I would like to announce the first Enterprise Security Architecture Workshop to be held for Queensland IT security architects. The workshop will be held in the Brisbane CBD on 11 March 2013. It is intended for IT professionals working in large enterprises that are responsible for security architecture initiatives. It is also for CISOs and IT security managers that have a strong technical background. Vendor participation will not be permitted (not because we don’t like our vendors but rather there are many other venues for vendors to promote their offerings). There is no cost to attend the workshop but the seats are filling up fast. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP by 4 March to jharrison@jharrison.com and I will provide the details.
Why an ESA workshop? Enterprise IT security architects face a daunting challenge. They must create cost-effective, secure, enterprise-grade IT infrastructure in an environment of rapidly changing business requirements, constant technology innovation, and a dynamic security product marketplace. One way security architects can address this challenge is by sharing their knowledge and experience with their peers. For example, they can share architectural patterns for common enterprise use cases, as well as their knowledge about actual product capability (as opposed to advertising hype), and unexpected impediments to deployment. Security architects can learn from each other regarding what approaches are the most practical, and what proprietary and open source products best support their design objectives. Unfortunately, those IT professionals responsible for security architecture rarely have an opportunity to have frank, face-to-face discussions with their peers to explore these topics. This workshop is intended to provide this opportunity.
Format: Participants will be invited to discuss their organisation’s approach to addressing any current, or emerging, security architecture topic and explain why the approach was adopted, or is being considered. The participant’s peers will provide feedback with the goal of learning from one another in a friendly and collaborative environment. Likely topics will include secure virtualisation infrastructure, secure cloud/federated IAM, BYOD approaches, and secure remote access methods. However, other security architecture topics are certainly welcome.
Expected Benefits: Workshop participants will gain a deeper understanding of the pros and cons of various security architecture approaches via discussion with their peers. This will help them avoid wasting both time, and resources, “reinventing the wheel” and/or deploying suboptimal architectural solutions. Participants will also receive a level of assurance that their current, and future, work will adhere to “good practice”. Their employers will receive a level of assurance that they are receiving the highest return on their investment in secure IT infrastructure.
So a room full of passionate IT architects discussing security… I am looking forward to some lively discussion!
