The second day of AREA41 had a lineup of talks that were right up my alley, focusing heavily on cloud security. Here’s a rundown of the sessions I attended, each packed with insights, tips, and a touch of humor.
Kicking off the morning, Daniel Drack served us a harsh reality check on cloud-native software supply chain security with his talk, “Cloud-Native Software Supply Chain Security: The Hard Truth.” If you thought the cloud was a fluffy, safe place, think again. Drack exposed the underlying vulnerabilities that can turn your cloud into a stormy nightmare. This talk was more practical with a DevSecOps point of view rather than from a security engineer.
Following Drack, Oleksandr Kazymyrov brought a pragmatic perspective on balancing efficiency and security in cloud-based endpoint management. His talk, “Balancing Efficiency and Security: Unveiling the Risks in Cloud-Based Endpoint Management,” highlighted that it’s like trying to walk a tightrope in a hurricane. You need finesse, strategy, and maybe a bit of luck.
Himanshu Anand gave us a sobering summary of public cloud attacks with “Public Cloud Public Attacks: A Summary of Attacks Seen by CloudIntel.” If you ever doubted the creativity of cybercriminals, Anand’s talk would set you straight. CloudIntel’s insights made it clear: vigilance is key. By the way, he spends $500 per month from his own pocket on the project. Maybe a sponsor can be found.
After a much-needed lunch break, Gergana Karadzhova-Dangela returned us to the fray in the afternoon with practical advice on incident response documentation in her talk, “Actionable Incident Response Documentation: When The Ink Meets The Road.” Her mantra? Documentation should be actionable, not just ink on paper. Because when a breach happens, you don’t want to be caught with your docs down. This session on incident response documentation was surprisingly engaging and crucial, leaving me with plenty to ponder.
There was also a funny lock-picking challenge.
Overall, final day (two) was packed with cloud-centric wisdom and a dose of humor. I can recommend AREA41 for everyone that is interested in security and/or networking.
My highlight over the two days was the barbecue on the first evening.
All drinks (with or without alcohol), food, and the barbecue was included in the ticket price of $299.
