We asked the question, “What does BSides mean to you?” Here are some of the answers. (If you want to contribute, drop us an email)
My first cybersecurity conference was BSidesDC. I was brand new to the industry and eager to learn and experience as much as I could. I had an amazing time and it really drove home to me that I had finally found my passion and calling as well as my cyber family.
Marcelle Lee
It’s not only an opportunity for me to learn and develop as an infosec professional, but it’s also a chance for me to share my experiences and knowledge with others. There’s definitely a sense of community and belonging at BSides, and it’s something I look forward to at every event.
Kerry Hazelton
BSides is where we can have conversations within a community that cares less about building ego and more about building careers and a true common body of knowledge, experience and wisdom.
Walter Williams
As a newbie to the Cyber Security Field, BSides means being able to learn and network with veterans in the Security Field.
David Sekanic
For me, most of the critical value of BSides is that it can be local and low-cost. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have the time or budget to regularly travel to the larger security conferences, and the opportunity to connect with people that are geographically close is always a good thing. Social Media is a great tool to connect with and consume the rhetoric of industry leaders, but it fails to excel at introducing you to the smart, talented person that might live down the street or commute to work on the same train as you.
Colin Edwards
The networking opportunities at BSides are outstanding. There is no replacement for human interaction.
Sam Van Ryder
BSides for me was designed to be more accessible and that mission has extended to local
Jason M Oliver
BSides’ give me a sense of community that I find lacking in the bigger conferences. It brings me back to the earlier days, when the cons were smaller and more intimate. When the days seemed longer and you had time to talk with your friends, not just wave at them in the hallway. I volunteer at BSides’ to give back to that community. That “family” that supports me in my daily life. BSides’ are striving to keep that small community feel, without any sense of exclusivity or elitism. That’s important to me, and it helps the newer community members find that sense of “family” and direction, without getting lost in the crowd, or pushed aside. Supporting BSides’ helps to ensure that we can continue to be a welcoming environment for the coming generations of InfoSec enthusiasts.
GK Southwick
BSides is the embodiment of the hacker ethos in cons. DIY, free, open to (and welcoming of) everyone, forgiving of mistakes, chaotic, and rapidly evolving.
It’s about passion. We don’t do this because it’s our job, we do it because we live and breathe it, and we want to be around others who do too.
Dan Klinedinst
BSides helps build our family, and fosters new people of all races, colors, and creeds into our family. BSides cons are where I see my family members, help people with their problems, celebrate their triumphs, and remember “Absent Friends”.
Frankly, I grin from ear to ear at BSides. I have so much fun, I can’t even explain it. Think small child holding cotton candy looking up at the Ferris Wheel astounded, mouth hanging open, holding the hand of Uncle Jack. (Yes, my inner child is REALLY close to the surface.) 🙂
Joshua Marpet
BSides reminds me of many great movements like Wikipedia and Open Source software where individuals come together to create something they could not have done individually. The collective is greater than the individual. I’d even risk saying the collective IS the individual.
We created BSides at a time when people had no money for travel or conference fees. The idea was to create not one event but a framework that people could contribute to and pull from. Some of my favorite events are those in remote areas or run by younger people who would not have had the chance to do so otherwise. My favorite moments are when participants find new ways to lower the barrier to entry for others to participate in ever simpler ways.
BSides has meant so much to me over the years but only to the extent that it enables individuals to lower barriers and help others participate, learn, connect, and exchange ideas. I don’t know where this is going or where it will end up but I’m a strong believer that if we help each other and stay constructive we will all be better off for it.
Mike Dahn
BSides means meeting like-minded infosec professionals and enthusiasts that I never knew existed.
Darryl MacLeod
BSides means collaboration, commiseration, and camaraderie.
Arlie Hartman
BSides means community, conversation, content, and career; BSides provides the building blocks to create and grow each of these things, and much more.
Jack Daniel
The BSides philosophy is responsible for bringing forth some the most approachable security-related conferences out there. The sheer lack of ties (and cologne..) at BSides conferences make these events the most oasitic ones out there. For a certain kind of breed, that is!
Patryck Winkelmolen
Security B-Sides isn’t “just another con”. …BSides contributes to the community, career, and more. Our attendees noted they loved our atmosphere, that we “weren’t one of the big cons”, that we offered “the stuff I would have missed, because I couldn’t get to BlackHat/DEFCON”. A more intimate setting with actual conversations. A con with people, not just passers-by.
Mark Boltz-Robinson
BSides means a way to meet up with mostly local people at a smaller venue then most hacker-cons… most BSides tend to be smaller it makes it all that much easier to have a good conversation with presenters.
Justin Brand
I’ve only attended one actual BSides event (ATL), but have followed the BSides talks via the web, so by no means am I a BSides expert or seasoned veteran, but that’s the beauty of BSides: you don’t have to be.
