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I’ve had my share of excitement at RSA ConferenceTM, and it remains one of my favorite infosec events. I attended my first RSACTM in 1999 while marketing an access-control solution. Our booth spotlights were set up incorrectly, burning a large hole in our 10×10 booth graphics – pricey and embarrassing. If only we had LEDs back then!
Since then I have attended over 12 RSA Conferences, and I always come out of the experience with a deeper sense of connection with the security community.
RSA Conference Theme
The theme of this year’s conference is “Stronger Together,” which reflects the critical need for the security community to work together; to bolster collaboration to prevent cyber threats. This annual event gathers 20-40,000 cybersecurity professionals to share expertise and learn about the latest technologies and trends.
Like the RSA ConferenceTM, Blumira believes that no human is an island. In that vein, I’d like to share some knowledge that I’ve gathered over time about the neighborhood and the conference itself. Attending a conference this big can be overwhelming, especially for those who are new to the cybersecurity industry. So check out these tips on how to survive and thrive at RSA.
Conferences of this size allow talented people to discover each other and share their best ideas – and I find this spirit spills over into many inspired impromptu meetings that week. Some of my best experiences and most impactful learning has emerged from unscheduled interactions and conversations between the structured events. So be friendly and say hello! You never know where a conversation will take you.
Moscone Center’s Namesake
I love the kinetic vibe of this area of San Francisco, and the environment around the Moscone Center. The Center spans almost 20 acres across two blocks on either side of Howard Street. It opened in 1981, named after San Francisco’s 37th mayor, George Moscone, who had also served as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the California state Senate. He was called “The People’s Mayor,” for appointing minorities to City Hall positions, better reflecting the diversity of the city. Moscone was assassinated in 1978 by Dan White, who also killed Harvey Milk on the same day. The SOMA neighborhood has its own past. If you are a history buff, check out the documentaries by PBS and ABC7, or the Hollywood movie, Milk.
Check out this deck to read about the City of San Francisco safety measures in place during RSA Conference 2023.
Often-overlooked opportunities around Moscone Center
The Moscone Center is surrounded by museums and green zones, and a quick infusion of art, culture and grassy repose awaits you if you need to refresh your perspective. Directly across Howard Street from Moscone Center is the Yerba Buena Art Center and Garden–a verdant sanctuary where you can slip away and relax on the grass, (rain dependent) if the din of the conference becomes too much. It is the cultural anchor of the neighborhood. Inside, the exhibits include contemporary art, performance, film and more, and will be open the week of RSA Conference only on Sunday, April 23, and Thursday, April 27, from 12 PM – 6 PM.
- In three minutes you can walk to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. It’s open 10-5 every day except Wednesday, and 1-8 PM on Thursday. It is a mecca of international and San Francisco art, performances, films, activities and talks. It is a nice palette cleanser if you overload on cyber security sensations.
- It’s only two minutes to the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), a contemporary art museum celebrating Black cultures, with the intent of igniting challenging conversations and inspiring learning through the global lens of the African Diaspora. It is one of the few museums in the world focused exclusively on global African Diaspora culture. It’s open Sunday, April 23, 12-5 pm and Thursday, April 27, 11 am – 6 pm.
- A four minute walk will bring you to the Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM), pictured above from the outside. Its exhibits make the diversity of the Jewish experience relevant for a twenty-first century audience through innovative art and cultural presentations designed to educate, challenge, and inspire. They will be open Sunday and Thursday, 11-5.
- RSA Conference provides a longer list that you may like to check out for more information on the city.
Finding Blumira at RSA Conference
When you aren’t checking out the neighborhood, we would love to see you at the Blumira booth, S-4120 (just north of) South Expo (near the south escalators, in the tunnel between south and north). You may have seen us at RSAC 2022, or perhaps you read Thu Pham’s blog post from last year.
This year, you can meet our CEO Jim Simpson, me (Kim Brown), and members of our leadership, sales, and customer success teams. For $150 off a full conference pass, use code 52FCDBLUMIR, or for a free expo center badge, use code 52EBLUMIRXP here: https://path.rsaconference.com/flow/rsac/us23/us23regdefault/login
We’ll be showing off exciting new platform capabilities that expand our offerings from our SIEM / endpoint product considerably into new territory. We can’t wait to tell you more about it and share a demo.
Mojitos Near Moscone
And if you’ve made it this far, please join us Tuesday, April 25, 2023 to celebrate the week with our friends LimaCharlie at Kona Street Market. https://info.blumira.com/rsac-2023
At Blumira, we are committed to helping organizations build resilience in the face of cyber threats. Our platform is designed to help organizations quickly detect and respond to threats, minimizing the damage and speeding up the recovery process. Our platform makes security available to smaller orgs so they can stay protected against attacks even with lean budgets. You may find our 2022 stats interesting. Talk to us today!