First things first, what is RSA 2009 Conference? It is the biggest Information Security Industry Conference and Exposition. I promised in my last post that I will update this blog with my San Francisco and RSA adventures so here we go…

Monday, April 20, 2009 is Day 1 for the RSA 2009 conference in San Francisco. Highlights of the day are the Registration at the Moscone Center, Welcome Reception and Exposition.

We went to the Moscone Center at around 9AM and registered. Registration a breeze, it’s really an efficient process (and high-tech too). You will line up in booths with laptops and enter your name (as we are pre-registered). Then next pit stop will be the printing station, where conference badges will be printed. Sometimes a photo ID will be asked to validate your identity (so it’s always a good idea to bring your Philippine Passport all the time). RSA2009 badges have built-in RF chip which is kinda cool (see details below). Next you need to get your conference materials and other RSA stuffs (bags, etc). If RSA 2007 was a windbreaker (with RSA 2009 and Symantec logo), this year it is a dark sweat shirt, with the logo of the major sponsors (Cisco, Mcafee, Qualys, CA, IBM, and TippingPoint) on the sleeves.

Conference theme is Edgar Allan Poe. He was not just a poet and a journalist; he was an accomplished cryptographer of his time.

Day 1 is a light day with registration on the morning, and some non technical sessions. I skipped the First-Time Attendee Orientation, since this is my 2nd RSA and went directly to the welcome reception.

In the welcome reception, food and drinks are served in the exposition hall. In the exposition hall different IT security vendors showcase their products and interact with the delegates and attendees. If you are really lucky, some vendors raffle out great items (Wii, netbooks, gadgets, etc) so if one is really a luck magnet (even if you still have not won in Philippine lotto) they just need to scan your badge with the vendor.

One great thing I noted in RSA 2009 is that they are very eco-friendly now. Lots of lots of eco-friendly bags are hanging out there for the delegates. Most of it are just like the SM Bonus Green bag 🙂 but some bags are great.

And in the tradition of my free six video and my six tagalog love quotes posts, I am sharing some free six pictures of the IT Security Vendors that I chanced upon in RSA2009. The list is a long one so for this post, I will limit it to AV companies.

CA’s Take Control Campaign

Kaspersky’s medieval theme 🙂

Mcafee the sponsor

Sophos’ Let Them Audit

Symantec’s STR type hero 🙂

Trend Micro’s Think Again Campaign