…BSides also provides an open atmosphere where InfoSec Infants can get their feet wet in the community and begin to develop and flex their security philosophies and skills. It’s a platform where new ideas and concepts can be shared by normal everyday security professionals who may not have the soapbox that other info sec superstars may have. And the beautiful thing is these talks hold just as much importance and substance as a room-filling Dan Kaminsky talk at DEFCON (no offense at all to DK).
InfoSec is always evolving, and BSides’ format, frequency, and inclusiveness allows fresh perspectives to be shared at an exponential rate compared to the once-a-year con with limited speakers.
Danny Lyman
BSides is local and accessible to people just starting while providing an important community connection to those adding to their personal and professional networks.
Patrick C Tuminaro
BSides is the TedX of security conferences. It brings a brand, format and community to areas that would have a harder time putting on a conference from scratch.
Stephan Chenette
Short answer? Jobs. My past several jobs all came from the community, and I expect that to continue.
These are the people I choose to spend my money and time with, so being able to leverage that into what I do for employment improves my quality of life tremendously.
Todd Kimball
BSides is a local community event for networking with a little flavoring from the larger community
Leonard Isham
The perfect blend between professional talks and relaxed atmosphere. There’s something for everyone!
John Kozlowski
BSides is a growing community of real security professionals that want to learn from each other and grow. Unlike most cons we see today, BSides cuts through the hype and allows you to have real conversations among your peers in an environment that’s comfortable and welcoming.
Michelle Schafer
BSides has allowed me to make friends that I would have never made, have conversations that I would never have had and to a part of something that is having a global positive impact. The best part is that it has allowed me to share this experience with others in my part of the world.
Norbert Griffin
BSides is much more than a means for creating local conferences. BSides gives speakers the freedom to express themselves and to have a different take on infosec topics without the fear of getting shot down or losing cred (unless they are seriously off their rocker). BSides lets folks be creative in their talks and enjoy some philosophical and technical liberty without the need to meet some corporate definition of an acceptable talk.
Michael Farnum
BSides means conversation and innovation in a community environment.
Philippe Paquet
BSides to me is a place where discussions and ideas that wouldn’t normally happen take place. The talks are always great, but the people are what make a BSides a BSides.
Mark Kikta
BSides is the great equalizer. By keeping conferences affordable and local, and by encouraging talks that may not fit into the mainstream, BSides makes it easy for anyone – newcomers and veterans alike – to lend their voice to the collective conversation. All are welcome to come learn, teach, and share our passions, and we are all better off for it.
Kathryn Sweet
BSides to me means opportunity and family. The friends and relationships I have made because of BSidesLV and BSidesBOS can not have a price tag put on them. This would not have been possible sitting at home watching talks alone.
Casey Dunham
Accessible security community.
Jonathan Searles
BSides offers the opportunity to hear different voices, at a local community level that’s accessible to most professionals who want learning and networking opportunities closer to home.
Dave Shackelford
In my opinion BSides encompasses community. Whether you are a seasoned professional or newb you are welcomed and encouraged to both share and grow.
Jessica Archer
BSides is almost invariably free and open-source. There are no rock stars. You can be a toddler who’s never used a computer, you can be Jack Daniel, you can be a man off the street – and you will learn something about security. Every time.
Eve Adams
For me, BSides is about community. Security Professionals see things others don’t always see, which can be very tough and takes a toll on security professionals. Does this really exist? Did I really find this bug? Etc. BSides is about community, a safe place where people can exchange ideas openly and question things without judgement and re-charge. BSides is a very important component of a Security Professionals toolbox that helps keep them grounded.
Tony Vargas
I see BSides as a great equalizer. As a small vendor who competes with RSA who dislikes the sales circus, we didn’t have much of an event strategy. With BSides, our smaller financial contribution helps and sweat equity counts as much as cash.
I think it’s been the same for presenters and attendees. I’ve very much enjoyed meeting people new to the industry at BSides, see them present and then move up the ladder (or at least pass some other rats in the race.)Nick Owen
To me, BSides means affordable, accessible security education. I can’t afford to go to Black Hat or DEFCON. My company can’t afford to send me. I feel like I get the same education at my local BSides event that I would at any other security con.
It may be free, but it’s invaluable to me.
Brian Finn
To me, BSides means a variety of fresh perspectives, tactical and strategic approaches to similar problem sets that we are all facing; In the trenches, brainstorming solutions with like-minded professionals, mentors, those being mentored, paying it forward with something you’ve learned in your research, or on the job…not through hearsay.
Antonio Rucci
BSides not only means community but family to me. A family that has been a far greater influence in both my professional and personal life than anything else these past few years.
Christopher Miller