StillSecure, After All These Years

Whats your favorite thing about the RSA conference?

It is already the end of February and the buzz is in full swing for this years RSA Conference. I usually know that it is RSA time because it takes place around my wedding anniversary.  However, this past Monday was my anniversary and no RSA.  That is because this year RSA is a little later, taking place the 2nd week of April in San Fransisco.

Over the years I have come to really enjoy RSA as a chance to catch up on the industry, friends and of course, parties!  Some of my favorites are the SC Magazine Awards show and the RSA conference party itself.  Last year one of my favorite events was the bloggers meet up that I had a hand in putting together along with Martin McKeay and a few others put together and was sponsored by Microsoft and Fortinet. That party has become legendary with posts about it here, here, here and here among other places. We had a similar event at Black Hat last year and that was fun too.  There is something about getting together with all of the folks you virtually talk to all the time via the blogosphere and put a real face and voice to a name.  We try to keep these blogging parties confined to blogger and media types, so the that everyone is comfortable sharing and conversing without the "general public" there. 

For this years RSA conference we wanted to do a similar type of event. However, the blogroll of security bloggers attending has grown quite a bit and of course most security media types are blogging now as well.  So we wound up getting about 100 of the top security blogging crowd together and got Fortinet, Microsoft and StillSecure to sponsor.  It is shaping up to be the bash of RSA, for me anyway.  The buzz around it was so loud that before we knew it we had a logo, our own official blog on the RSA conference site and a full committee running invites, food, drink and logistics (OK so Jennifer Leggio does most of the work)!  I am just totally pumped to meet a bunch of the folks on the RSVP list and have a great time. Truth be told I am also proud as a peacock that I played a role in putting this thing together from the beginning.

If you have a security blog or podcast, are going to be at RSA and want to attend there is information on the RSA blog page on how to get an invite. For many of you reading this, I know you are saying to yourself, "great sounds like a cool party, free drinks and I can't get an invite because I don't blog".  Well you don't have to fire up that old free blogger page you started but never finished months ago.  Through the magic of modern technology you can party along with us virtually!

We are going to have live video streaming, live audio podcasting and a live Twitter feed.  The RSA site has more details on signing up for the Twitter channel we have set up to follow on the pre-party chatter (or is it twitter) you can follow that at @RSABloggers2008. Hey it will be almost like being there.  Anyway, hope to see as many of you as possible at the party and as many of you as possible virtually if you can't make it!

If you are going to use the free Wi-Fi, buy a latte or muffin

Once again the old adage rings true, nothing in life is free!  Reading Bill Brenner's Security Bytes blog about some poor SOB sitting in front of a coffee shop (not Starbucks) in Sparta, Mich surfing the web. Turns out under Michigan law because he did not buy anything, it was deemed he was potentially guilty of a felony for hacking!

The web surfer was faced with two choices.  Fight the charges and risk up to 5 years in jail and a $10,000 dollar fine or enroll in a diversion program, 6 months probation and and 40 hours of community service.  Faced with this choice, he took the easy way out and pleaded guilty. In contrast to the Julie Amero case where she refused to take the easy way out and will hopefully be fully vindicated.

Moral of the story, next time buy the coffee to be safe (now we know why the coffee is 4 bucks!)

Non-work article - Holiday weekend with family and friends

Nothing like a long holiday weekend to recharge the batteries.  Even though I was out in Vegas last week with Bonnie, it just didn't feel like a vacation.  Probably because it wasn't.  I was booked and busy all week with Interop related activities. Anyway, spending the weekend with the family and friends was a great way to deflate and get ready for June.  We really didn't do much. Saturday was spent with the kids doing some gardening and landscaping around the house and then swimming. Saturday night we had a great dinner at a new Greek restaurant here in Boca with our friends Bill and Dori Gerstein.  Then more swimming and parties with the kids on Sunday, topped off by a trip to the water park with the Gerstein's and their children today. Not even a sub-par dinner at the new Outback Steakhouse that opened near our house could ruin it.

