Expel insider · 3 MIN READ · ANDY RODGER · JUN 9, 2022 · TAGS: Cloud security / Company news / MDR / Tech tools
As the largest cybersecurity event in the world, RSA Conference serves up an agenda that provides something for everyone. No matter what cybersecurity area an attendee is interested in, there’s likely to be a keynote or session that addresses it, as well as at least a handful of vendors competing in that area.
The wide range of topics covered at a show like RSA Conference makes it nearly impossible for a single theme to rise above the rest and be the talk of the show.
So we talked to a few folks who’ve spent time on the show floor about the things they’ve found most interesting, and the trends they’re paying the most attention to at this year’s conference. Here’s what they had to say:
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve noticed from the show floor?
The main thing is that the human connection is more apparent and more visceral than I was expecting. I’ve been coming to RSA Conference for a while, and normally it’s the standard thing: you’re an agent of the company, talking to another person who’s an agent of the company, and there’s a lot of ‘synergies being leveraged’ and corporate speak, and everyone’s wearing a blazer… That’s kind of hollow.
But then you go away for a few years and realize you actually miss these people and the human connection comes back. I’m seeing old friends, and it puts a whole different spin on what’s going on here — which is super cool.
– Matt Peters, Chief Product Officer of Expel
I’m happy to be back in person because of how small and tight-knit the security industry is. It’s fun seeing everyone again.
– Chris Dobrec, Vice President of Solutions for Armis (a partner of Expel)
To be honest, the number of participants. I was a bit skeptical of the turn-out and I’m pleasantly surprised that I was completely wrong about it. And more importantly, the folks that are showing up — even though the numbers are not as high as they’ve been in the past — are coming in with very specific questions and interests. So the quantity may not be there, but the quality is.
– Oscar Miranda, Field Chief Technology Officer of Healthcare for Armis
One thing that stands out is the size of this conference. It’s very obvious that this is a booming space, and there’s so much opportunity for companies to do well in niche markets. Whether it’s one specific supply chain area or workload protection, whatever, there’s something for everybody here.
– Adam Mikula, Sales Development Team Lead for Aqua Security
What’s a trend you find most compelling from this year’s conference?
I think that the XDR [extended detection and response] trend is compelling… Not because XDR’s a new thing, but I think everyone is waking up to a fundamental concept about the way that security works. When they’re talking about XDR, people are talking about the ability to do high-quality response — stitching together a whole bunch of things and actually empowering people to do high-quality investigations. As long as the vendors don’t grab that and change it to suit their own purposes, I think the result will be improved security technology.
– Matt Peters
From a technology perspective, [I’m seeing] the emphasis on risk, the emphasis on threat detection and response, different categories starting to come together — like XDR coming together as an amalgamation of endpoint security and SIEM, and a whole variety of things, to be a wholesale offering. That’s starting to deliver on the promise (so-to-speak) that we’ve been talking about with XDR for a long time.
– Chris Dobrec
There’s a lot of consolidation, starting with overlap. A lot of these vendors — no matter what particular area within cybersecurity they’ve traditionally been focused on — have expanded their functionality, which I predict is going to result in more consolidation amongst vendors and platforms. So, functionality that you would normally see in one type of technology, now you’re going to see it across others.
– Oscar Miranda
Supply chain and shifting even further left has been a pretty consistent message. Attackers are getting smarter and code is getting even more complicated. You want to figure it out early, secure it early, and prevent it early, so you don’t have problems later on.
– Adam Mikula
From these conversations, it sounds like XDR is now a part of the vernacular that isn’t going away — it’s time to get comfortable with what it means for both individual organizations, and the industry as a whole. Another undeniable theme? People are happy to be back in person, swapping stories and lessons learned with friends; old and new.
We still have some fun planned as we head into the home stretch of the conference. Stop by our booth (S649) for pics with our friendly bots, Josie™ and Ruxie™, and load up on swag (if you still have room); we’ll see you there.
