Introducing Structure Security: Mapping the future of security

By its nature, technology is the world’s fastest-moving industry. And making sure our events keep pace with (or stay ahead of) that change is job #1 at Structure.

Since relaunching the Structure series last year we have been planning to expand our roster of events beyond the ones you already know so well: Structure Data (less than a month away in San Francisco), Structure Connect, and of course, Structure.

And over the last eight months, as we talked about key industry trends with the industry leaders, technology visionaries and investors that make up the Structure community, one topic came up in almost every conversation: cybersecurity. Our mothers did not raise fools: we’re very excited to announce the launch of Structure Security, scheduled for September 27th and 28th, at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Club.

Why now? Many of today’s biggest cybersecurity issues can be attributed to the failure of technology companies to keep up with the advances of cyber threats or, in too many cases, failing to prioritize these threats as a core part of their operational plan. Our goal with Structure Security is to elevate the focus on cybersecurity beyond the professionals who work on it every day, bringing together the broader technology community to be a part of this important conversation.

In a hyper-connected world, the health of the digital transformation of the global economy depends more than ever on the ability of companies to intelligently implement strategies and solutions that protect their employees, customers, partners and assets. There’s no doubt that in 2016, cybersecurity has become a boardroom issue, but across many executive teams there remains little more than a rudimentary understanding of the complexity of the problem and the significant challenges in developing, implementing and executing a cybersecurity strategy across an enterprise and its ecosystem.

Structure Security will examine the ongoing evolution of the threat landscape and highlight some of the best practices that security professionals use to protect the world’s largest companies and institutions including processes, solutions and operating strategies. While we are being advised on the planning for Structure Security by a world-class group of cybersecurity and technology industry experts, the best picture of the tech industry arrives when a diverse group of voices is heard. And so, as we do with all of the Structure events, we welcome speaker submissions for the Structure Security conference.

Here are a few early themes for the conference:

• “Security First” Companies must build a culture that does not limit the cybersecurity discussion to the understaffed and overworked groups charged with protecting the enterprise.
• Understanding and evaluating risk. Perimeter defenses are not enough: modern companies must react to threats and attacks with a more proactive, intelligence-driven approach. This starts with a thorough understanding of risk, and we’ll showcase industry experts who are at the forefront of this evolution.
• End-to-end defense-in-depth. We’ll explore the nuances of preventing attacks, intrusions and exfiltrations, showing how to detect these situations and respond after they happen as well as the resources, technologies and processes required across this spectrum.
• How we failed. Everyone in this world is aware of the horror stories that flow from major cybersecurity breaches. Attendees will hear detailed first-hand accounts regarding some of these breaches and what could have been done differently before, during and following the breaches.

The list of topics that have already been proposed is growing and we encourage you to add your voice by submitting a speaker proposal. Some of the other topics near the top of the early list include:

• How to plan for and manage the skills and personnel gaps that make it difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises to protect their assets.
• How the shift to cloud computing is changing the way IT security solutions are bought, sold and delivered.
• The current shape of the threat landscape and how it will evolve in the future.
• The role of social engineering cybersecurity and how enterprises and vendors are trying to address this increasingly complex threat vector.
• The roles that the Federal government should — and shouldn’t — play in cybersecurity.

We look forward to welcoming you to the first Structure Security conference this fall. We are offering a “pre-launch” discount of 40 percent off the Best Price for Structure Security if you sign up by February 29th, a savings of over $500. Register here using the discount code EARLYBIRD.

Better yet, sign up for Structure Data (March 9–10) and purchase the Double Pack option and you can select Structure Security as your second event.

Photo Credit (in-text image): Yu. Samoilov via Compfight cc