One sort of work related thing, was a good conversation I had with Bill about H-1B visas.  Bill is a great immigration attorney and spends a lot of time on H-1B's.  Bill says that the tech industry is single handedly eating up all of the H-1B's and we need to do something about this.  He does not understand why Congress just does not allow more H-1B's if the demand is there.  As a result, either you have the possibility of folks working illegally or of jobs being outsourced out of the country.  Makes sense to me.  You can read more about this on Bill's blog here.

A special birthday for Bonnie

Yesterday was my wife Bonnie's birthday. We had a great day, starting with the boys and I giving her flowers and presents in the morning. Then going to down to Atlantic Ave. in Delray Beach for lunch and playing in the park on the intercostal. Then we came home to get ready for her special night out. 

We went with some good friends, Bill and Dori Gerstein, down to Sunny Isles Beach in Miami Beach.  The beautiful Acqualina resort there recently opened and it has an Il Mulino from New York restaurant. Bonnie and I used to go to the NY location years ago when we lived in NY for special occasions. That was before they opened several restaurants all over the world. Since we moved to Florida, Bonnie has not been back though.  I went a few times to the one in Ceasars in Las Vegas, but without my wife, it just wasn't the same.

The Miami outpost of Il Mulino is every bit as good as the original in NYC.  We had a great meal, great wine, service, great company, everything.  The resort is right on the beach and is gorgeous. It was a very special night for a very special wife.  Happy Birthday Bonnie and many, many more!

Would you pick your restaurant by the security of your credit card data?

Was reading a good article by Jaikumar Vijayan today in ComputerWorld about the steps the Ruby Tuesday restaurant chain is taking to better ensure the security of their customers credit card data.  I applaud what Ruby Tuesdays is doing, upgrading their POS systems to not store any credit data, eliminating middle men who represent another potential hole and using stronger encryption. 

All of this is good and I like their salad bar on top of it.  Then I read this quote, "This, in reality, is not helping us create more sales," Ibrahim said. "This is purely about the privacy and security of our customers".  This is from Nick Ibrahim, senior vice president and CTO at Ruby Tuesday. It seems that the only reason they are doing this is to comply with PCI regulations.  I know I have said in the past that security is good for business and if you run a secure operation, compliance will take care of itself.  However, that does not seem to be the case here.  Ruby Tuesday is flat out saying that putting in better security is not going to help put customers in the seats or increase sales. They are doing it for compliance sake alone. 

Is this logic faulty.  Would you be more likely to frequent Ruby Tuesday over say a Chili's, if you know your data is safer at one over the other?  I don't know if it has come to that yet, but if I were Ruby Tuesdays I think I would try to use my enhanced security as a reason to come here versus the other guy.  What do you think?  Would you consider the safety of your credit data in choosing a restaurant? Are you still shopping at TJX stores?  I wonder, am I being too much of a security freak?

What happened to day 3 of our RSA podcast?

Well the answer can be summed up in 3 bullets:

1. Mitchell is lucky most of his necessary organs and appendages are attached to his body.  First he lost his Motorola Q phone on the shuttle bus from the show.  Luckily he had phone insurance and was able to get a replacement. Of course he lost all of the numbers and info stored on the phone.  Then at the bloggers party (more on that later) after a full day of recording some great interviews (including a fantastic discussion on booth babes with Ross, Rothman, the Phantom Blogger and me), Mitchell leaves the damn, brand new portable recorder at the place and it is now gone!  They don't have portable podcaster machine insurance so Mitchell is out on that one.  Frankly, I wouldn't have been quite so heartbroken if we had at least downloaded the audio files on there.  I am going to start bringing a tag with Mitchell's name and phone number as well as the hotel he is staying at for Mitchell to wear at these events, in case he gets lost too.

