There will be more than 700 vendors on the show floor at RSA Conference. Cool, right? Yes – and no. Competition breeds innovation, which is needed to fight the bad guys. However, using products from multiple vendors creates unforeseen security challenges – the very challenges our products were intended to solve. “See a problem and buy a box” is an approach that has ruled our industry, but it has led to the use of a patchwork of products that don’t work together. A staggering 46 percent of organizations use tools from more than 11 vendors leaving organizations with security stacks that are too complex to manage, spew too many alerts, and miss the really important outcomes.

As an industry it’s time for a change for the better, and Cisco is prepared to lead the way. That change has already started and we can’t wait to tell you about it at RSA.

What makes Cisco qualified to lead it? Our deep and broad view of threat data across endpoint, network and cloud, through email, web, and applications means that we know more about what is trying to attack our customers and therefore how to stop it from succeeding. Our portfolio is built on coordinated threat intelligence becoming an action to detect, prevent or respond. If we want to succeed in the fight to protect our networks, it’s time to put Security Above Everything.

Today, we live in a world where nearly half of all legitimate security alerts are not remediated, and it’s clear that a more cohesive approach is required. We can’t – and shouldn’t – stop 700 vendors rolling out their wares at RSAC, but it’s incumbent upon security vendors to think about how to solve the right problems in the right way.

Where do we start building an industry wide culture of “Security Above Everything”? Meet us at RSAC and find out. And know that whether you are moving to the cloud, launching a new product, bringing on new digital devices, security must be top of mind and integrated seamlessly into everything you do. At Cisco we think about this every day, and it’s the most important thing we do.

Just because we are putting Security Above Everything doesn’t mean we don’t have time for a cocktail or two while we are doing it. Here’s the list of RSA Conference highlights, and you can find a full list of activities and events on our RSAC 2018 Hub page. See you in San Francisco!

Come join us throughout the week

Visit us at booth N3515 and S2101to see a variety of solution demos and theater presentations from our integrated portfolio.

RSA Conference Security Operations Center (SOC) Tours: Book a 30-minute SOC Tour showcasing advanced malware analysis, sandboxing and threat intelligence from Cisco Threat Grid, Cisco Umbrella and Cisco AMP Visibility.

Tuesday

Women’s Leadership Reception (Cisco co-sponsoring), Tuesday, April 17, 2018, 5–7:30 p.m., Press Club:  All RSA Conference attendees and cybersecurity professionals who support women in the industry are welcome to attend.

Wednesday

Cisco Keynote: Raise the Bar! Make Your Impact Today for a More Secure Tomorrow, Wednesday, April 18, 2018, 10:35–10:55 a.m., Moscone West, Level 3, John N. Stewart, Senior Vice President, Chief Security and Trust Officer, Cisco: Securing networks and IT infrastructure is mission-critical for businesses to succeed today and build for tomorrow. John N. Stewart will examine the state of cybersecurity, sharing perspective on how to make an impact and deliver a more secure future.

Cisco Customer Appreciation Party, Wednesday, April 18, 9 p.m.–1 a.m.: Join the Cisco Security team for an epic party.

Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday – Cisco Speaking Sessions

Introducing Cisco Security for AWS, Tuesday, April 17 | 2:15–3 p.m., Dr. Patrick Crowley, CTO, Cisco Stealthwatch Cloud: In this session, we will review how use of Amazon Web Services and Cisco Stealthwatch Cloud can simplify many of the hardest security problems as workloads, apps and users continue to transition to the public cloud. Come to this session to learn how advanced modeling and machine learning techniques can be combined with cloud-native data sources to product low-noise, effective security.

Over-the-Horizon Cybersecurity Technologies and Threats CXO-T10, Tuesday, April 17, 2018, 3:30–4:15 p.m., John N. Stewart, Senior Vice President, Chief Security and Trust Officer, Cisco (Panelist):  Cybersecurity attacks continue to morph and grow ever-more sophisticated and so, too, must the technology designed to shield organizations. Underneath the big picture are several technological pillars, both positive and negative. The panel will debate what these are, why they are significant and what threats they will be combating over the next three to five years.

Data Integrity: The Elephant Threat in the Room, Wednesday, April 18, 2018, 9:15–10 a.m., Michelle Dennedy, Chief Privacy Officer, Cisco (Panelist): How many organizations have controls in place to defend against attacks or circumstances leading to degraded data integrity? What are the implications of small content changes vs. outright theft? What if a decimal is moved or a critical word is tweaked? This panel will look at recent data breaches and threat model integrity attacks with grave consequences for our health, safety and politics.

The Rise of Supply Chain Attacks, Wednesday, April 18, 2018, 10–10:30 a.m., RSAC TV, Craig Williams, Cisco Talos: This year has unveiled itself as the year supply chain attacks became a trend in the malware world. Attackers are exploiting the trust model users have in software companies to implant malware into systems. As a result exploitation can occur at a massive scale and go undetected for long periods of time. In this talk we will explore examples of these attacks and look at ways to defend against them.

The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation—Beauty or Beast?, Wednesday, April 18, 2018, 1:45–2:30 p.m., Michelle Dennedy, Chief Privacy Officer, Cisco (Panelist): The European Union will soon begin enforcing a new General Data Protection Regulation that governs how EU personal data is processed both within and outside of the EU. Besides obvious effects on data privacy, the GDPR will radically change how companies handle questions of cybersecurity.

The Bottom of the Barrel – Scraping Pastebin for Obfuscated Malware, Thursday, April 19, 2018, 1:45–2:30 p.m., Patrick Colford, Security Analyst, Cisco: Started in 2002, pastebin.com has become the largest service of its kind in the world, serving 18 million visitors monthly & hosting 95 million pastes. Though used for lots of legitimate content, malicious actors have been using the site to distribute obfuscated malware for years. In this talk, I’ll explain the processes by which malware is hidden on Pastebin and how to use a scraper to find them.

Hording Data is Risky Business, Thursday, April 19, 2018, 12:30–2:30 p.m., Lisa Bobbitt, Lead Privacy Engineering Architect, Cisco (Facilitator), Michelle Dennedy, Chief Privacy Officer, Cisco (Facilitator), and Jonathan Fox, Director, Privacy Engineering, Cisco (Facilitator): Establishing business savvy retention policies often feels like a lose-lose battle. Everyone wants to keep their data forever as they “may NEED it in the future.” Yet we all know, as data atrophies, its value declines while the cost of managing and protecting it persists. This lab walks through decision points to consider when retaining and a tabletop exercise to declutter your data environment.

Contact your Cisco AM if you’re interested in these invite-only activities

Cisco Executive Panel Discussion: Malware for Breakfast, Wednesday, April 18, 7:30–9 a.m.: Breakfast and a discussion on what Cisco has seen and learned over the past year from the front lines of global cyber security. Guests will gain insights on recent threats targeting organizations and advice on how to better protect networks and employees.

Talos Lunch – 2017: How Did We Survive That?, Wednesday, April 18, 12:30–2 p.m., InterContinental Hotel: Retrospective look at one of the most outstanding years in the history of cybercrime from the unique perspective that only threat researchers from Talos can offer. If you have questions about some of the high-profile attacks like Nyetya, WannaCry, BadRabbit, CCleaner, etc. this fireside chat gives you the opportunity to “ask the experts” and gain new insight on the shape of the modern threat landscape.