaming to a more positive outlook on how security automation can successfully replace manual tasks. Benefits including minimizing human error, saving overhead costs, consistency and speed should not be overlooked.

Monday June 4th, 10:30 am – Anton Chuvakin, Toby Bussa

• Top Trends in Security for 2018

This presentation will outline ongoing changes in security operations/policy/organization, technical migrations, shifts in security mindsets, societal changes, and modifications in adversarial tactics that CISOs and their direct reports should monitor. Attendees will learn strategic changes that aren’t yet widely recognized but will have broad industry impact and significant potential for disruption. Through 2022, technologies related to these trends will reach a level of maturity that crosses a critical tipping point.

Monday June 4th, 2:15 pm – Peter Firstbrook

• How to use the new threat simulation tools

Both Anton Chuvakin, Gartner Analyst and Augusto Barros, VP, Gartner, who will be heading this one, have already written some insightful posts and a report on topics related to the session. They looked beyond pen testing, red teaming and application testing and queried just how effective testing technologies were to date. They will be looking at the benefits of new security simulation tools, who needs them and how to use them to test and improve security.

Tuesday June 5th, 9:30 am – Anton Chuvakin, Augusto Barros

• 7 Reasons More CEOs Will Be Fired for Cybersecurity Breaches

 Here Paul E. Proctor, VP Distinguished Analyst, Gartner, will be looking at the Senate Testimony of former Equifax CEO Richard Smith, the events timeline and analysis of the affair. Attendees will learn about defensibility and corporate culture attributes when it comes to developing a cybersecurity program.

Tuesday June 5th, 2:30 pm – Paul E. Proctor

• How to hunt for security threats

Cyber threat hunters are security professionals who proactively and iteratively detect, isolate, and neutralize advanced threats that evade automated security solutions. Today’s cyber threat hunting tools are usually tasked with tracking down adversaries, identifying security loopholes and suspicious activities. Here Anton Chuvakin, will inform us about practical hunting, how to develop the capability, how to start doing it and measure it.

Wednesday June 6th, 2:15 pm – Anton Chuvakin

If you are there at the summit, please by all means ping us to meet.

We hope to catch up with you there.