2. In the immortal words of Dean Wormer in Animal House, "fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life". I try not to get too crazy at shows and make sure I get a good nights sleep, as my schedule at these things are usually packed.  Well, I was so excited about meeting so many virtual friends in person at the bloggers party, I went to three more places drinking with the boys and stayed out until almost 3am.  Even with Mitchell losing the podcasting equipment, I still could have put an update on the days activities up. I didn't when I finally got to my room, because I was afraid at what drunken ramblings would find there way on to the blog.  I guess Mitchell was not as worried about that. Instead I threw my clothes all over the room and went right to bed.  Four hours later, I woke up still buzzing and headed over to the show before going back to pack and finally flying home.  I think for the next show, I am going to go on a diet, so I will just be drunk and stupid.

3. The Blogger/Podcaster party- As Martin, Michael Farnum, Rothman, Mitchell and I don't know how many others have mentioned, the party even exceeded our expectations. I have not had this much fun in a long time.  I was really looking forward to this event for a long time. I really felt like I knew most of these folks already.  Some of them like Farnum, Martin, Rothman and even Ross, I count on as my blogger family (maybe posse is a better word).  I can't wait for next years show and have some ideas I will be blogging and discussing later.  One fact that was really heartening to me was that most of the folks there were also part of the Security Bloggers Network.  The network has really picked up and if anyone security blogger/podcaster wants to join, drop me a line at podcast@stillsecure.com. Also, Rich Mogul is someone I was really looking forward to meeting. I think we will continue to keep in touch and become fast friends.  As a result of the good will and free drinks (thanks Microsoft and Fortinet), it resulted in me continuing on a binge for the rest of the night. As Michael mentioned I did have an altercation with a cab driver, but it was all in a nights work. I am not going to rehash it here, Mitchell and Michael can if they want.  Just another moment with Shimel, as far as I am concerned.

So, I have no update for day 3, the dog did not eat my homework and now you know why.  If I can ever get around to it, I will try to

Happy Turkey Day

Not sure who is reading blogs today or tomorrow, but to those of you (you know who you are) that have taken the time to check in today, from everyone here to all of you and yours, have a happy, safe and secure Thanksgiving!

In case you have been wondering, here is a link to an article on why we eat turkey for Thanksgiving.  Enjoy!

An old friend comes for dinner to Boca

When you travel as much as I do, many of the restaurants start becoming more and more of the chains that are constant throughout the US.  Even though I try to get a local flavor of places I visit by going to local restaurants, todays homogenized America often leaves few choices.  The bright side of that situation though, is if you find a restaurant you like, you can eat there at different places in the country.  Ruth's Chris Steakhouse is like that and another is McCormick & Schmicks for seafood.  We have a local Ruth Chris here in Boca, but until now, no M&S.  That is until about 2 weeks ago.  I was surprised one day, while on the road, when Bonnie called me and told me about a new restaurant opening up near FAU called McCormick & Schmicks and asked if I ever heard of it.  I told her to make a reservation for the first Saturday night she could.

Last night we went to dinner along with our friends, Dori and Bill Gerstein. Bill has a great blog on immigration law that he has been blogging a storm up on lately.  We spent much of the night talking about blogging and podcasting.  Bill may even start up a podcast on immigration law and issues.  We had plenty of time to talk while we waited for our tables and over dinner.  Dori and Bonnie would not let us just talk blogging though and we talked and laughed about a wide range of topics. 

Just as with other M&S's I have eaten at, they had a good selection of wines and good martinis.  At least 6 types of oysters and a large selection of fresh fish from around the world are featured on the menu.  All of us had a great dinner and a great time.  The wait staff was professional and enthusiastic.  The decor was very nice with tables and booths that can be curtained off.  The wait staff told us that already there was some controversy over people curtaining off their booth and what was going on in them.  I know we will be coming back to Boca's newest seafood restaurant.  My only concern is that as more people find out about it, it will be harder and harder to get a reservation!

Great marketing idea

Just to show you all that I do like some companies, I am just grumpier than Rothman, let me share an experience I had today.  I received a large box via Fed Ex (it wasn't Fed Ex, but one of the cheaper also rans, that I can't remember now).  The box was addressed to me, so I ruled out clothes that my wife may have bought on line or from a catalog (does anyone buy from a catalog anymore?).  Felt kind of heavy, so putting aside my terrorist fears, I immediately dug into the box like a little kid at Christmas.  When I open it, the picture to the left shows what was inside.  It was a dinner and a show from Tilana Systems.  They send a very nice pasta dinner with everything I need to make it, pasta, pignoli nuts, olive oil, pesto sauce, colander and a bowl and wooden spoon.  Along with this meal I received a "ticket" to a web demo and a sales call.  Pretty cool stuff.  I have to say they got my attention.

