The Cisco CSIRT team provided the network connectivity for the 20th annual FIRST conference in Vancouver, BC Canada in June 2008. (21:49 +0100)

The Cisco CSIRT team provided the network connectivity for the 20th annual FIRST conference in Vancouver, BC Canada in June 2008. Through the deployment of their "mobile monitoring rack", the CSIRT built and managed a secure and fast conference network. Many security technologies were put in place to protect the attendees from malicious websites and malware throughout the span of the event resulting in hundreds of blocked connections to "bad" sites and banner ads as well as protection from Internet attacks towards the conference network.

Japan Cert technical director discusses FIRST 2009 (00:00 +0100)

In this short podcast, FIRST steering committee member and Director of Technical Operations for Japan Cert, Yurie Ito gives us the inside information on the 2009 FIRST Conference in Kyoto. 

Recovery when disaster strikes (00:00 +0100)

In this year’s 2008 FIRST conference, keynote speaker, Microsoft's George Stathakpolous showed us some statistics which indicated that Japan had the least amount of malware infections in the world by a huge order of magnitude. In addition Japan is a country that has had to cope with a large amount of natural disasters and yet they are still one of the most feared economies in the world. 

FIRST Program Chair: Podcast (00:00 +0100)

Whilst working at the FIRST 2008 Conference, I got to share an office with the 2008 and 2009 program chairs, who would share with me some pretty interesting and useful aspects of how members can influence the FIRST security conference program structure.  So I couldn't resist having a podcast with them.  In this podcast 2008 and 2009 FIRST Program Chairs, Reneaue Raulton and Mick Creane share their thoughts on the conference programs and how you can incluence the direction of the program as well as win a prize for coming up with a great theme for a conference.

CVSS-SIG successful working meeting during the 20th annual FIRST conference (18:43 +0100)

The Common Vulnerability Scoring System Special Interest Group (CVSS- SIG) had a very busy and successful working meeting during the 20th annual FIRST conference in Vancouver. We covered many of the CVSS use cases post v2 deployment - namely PCI and S-CAP - thanks for all the great participation.

Internationality of FIRST Podcast (00:00 +0100)

As we've mentioned over and over again, FIRST is a truly international conference aimed at enabling delegates worldwide to network and swap stories and tips to better defend their environments and systems.   In this podcast, Uri, a delegate from Estonia, talks about why he enjoys being at FIRST over other conferences.

Chairing FIRST (00:00 +0100)

What is it like being a Chairman and a Vice Chair.  Long time steering committee member, Kennneth R Van Wyk has given his time to work in several of these positions. In this short podcast he tells us what they do and why they are important to the smooth running of the FIRST organisation.

20th Annual FIRST Conference: Presentation papers & slides available for FIRST Members' Download (22:09 +0100)

Well-attended and well-received, FIRST Members might now access what was shown at Vancouver conference, under the theme "Crossing Borders: Towards the Globalization of Security". Our thanks to all presenters and program committee for their amazing job.

First Conference Liaison (00:00 +0100)

In this podcast, Peter Allor of IBM tells Ben Chai what it’s like being the FIRST 2008 Conference Liaison and the importance of this role for the FIRST membership. 

CERT.at and SLCERT are the newest members in FIRST (12:00 +0100)

Two new national CSIRTs - CERT.at from Austria and SLCERT from Sri Lanka - have joined FIRST as full members. FIRST thanks the sponsors for their efforts and look forward to the active participation of the new members!

Best Practices Contest 2008: Protect (23:11 +0100)

CERT/CC and FIRST jointly held the first-ever international competition honoring best practices and advances in safeguarding the security of computer systems and networks. The 2008 contest focused on: prevention and mitigation, under the banner "Protect". The winner best practice papers are available for download.

George Stathakopolous, general manager of security at Microsoft (22:42 +0100)

George Stathakopolous, general manager of security at Microsoft talks about why he enjoys being at FIRST.

Kenneth R. van Wyk talk about of FIRST 2008 committee member (22:35 +0100)

In this Podcast, veteran first member, previous chair and current vice chair, Kenneth R. van Wyk tells you what it’s like being a FIRST 2008 committee member.

Peter Allor of IBM talk about the FIRST 2008 Conference Liaison and how it helps the membership. (22:31 +0100)

In this Podcast, Peter Allor of IBM tells you what it’s like being the FIRST 2008 Conference Liaison and how it helps the membership.

2008 and 2009 Program Chairs (22:26 +0100)

2008 Program Chair Reneaue Railton and 2009 Program Chair Mick Creane talk about the position and how you can get the best speakers, the best topics and the best networking events at the FIRST conference and how you can win a special prize for coming up with the theme for the conference.

Uri, delegate from Estonia at FIRST conference (21:16 +0100)

Uri, delegate from Estonia, talks about why he enjoys being at FIRST over other conferences.

FIRST to learn know-how from Japan's recoveries (16:33 +0100)

The lessons Japan can teach the world about disaster recovery will be a top theme for delegates from FIRST, the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams, when they meet for their 21st annual conference in Kyoto next year.

Results of FIRST Steering Committee Election! (15:21 +0100)

26 June – Steve Adegbite from Microsoft (USA) was the newest member elected to the FIRST SC for the 2008-2010 term. Also re-elected were Peter Allor from IBM (USA), Scott McIntyre from KPN-CERT (NL), Chris Gibson from Citigroup (USA/UK) and Derrick Scholl from Sun Microsystems (USA). Derrick Scholl and Chris Gibson will continue their roles as President/Chair and CFO/Treasurer, respectively. A fond farewell and thank you to Liliana 'Nina' Solha – who decided not to run for re-election after serving 6 years on the FIRST SC and heading up the website efforts and various TCs and programs throughout Latin America.

Where are You in the Security Ecosystems (09:41 +0100)

In this podcast, Stephen Adegbite and Zot O’Connor from Microsoft examine the various security eco-systems in companies operate today and how these eco-systems can strengthen their defence systems by better communication and co-operation.

Defend The Flag (09:38 +0100)

A new two day event at the FIRST 2008 conference was a training event entitled Defend the Flag. This seminar is all about helping security professionals to become more adept at protecting corporate assets from both a theoretical and a practical perspective. In this podcast, Stephen Adegbite and Zot O'Connor from Microsoft explain the objectives and background of this innovative training event.