New Pastures

I have made noises for a couple weeks now about my impending change of employment, and I’ve dodged the obvious questions so far mostly to keep the buzz at my current job to a dull roar. But it is true, I have accepted an offer and am going back to security consulting; I will once again join the ranks of QSAs, performing risk assessments, network testing, and traveling where all the other Road Warriors have gone before…although not nearly as much as some do.
Monday is my first day with AppSec Consulting, and I am pretty excited. It’s a small group of talented people and from all appearances a great organization; I’m glad to be joining their ranks. I’m still in the biz but I’ve left Govt work behind (for the second time!) and I doubt I’ll return; well, perhaps as a private sector consultant…

What is your employers BYOD position?

I’m formulating a paper on this subject and I would like to hear your experiences. Let me know how Bring Your Own Device works – or doesn’t – at your place of employment.

I’m back!

After a hiatus of – what, 1.5 years? – I’m back with a few more musings. I have things to say, and darn it, someone should listen!
Well, maybe, maybe not. But I have things to say, and hopefully it will be insightful, or at least amusing, for you.

BSidesSF and RSAConf – day 1 wrap up

The weather is stereotypical San Francisco; rainy, cloudy, and wet. The RSA conference crowds are not unbearable (yet), and the vendors sling buzzwords, FUD, and promises of unicorns. The sessions have ranged from great to meh (InfoSec Leadership – Program Development) ..at which point I went next door to BSides SF.

What can I say about BSides except this is where the real learning sharing is going on. I’ve heard about BSides for some time now and decided to give it a swing…I mean hey, the price is right. The presentations are top notch and include audience participation. I’m sitting next to people that I knew only as twitter handles, blog authors, and podcast voices. And they are all incredibly cool and passionate. I listened to BSides founders Jack Daniels, Mike Dahn, Amber talk about how to create your own event. I’ve sat at the feet of thought leaders…And then we had drinks, awesome roach coach tacos, and rhymes from Dual Core.

What can I say. RSA day 1 was big, commercial, lots of free food and drinks, schwag, etc. If I get lucky, I could win 2 s.m.a.r.t. cars, a Harley night-rod, and a Vespa. If I don’t get win that stuff…well, I’ve already been to day one of BSides! WIN

If you go to an industry event that has a BSides next door…make it an effort to go to the non-con. It is worth every moment. The dog-and-pony-show at the convention will still be there later, don’t worry.

BSidesSanFrancisco and RSA Conf. 2011 – Day 1

Holy criminy, my feet hurt. Day #1 down, and let met tell you it was worth every moment.

BSides was indescribable. It was very much as described, the “anti-conference”. RSAC was good too. Got some tsotchkes, met a few reps I need to build relationships with, got some free bread and spirits. All in all, a really good first day.

More tomorrow, with details…I hope.

Facebook Privacy: 10 Settings Every User Needs to Know

Facebook Privacy: 10 Settings Every User Needs to Know.

I often harp…mostly at my kids, family, and friends…about privacy, 3rd party apps, and the general nasty crap that can target your information and share it in ways you never imagined with people you’d never agree to.

This article provides a rock solid foundation to taking control of your privacy on Facebook. I said foundation on purpose…this is a good start, but to keep up with the changes you’ll have to read the change of service announcements and regularly review these settings. This isn’t a do it once, fire and forget scenario.

So, I wish you luck, and I hope you take this advice to heart. Happy posting!

Resolutions Redux

Last year I plagiarized and shared a family tradition from a colleague of mine. The resolutions and tradition is summed up simply; commit to doing these things each year, and then you recount the tale with your friends & family at the New Year. So here goes…

Go three places you’ve never been…

• Germany. I was lucky enough to visit Schwetzingen, Heidelberg, Kaiserslautern, Garmisch, and Munich. I had a wonderful time in this old and rich country. What nice people.