Turns out Tilana is the brainchild of an old friend of mine, Joe Austin. Joe is the guy who founded Miva, which for those of you who remember, was probably the leading shopping cart solution of the dot com days.  He is a serial entrepreneur and one smart dude. Tilana provides enterprise class file protection and sync for small to medium-sized business users and home users.  Sounds pretty cool too.  I am going to check it out tomorrow and will let you know how it works.

Father's Day with Fudgie the Whale

Growing up as a kid in NY, the best ice cream around was from Carvel.  This was of course before Hagen Daz, Ben & Jerry's, Cold Stone and the like.  There was an old man named Tom Carvel, who would do local TV commercials for the stores.  One of the big promotions was, "get dad a Fudgie the Whale cake for Father's Day".  They were a great ice cream cake shaped like a whale with chocolate crunchies and fudge on top.  It became synonymous with Father's Day.

There is one Carvel store down here in Boca Raton. I often take the boys there for ice cream for dessert.  A couple of weeks ago they had some fudgie cakes in the freezer and I showed them to the boys.  Today, Bonnie and my sons brought home a Fudgie the Whale cake for Father's Day and we had it for dessert.  It had melted a little because it was so hot out, but it was delicious. My youngest son Bradley, who is an ice cream monster, was really psyched. It was the cherry on top to a perfect Father's Day with my two sons and wife.  To all you father's out there and to those who take the place of a father to others, here is to you.  Happy Father's Day!

Another rainy night at the airport

I write this entry from the Delta Shuttle terminal at LaGuardia Airport in NYC.  I was supposed to be on a 7:30 pm shuttle up to Boston and in my hotel and sleeping by 9:30.  Well it is 9:30 right now, and I am still here. My cell phone died, so I can not call my house to let Bonnie know.  I sent her an email, but who knows if she will see it tonight?  I used to get really upset by this sort of thing, but I don't know if I am getting older or am just so desensitized, to the point where I just don't care anymore.  It is a fact of life that air travel in the east coast during summer stinks!  The thunderstorms roll in and airports close.  This particular ground closure has been going on for almost 3 hours which is unusual, but what can we do.  I wish the airlines would just put you up in a hotel and put you on the first flight out in the morning, but we all know they don't do that unless their is mechanical trouble.  So instead you wait at the gate area for news.

The food choices here are abysmal. Why can't they have healthy food at airport gate areas?  They have no problem getting alcohol here.  I can diet all week long at home, a good two day road trip with some delay time at the airport shoots that all to heck.  Anyway, let me sign off before I start ranting and raving. Oh BTW, if you can get your hands on the June issue of SC Magazine, have a look at the group tests this month.  I will leave you with that ;-)

What is America?

I was out in Salt Lake City this week on business.  Though I had flown through SLC many times, I never actually stayed there for any length of time.  It is a beautiful city with the mountains jumping right out at you.  We had to meet some folks for dinner Monday night and in driving around it felt very comfortable.  I remarked to Mitchell Ashley, StillSecure CTO, that the reason for this was that every store and restaurant was one we were familiar with.  In fact we ate at the Olive Garden and while not a gourmet dinner, it was comforting to be in a new city but to know the entire menu and order food you had eaten before.  What defines America today?  It certainly isn't the people.  They come in all shapes, sizes and colors, however the homogenized backgrounds are all the same. What defines America is the homogenization of our environment. I have traveled all over this country.  Wherever you go, you see the same stores in the mall, the same chain restaurants, the same townhouse developments, etc.  It is few and far between where you see local unique business and out of the ordinary development. This has become the thread that unites us.  Is that a good thing?  I leave it to you to decide.