Posted by Martijn Grooten on Jul 25, 2017
I regularly use this blog to add nuance to bold claims about dangerous vulnerabilities or impressive claims about security solutions – something that I think befits an independent company like Virus Bulletin.
For that reason, I hesitate to make bold claims about the Virus Bulletin Conference: just as a security vendor isn't likely to give you unbiased advice on whether to buy their product, if you're wondering whether to come to the conference, you probably shouldn't just take my word for it; you should also ask past attendees for their opinions.
But seeing as this is our blog, and given that I am excited about the event, here are five reasons why I think you should come to Madrid for VB2017:
1. An excellent programme. Between two keynotes (in which John Graham-Cumming will give an inside view of the Cloudbleed vulnerability and Brian Honan will share his decade-long experience helping organizations to become more secure), there are talks on Russian Bears and Asian Orcas, on banking malware and ransomware, on the state of security in Africa, in hospitals and in SMBs, on inside attacks and attacks against civil society, on tools and detection techniques, on hacktivism and consumer spyware, and a whole lot more.
2. A very international audience. Security conferences are all about building connections, and while it is important to attend local events to connect with peers from your area, at Virus Bulletin you meet experts from literally all over the world. At the same time, the conference is small enough (and takes place within a single hotel) for you to actually get to meet the people you want to speak to.
3. Conference proceedings that are useful well beyond the conference. As at every security conference, there will be those "what a scary attack" or "what an interesting idea" moments at VB2017 that make you grab your Twitter client to share it with the world. But as a serious and mostly technical conference, the real value in the papers lasts well beyond the event. That is why the conference proceedings – which we have published since the first conference in 1991 – form an integral part of the event. As with everything VB publishes, the papers are carefully edited to create an uniform and easily digestible style. These are books that you will refer to for years to come.
4. Madrid. From a hotel located on the edge of the city centre, VB2017 provides you with an excellent opportunity to explore Spain's capital and one of Europe's finest cities with its popular shopping areas, its interesting museums and, especially in early October, its lovely weather.
5. You have something to bring! Whether you have 20 years of experience as a security researcher, have worked for ten years in product management, or are very new to security, your knowledge, your opinion and your questions matter. Virus Bulletin is a very welcoming conference (did you read about our huge student discounts?) where we strive for the quality of the content presented to be as high as possible, but for the bar to join the discussion to be as low as possible.
So register now! See you in Madrid!
