BSides London 2014

I'm very happy to be back in London for the second year in a row to attend BSides London. This year the conference has grown in size and has attracted a great list of talent. Talks range from the likes of Stephen Bonner, Graham Sutherland and Jon Butler.

It was rather nice to be greeted by the beaming smile of former BSides organizer Soraya Iggy as I walked through the door. Much like a proud parent she took great pleasure in highlighting the pros of the conference and the changes that have transpired since she stepped aside to let a Paul Batson and Thomas Fischer take the helm.

I'm happy to note that they have done a wonderful job right down to the programs.

The day began with keynote from Trey Ford who delivered his talk to a packed house. Seems that the strike on the London Tube did little to hamper the attendees spirits. The conference was broken out into two main tracks and a series of workshops. There was no shortage of Club-Mate, coffee and spirited discussions in the hallways. The rookie track was been well attended along with great talks in the Lightening track.

There was something that put a fine point on the community nature of BSides events for me. It was when I got to watch a young novice speaker being coached by a more seasoned speaker. It was enjoyable to watch him being walked through the steps of delivering a talk. The more senior highlighted what to do and what pitfalls to avoid. And most of all hammered away that he should just enjoy himself.

After a few more pointers, clutching his laptop and a bottle of Club-Mate, the novice speaker took a few deep breaths and wandered out to meet his fate. I'm sure he did just fine.

I have been fortunate enough to have attended many BSides conferences and am pleased to note that the London event has again managed to deliver an excellent event.