I will once again be attending this year's Black Hat USA conference in Las Vegas July 30 - August 4. This is my second year carrying a media pass - saving me $1,700 in the process for a very interesting conference I would likely otherwise not be attending! Unfortunately, last year I only attended one day - I'm hoping to be available or more briefings this time around.
You might say, 'That's not a typical conference for a project manager.' You're right. But digital security - especially seeing it from the high-end expert eyes that will be presenting at this conference - can be very critical to your project if it's very visible and involves highly sensitive data. You know the ones - it's usually those projects where you need your own high-level security clearance just to work on it as a project manager. If you've been on one of those projects, then you know what I'm talking about.
Here's what Black Hat's site says about its conference (in snippets)...
'The Black Hat Briefings are a series of highly technical information security conferences that bring together thought leaders from all facets of the infosec world - from the corporate and government sectors to academic and even underground researchers. The environment is strictly vendor-neutral and focused on the sharing of practical insights and timely, actionable knowledge. Black Hat remains the best and biggest event of its kind, unique in its ability to define tomorrow's information security landscape.'
'In addition to the large number of short, topical presentations in the Briefings, Black Hat also provides hands-on, high-intensity, multi-day Trainings. The Training sessions are provided by some of the most respected experts in the world and many also provide formal certifications to qualifying attendees.'
'From its inception in 1997, Black Hat has grown from a single annual conference in Las Vegas to a global conference series with annual events in Abu Dhabi, Barcelona, Las Vegas and Washington DC. It has also become a premiere venue for elite security researchers and the best security trainers to find their audience.'