/aug 2, 2019

Grasshoppers, Dead Cow, and Controlled Chaos: What We’re Looking Forward to at Black Hat USA

By Laura Paine

Usually, Black Hat USA is all the rage this time of year when it comes to Las Vegas; however, it seems the excitement about the show has been eclipsed by a grasshopper invasion. I admit, I was puzzled when my colleagues informed me of the news and proceeded to show me the horrifying photographic and video evidence. I joked that I would need to wear a Veracode-branded beekeeper suit, and wondered what the symbolism of the grasshopper is. So before I get to what you really care about – Black Hat – I leave you with two fun facts:

  1. Upon asking my mother – a Las Vegas resident – about the grasshopper invasion, she informed me that this happens every year, but it usually isn’t this bad. And that her side of town has significantly less grasshoppers.
  2. Grasshoppers can’t move sideways or backwards, they can only take big leaps forward. Seems apt when we’re considering the future of security and development.  

Without further ado, here are three events I’m most looking forward to attending at this year’s show:

Controlled Chaos: The Inevitable Marriage of DevOps & Security

Kelly Shortridge, VP of Product Strategy at Capsule8, and Dr. Nicole Forsgren, Research & Strategy at Google Cloud, will take a closer look at the choice information security has to make when it comes to DevOps: marry with their DevOps colleagues and embrace the philosophy of controlled chaos, or eventually lose the race, because software – secure software especially – is a competitive differentiator in today’s global economy. I’m curious to see Shortridge and Forsgren’s take on DevOps, the concepts of resilience and chaos engineering, and the impact on the future of security programs.

Where: South Pacific When: Aug. 7 from 4-4:50 p.m. Read More: Here

All Things Cult of the Dead Cow

Remember when much of the nation was astonished to learn that presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke was a member of America’s oldest hacking group, The Cult of the Dead Cow (cDc)? This was after Reuters reporter Joseph Menn published a special report that was adapted from his book Cult of the Dead Cow: How the Original Hacking Supergroup Might Just Save the World. While I’ll be sure to check out the briefing at BHUSA, at Veracode, we’re excited to host a conversation with Menn, Chris Wysopal, Veracode's CTO, Christien Rioux, Software Architect at Flowmill, and Luke Benfey - Deth Veggie – cDc Minister of Propaganda, for a discussion about the new book at our booth. Plus, we’re donating $2 to BuildOn for every booth visit.

Where: Booth #854 When: Aug. 7 from 5-6:30 p.m. Read More: Here

DevSecOps: What, Why and How

When it comes to development, security is often added towards the end of the DevOps cycle through a manual/automated review – but we know it doesn’t have to be that way. Security can actually be integrated – and automated – at each stage of the DevOps pipeline. In this briefing, Anant Shrivastava from NotSoSecure will dive into the technology and cultural aspects of DevSecOps, and the changes needed to get tangible benefits. Shrivastava will also present case studies on how critical bugs and security breaches affecting popular software and applications could have been prevented using a simple DevSecOps approach.

Where: South Pacific When: Aug. 8 from 11-11:50 a.m. Read More: Here

We’d love to talk to you about your own development shop and security practices during the show, so please stop by Booth #854 – we’ve got demos, spun chairs, and we’ll send you home with a one-of-a-kind custom t-shirt.

I’m not sure I’ll be able to score that branded beekeeper suit, but I’m looking forward to seeing everything Black Hat has to offer. If you’re open to sharing what you’re looking forward to at the show, let’s connected on Twitter (@lauraleapaine) so I can get your perspective. Make sure to check back here for live coverage – or subscribe to get our content updates sent directly to your inbox.

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By Laura Paine

Laura Paine is a senior product marketing manager at Veracode, based in Burlington, MA.