March 30, 2023

FireTail’s Guide to Maximizing Your Experience at RSA Conference 2023

Tips for Navigating Sessions, Networking, and More

A lot has changed in cybersecurity since RSA hosted its first conference back in 1991. Since then, the mission of RSA Conference has been to facilitate conversations among the world’s cybersecurity professionals about current and future concerns, ideas and solutions that will help enable individuals and organizations to succeed and grow safely and confidently.

One of the most productive things I have gotten out of attending RSA Conference over the years has been discussing the state of the industry and emerging spaces with longtime practitioners or software makers. So, whether this is your first RSA Conference or you’re a seasoned expert, FireTail put together a ‘know before you go’ guide with our knowledge from past years to help maximize your conference experience.

Preparing to Attend RSA Conference

Before I head to San Francisco, I like to collect a few topics that I personally want to learn more about, or inform others about. For example, by this time of year, many companies have published an annual report or “state of” one particular area. Take advantage of these reports and carry those perspectives with you!

Pro Tip: Catch up on an industry analysis like FireTail’s “State of API Security Analysis” [coming soon] covering all things related to APIs, including their emergence, publicly disclosed data breaches, and a detailed examination of the most significant attack vectors.

Staying Fueled & Focused

Throughout the busy week at RSA, it's important to stay well fed. For breakfast, consider Mel’s Drive-In. Not only is it the closest classic American breakfast, but it’s a spot you are likely to run into people that you’ve known in the industry for years.

Pro Tip: On at least one, if not all of the days you’re at RSA, you will likely have some sort of coffee meeting. If so, be sure to “order ahead” to avoid spending your entire meeting stuck in line.

Pro Tip: If you want to get away from the craziness of the show floor, check out Yerba Buena Gardens located above the exhibit hall. It is the perfect place to take meetings, stretch your legs, or just get a breath of fresh air.

How to maximize your time at the RSA Conference

Since the average attendee of RSA has a packed schedule, I highly recommend not trying to do it all at once.

Pro Tip: Make a first pass walk-through where you don't talk to anyone, but just observe the atmosphere and take notes on the themes that come up. Once you've spotted either a theme, or the things that are most relevant for you, then break down your show floor time into 2 concentrated windows - one for north hall, one for south hall, to spend time and engage with the right companies or topics for you.

What to expect at RSA Conference 2023?

I don’t know about everyone else, but to me, it feels a lot like RSA 2023 is going to be closer to the scale we were used to before COVID-19. The dynamic of this year’s RSA already feels exciting, and we are still over a month away!

My biggest suggestion to anyone attending the RSA Conference this year is to keep in mind the value of chatting with both strangers and longtime connections. RSA is all about building bridges and connections.

The FireTail team is especially excited to discuss their new State of API Security Report and share more about our recent research. We hope to see you there!

Additional FireTail Resources

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