The
RSA Conference 2009 got off to a quiet start in San Francisco
yesterday with a few preliminary tutorials, but today sees the
first keynote speakers take to the stage.
First up will be RSA president
Art Coviello to attempt to rally the IT security industry to
collaborate in tacking the challenges of new technologies like
virtualisation and cloud computing.
Newly appointed Symantec president and CEO Enrique Salem will
take a similar approach as he looks at how to confront the rapid
growth of malware that is now outpacing the development of
legitimate software.
Still on a collaborative theme,
Scott Charney, corporate VP of Microsoft's Trustworthy
Computing division, will campaign for cross-industry efforts to
create a more trusted, privacy enhanced internet experience.
Other industry executives lined up for this week's conference
include John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems, Dave DeWalt, CEO of
McAfee, and Philippe Courtot, CEO of Qualys.
In addition to security industry executives, the US government
will be represented in keynote presentations by Melissa Hathaway,
the Obama Administration's acting director for cyberspace and
Lieutenant General Keith Alexander, director of the National
Security Agency (NSA) and chief of central security services.
Hathaway is expected to present the Administration's promised
60-day Cyber Security Review and Alexander will speak on the
prospects for public-private partnership for cybersecurity.
The conference runs for the rest of this week and is expected to
highlight issues such as malware proliferation, virtualisation,
cloud computing and national cybersecurity against a backdrop of
budget constraints in the economic downturn.