Tag: Tech Conference

Posted in Cons, Goals

BSides Augusta

Posted on by Steph

Or fun with Soldering…

This weekend got the chance to go to my first BSides in Augusta. Smaller conference, but just as good as any big one.

The talks I sat in on were excellent, especially one about the infosec community and culture. It was basically about how people perpetuate a toxic culture feeding into this ‘hero’ mentality. Part of the issue is instead of seeing the attackers as the villain people see the users as villains and beneath them because they make “stupid” mistakes. It goes along with this book I’m reading: ‘The Smartest Person in the Room” which is about all the ego in tech.

I also got to try my hand at soldering for the second time and did pretty well. Like my little badge response to tapping and lights up like it’s supposed to. Now I’m going to go practice picking locks or soldering something else….lol.

Posted in Cons

Black Hat and DefCon 2022:

Posted on by Steph

The Aftermath

The Swag

So, this was my first time at Black Hat, first time at DefCon, first time in Vegas and it was so much. So much to see and do. It was a tadbit overwhelming, it took 2 weeks after to adjust back to life.

First I will say that both events were everything people say they are. There’s so much to see and do. I learned a bit about soldering, picked my first lock, and got to meet a good deal of cool people. I found an Illuminati Coin and got to play around with badges and fell down the badge mystery rabbit hole.

I would highly suggest going at least for everyone in cybersecurity.

I saw a few great talks (will watch more on youtube) and grabbed a ton of swag and I really can’t wait to do it all again next year.

DefCon30 Album

Posted in Cons, Goals, Informational, Research

Cyber Presentations

Posted on by Steph

So, one of my goals as I wrote before was to get better at public speaking. I worked on thos by applying for talks…even though it frankly terrifies me to think of being in front of a room full of people with all eyes on me. Luckily for my anxiety I got chosen to speak but both were to be pre-recorded.

Which is great because it still gets me speaking, but also doesn’t make me have to deal with the anxiety of the moment. It’s an important step and even an confidence boost to have my presentations be accepted. And even just being accepted and being able to add, Presenter @ so and so conference to my CV/Resume and speak on it in interviews has been helpful.

So, my advise this Saturday for someone trying to expand their cyber presence:

  • Make an effort to attend some conferences
  • If your interested apply to call for papers, you never know when something that seems interesting to you might be interesting to others
  • Its’s ok to have fears, we sll have them, but we cant let them control what we accomplish in life

Posted in Cons, Covid, Goals, What I've Used

@CyberjutsuCon 3.0 – 2022

Posted on by Steph

My First Post Covid Con

I’m currently sitting in the basement of a coferemce center, because my battery need a recharge. It’s not quiet, and people a near, but I’m sitting alone and just kinda soaking it all in.

I’m at Cyberjutsu Con which has the distinction of being my first ‘post’ Covid conference as well as my first conference as a speaker (albeit my presentation was pre-recorded and presented online).

Can I just say: Join the professional groups!! They are here for the community and networking everyone says we should be doing. I can definitely appreciate the Cyberjutsu folks for being down-to-earth and pretty chill. Everyone is helping everyone and the talks have been excellent.

I’m glad that they chose my talk and hopefully people are digging it.

Now let me get on my second presentation for this conference season….1 hint, via Las Vegas…..

Posted in Cons, Goals

GOALLLLLLLLLSSSSSS!!!!

Posted on by Steph

So, one of my goals was to try to network more and kind of work on my personal brand as well as contribute to the infosec community.

I always said I don’t in any regard want to be famous, but I do want my name to be well thought of and regarded. Luke I want my name to be synonymous with efficient, high-quality work. You can’t really have that type of regard and not attend conferences.

So, my plan is to hit at least 2, but maybe 3 ir 4 infosec conferences this year. I’d been to Hacker Halted before, but not for a couple years.

Another goal is that I want to get more comfortable with speaking in public. I’m like super introverted and public speaking has always been my kryptonite, but I can’t allow something that seems so simple be so debilitating.

That being said I’m presenting (although in both cases prerecorded) at 2 conferences this summer, so yay me!

More to come in an after blog….

Posted in What I've Used

What I’ve Used 04/2020

Posted on by Steph

My Hacker Halted Experience

3.5/5

In October 2019 I attended both an EC-Council Storm class and Hacker Halted. I had really been interested in attending this conference since I found out it existed. The concept and the pictures on their site made it seem fun and interesting and when IBM released the code to pay for women and veterans to attend free I registered.

Prior to my registration I had been speaking with a rep from EC-Council regarding taking classes because I’d filled one of their online contact forms out regarding interest in their exams. With this I’d also looked into their Storm platform and had been interested in a similar build. I figured that taking the class might be killing two birds with one stone so, I registered for a one day Penetration Testing with Storm class.

First the Pros:

  • Hacker Halted is laid back so it feels welcoming to newbies.
  • Everyone at EC-Council was supportive and approachable.
  • The class was informative, but troubleshooting was hard with the time constraints.
  • There were good opportunities for networking
  • Great if you are ready to sit for an EC-Council test that week (I believe discounted attendance to conference is included here)

Cons:

  • Time constraints caused the Storm class to feel incomplete
  • Although there are network opportunities the field felt sparse
  • The hotel set-up was slightly confusing to navigate in order to make it to talks
  • Parking was bad, just bad…
  • Cost (This is subjective, but I feel like the cost of the class might not measure up to what you get) [Also cost is a big deal when it’s coming out of your pockets and not the employer’s pockets]