Wikipedia

Security BSides

"BSides" redirects here. For music term, see A-side and B-side.
BSides
GenreSecurity conferences
LocationWorldwide
Inaugurated2009
FoundersMike Dahn, Jack Daniel, Chris Nickerson
Websitebsides.org

BSides (also known as Security BSides) is a series of loosely affiliated information security conferences.

Background

[edit]

The event, named after the "B-side" of a vinyl record,[1] started in 2009 with a number of rejected presentations from Black Hat USA, is a worldwide security conference organised by different community groups in their local areas.[2]

Over time the conference format matured and was released to enable individuals to start their own BSides conferences.[3][4] The Las Vegas BSides conference is also considered part of Hacker Summer Camp given its schedule and proximity to other security conferences during that time.[5]

History

[edit]

BSides was co-founded by Mike Dahn, Jack Daniel, and Chris Nickerson in 2009.[6][7][8] Due to an overwhelming number of presentation submissions to Black Hat USA in 2009, some talks could not fit in the schedule and were rejected by the organisers. The rejected presentations were presented to a smaller group of individuals at the first BSides conference.[9][10] The first event was quickly organised by grassroots groups made from those who had their talks rejected, and has been praised for allowing for more perspectives and conversations when compared with the larger conferences.[11][12]

BSides was organized in a style similar to an unconference in its inaugural year, with talks selected immediately prior to the event through an online community-driven process.[13][14] Every year since, the speaker lineup has been scheduled in advance through a formal RfP process, and published by the organizers ahead of time.[15]

In 2010, BSides expanded to Berlin, Ottawa, Dallas, Delaware, Atlanta, Kansas City, Denver, Boston, Austin, and San Francisco.[12] The first BSides event in the United Kingdom was in London in 2011,[16][17] in the same year over 40 events took place globally.[18]

In 2022, BSides Cleveland was criticised for booking Chris Hadnagy who was previously banned by DEF CON for undisclosed misconduct claims. Hadnagy was a surprise speaker, and not revealed until his talk began. The decision resulted in a number of experts withdrawing from the event, and the organiser of the event stepped down and was replaced by a four-person team supported by BSides central organisers.[19]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Loshin, Peter (29 August 2017). "Top cybersecurity conferences for when Black Hat and RSA aren't right". TechTarget Security. TechTarget. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  2. ^ Bradbury, Danny (7 October 2016). "B-Sides: A Grassroots Security Movement". SecTor 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  3. ^ HUNTER, ILEANA (2022-10-08). "More than 200 attend Idaho Falls cybersecurity conference". Post Register. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  4. ^ "BSides Cairo: The security conference that's building information sharing from the ground up". The Daily Swig | Cybersecurity news and views. 2020-03-06. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  5. ^ "What to watch for as 'Hacker Summer Camp' gets underway in Las Vegas". CyberScoop. 2022-08-09. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  6. ^ "BSides / BSidesHistory". www.securitybsides.com. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  7. ^ "Becoming jaded with Security BSides' Jack Daniel". SearchSecurity. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
  8. ^ Vamosi, Robert. "After 10 Years And 600 Events, Security BSides Keeps Growing". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  9. ^ "Security BSides / FrontPage". www.securitybsides.com. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  10. ^ "Network Security Blog » Have you signed up for Security BSides?". Archived from the original on 2016-11-05. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  11. ^ "Security B-Sides: Rise of the 'Anti-conference'". CSO Online. Retrieved 2025-12-31.
  12. ^ a b Georgopoulos, Athan (2020-06-15). "Security BSides – A Brief History". Twelvesec. Retrieved 2025-12-31.
  13. ^ "Growing InfoSec "Unconference" Exceeds 20 Global Events This Year & Expects 400 Attendees in San Francisco". Archived from the original on 2016-11-05. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  14. ^ Brenner, Bill (2010-02-24). "Security B-Sides: Rise of the 'Anti-conference'". CSO Online. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  15. ^ "Security BSides Grows, But Not Too Much". Dark Reading. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  16. ^ "About BSides London". BSides London. Retrieved 2025-12-31.
  17. ^ Leyden, John (2011-02-01). "Alternative security conferences plot European editions". The Register. Retrieved 2025-12-31.
  18. ^ Georgopoulos, Athan (2020-06-15). "Security BSides – A Brief History". Twelvesec. Retrieved 2025-12-31.
  19. ^ Jones, Connor (2022-06-21). "Security BSides commits to greater conference diversity after speaker backlash". IT Pro. Retrieved 2025-12-31.
[edit]

Websites

Stub icon

This computer security article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.