The 6 Data Security Sessions You Shouldn't Miss at RSAC 2024

COMMENTARY

This year's RSA Conference theme, "The Art of Possible," celebrates the challenges brought about by new frontiers, broken boundaries, and promising horizons. While the shift to the cloud initially caused concern and hesitation, as data began moving through it, across environments and with very little oversight, data security professionals knew this profound shift in the modern business model would bring about not only challenges but also opportunities. As we enter the age of AI, the security community must embrace the possibilities of improved data security mechanisms, alongside — without obstructing — improved business processes. Looking ahead to this year's RSA Conference, here are six leading data security sessions we're excited to attend — and that will help us uncover AI's risks and opportunities.

My Top Six Picks

Operational Data Governance-by-Design Techniques for a Data Practitioner

Monday, May 6

Why you should attend: This session, led by Cisco Systems, seems like a unique opportunity to discover practical tools for implementing data governance across your organization while presenting various use cases, with attention given to all aspects of data use and management. Assess your level of data governance by engaging with other data practitioners in the audience in this live discussion.

Bridging Theory and Practice of Privacy and Data Protection

Monday, May 6

Why you should attend: The more data floods the industry, the more practical tools security practitioners need to ensure that privacy and data protection concerns are addressed across their organizational environments. This session will include practical examples of integrating data security and privacy guardrails and measures in real business environments, sourced from the audience.

ChatGPT Unleashed: Solving Data Breach Puzzles With Precision

Monday, May 6

Why you should attend: A data security challenge leveraging AI? Sign us up! This unique session challenges participants to use ChatGPT prompts to mitigate a looming data breach, with hidden malware waiting to be found and fixed. Beyond a fun experience, this session will expand the knowledge of what may be possible with the next generation of AI technology and lead us through an innovative learning experience.

Controlling a Data Footprint — How to Build a Data Disposition Framework

Monday, May 6

Why you should attend: Data is a goldmine for organizations, and they're constantly innovating in how they gather and leverage it to achieve business goals. This session will equip you with a step-by-step approach to building a data lifecycle management framework. This framework will empower companies to decide how long to hold onto data, and outline methods for safeguarding, transforming, or eliminating data to comply with regulations.

Establishing a Data Perimeter on AWS

Wednesday, May 8

Why you should attend: While it may seem like there are no boundaries in the cloud era to where data can reside, be stored, and be used, data security guardrails and mechanisms exist for this purpose exactly — to let data roam free for business use, while ensuring that security controls are set in place and visibility is maintained across all environments, at all times. This session will present some of the controls used by AWS to protect data from unauthorized access.

Data Heist: How Stolen Information Becomes a Hot Commodity

Thursday, May 9

Why you should attend: We're so busy preventing breaches that we don't often take the time to consider what malicious actors do with the data they steal after the crime. This session dives deeper, exploring the clandestine marketplaces where stolen information is peddled. You'll be exposed to the inner workings of these criminal data shops, with comprehensive risk assessments comparing the vulnerabilities of various data types and how to best protect them.

Final Thoughts

While data security has been a top-of-mind business and security concern for the past decade, the ever-evolving landscape of data innovation constantly introduces new and emerging threats for security practitioners. To stay ahead of the curve, cybersecurity professionals must remain vigilant and adapt their strategies accordingly. The upcoming RSA Conference provides a phenomenal platform to achieve just that, with a wide range of sessions on the latest data security trends and solutions. Hope to see you there!