Every year, I get most excited about the RSA Security Conference, this year held April 24-27 in San Francisco. Of course, I also get excited this time of the year to write a blog that tells the viewers about what’s new with our cybersecurity solutions that they can see at our RSA booth. Well, this year we have a whole lot to talk about due to the merger of Micro Focus CyberRes and OpenText. 

Our newly combined OpenText Cybersecurity now offers prevention, detection, and response to recovery, investigation, and compliance, and we help our customers build cyber resilience via a holistic security portfolio of smarter and simple solutions (did I mention I’m in marketing? Was that not the fluffiest description you ever heard?). Want to take a real deep dive, or have a more substantial, meaty conversation about our solutions? Be sure to visit our security experts at booth 5305 in the North Hall and booth 0654 in the South Hall. See, we are so big, we require two booths to tell you about our solutions!

I always like to think ahead on bigger trends that are playing out in the cybersecurity industry when thinking about RSA and right now Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are hot, hot, hot (cue that song that begins with a round of ole, ole, ole, ole!). But don’t just take my word for it! According to Tyler Moffitt, Senior Security Analyst for OpenText Cybersecurity, AI and ML are driving a technological revolution, reshaping industries, and redefining how we approach problem-solving. He states he has not “seen such a paradigm shift in technological improvements for humanity since the creation of the Internet or Bitcoin and those not embracing the power of AI and ML will absolutely be left behind.” Check out his blog to get more on his thoughts on how AI and ML are going to revolutionize the field of cybersecurity. Matt Aldridge, Principal Solutions Consultant at OpenText Cyber Security, also weighs in and talks about how AI is truly exploding onto the scene in many different ways in this video. 

Speaking of revolutionizing industries, let’s chat about ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot developed by OpenAI and launched in November 2022. It has been in the news a lot recently (check out our newly minted Reimaging Podcast, AI & ChatGPT - security, privacy & ethical ramifications),and I always wondered how well it could write a blog. I mean, maybe it could pull in factual info and even organize it well with a topic sentence and three supporting paragraphs and not write long run on sentences like yours truly. But without the true experience, the human experience, of being there at RSA, of shaking hands or touching elbows, of smelling popcorn somewhere from three booth rows away, of getting a free crepe from a competitor early in the morning as you are trying to wake up, or of standing in a long, long line to get free Starbucks, then really, how well could it do? So instead of asking it to write the whole blog, I asked ChatGPT to name the top bullet points to attend the Conference. 

Top Reasons to Attend 

One of the primary reasons to attend the RSA Security conference, according to the bot, is to learn from some of the leading experts in the cybersecurity industry. At one of the bigger booths, I once learned from a pop-up bar how to craft the most perfect mojito. There was a lot of experimenting to get it right. The conference features a range of sessions, workshops, and keynotes that cover a wide variety of topics related to cybersecurity, including threat intelligence, incident response, cloud security, data privacy, and much more. Speaking of speaking sessions, at our main OpenText booth, you can hear Tyler Moffit present our OpenText Cybersecurity Threat Report at 10:30 AM on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. These are ML and AI data-driven trends directly from the networks and devices that we protect - powered by our Brightcloud Threat Intelligence platform. 

Everyone always mentions the key benefit of attending the RSA Security conference is the opportunity to network with peers and industry leaders, and ChatGPT did mention this too. Well, I once beat all my fellow employees and several salespeople and potential customers at ping pong at our partner Optiv’s networking after party! Strangely, no one wanted to play against me anymore and we didn’t win any friends or generate any sales deals that night.

Next, ChatGPT mentioned that it was important to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies. For my job, I read about a data breach daily. Heck, there are websites devoted to weekly data breaches. Staying up to date on all these data breaches and technologies that were compromised does not make you better at cybersecurity. You know what does? Educating yourself about complete solutions that address insider threats, comprehensive data security, zero trust security, and thorough scanning of apps to review code for vulnerabilities and malicious exploits does. Again, come to our booth or booths to discuss and check out what analysts say about our merger's power.

Another bullet point from ChatGPT was that the cybersecurity industry is constantly evolving, with new threats, technologies, and regulations emerging all the time. Chief Privacy Officers must be pulling their hair out over the individual data privacy regulations that US states are enacting this year. So far, I’ve tracked Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and Virginia, alongside California amending their CCPA/CPRA law, but these regulations keep popping up so quickly it’s like playing a game of whack a mole. Talk to our Data Privacy experts to help you get a handle on them and best practices to protect your customer’s data.

The bot encouraged attendees to explore the latest products and solutions. At RSA, I feel that it’s all about the booth that gives out the best swag, or mixed drinks! I always go home with a huge swag bag. I still have some LED flash lights that are going strong two and three years down the road. I’ve sat through presentations that offered a promise of winning my very own drone to spy on my neighbors. Spoiler, I didn’t win. So exploring is great. But for me, showing how the power of the newly combined OpenText Cybersecurity can help solve your most challenging security problems is what excited me this year. Again, we have two booths, in the North AND South wings, so you have no excuse to miss us.

The last bullet point was that you can see demos of the latest cybersecurity tools and technologies, and ask questions about how they can be integrated into your organization's security strategy. True at our booth too. I highly recommend asking for a demo of the Brightcloud Threat Intelligence, Carbonite Safe backup and archiving along with Voltage Data Privacy and Protection, Fortify Code Security, Galaxy threat research and cyDNA. You can also meet “Moto,” a contestant from Lego Master Fox Season 2 and contribute to our live Lego Mosaic. Already excited to talk to us? You can book your meeting in advance to make sure we can dedicate the time to understand your cybersecurity challenges and how we can help.

In Conclusion 

In conclusion, RSA is a great place to meet people and make real connections, unwind after hours, grab some swag, and hear some great thought-provoking speakers on the latest trends. But seeking out experts and asking the hard questions, and seeing real life demos are the best way to find out what solutions, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, are right for your company. So if you are coming to the RSA Security Conference, I hope to see you there and you check out our booth(s). I will be the one with phone in hand playing with plastic bricks and enjoying the humanity of some 26,000 people networking, learning, and listening to each other, as only humans can. 

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