FIRST Annual Conference

FIRST POST: Oct-Dec 2025

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Message from the Chair; Member Spotlight; Standards Update; Special Interest Group Updates; Training and CCB; Record Growth Announcement, Cybersecurity Awareness Month and African Cyber Capacity Building; Why We Can’t Stop Talking About Information Sharing; FIRST Welcomes New Members and Thanks Sponsoring Teams!; Upcoming Events

FIRST POST: Jul-Sep 2025

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Message from the Chair; Digital Sovereignty and Communities; Member Spotlight; FIRST CORE; Special Interest Group Updates; Training and CCB; Strategic Initiatives Amplification, Video Series Completion and LinkedIn Growth Surge; Upcoming Events

FIRST POST: Apr-Jun 2025

Thu, 31 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Message from the Chair; Incident Response Hall of Fame 2025 Recipient: Richard (Rich) D. Pethia, CERT/CC; New Board Member: Graciela Martinez Giordano; Building Bridges is fine, but you have to use them; Board Roles & Responsibilities; FIRST Welcomes New Members and Thanks Sponsoring Teams!; Women of FIRST; Strategic Campaign Success, Video Series Launch and Global Media Recognition; Upcoming Events

FIRST Announces New CORE Initiative with Fortinet as a Founding Partner

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 04:00:00 +0000

New initiative empowers cybersecurity and incident response teams worldwide through capacity building and community development

FIRST POST: Jan-Mar 2025

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Message from the Chair; Strategy and Governance: Launch of the FIRST Strategy Framework; FIRST Welcomes New Members and Thanks Sponsoring Teams!; Special Interest Group Updates; The role of National CERTs/CSIRTs in Implementing the UN Norms of Responsible Behavior in Cyberspace; Growth Stack Media Q1FY25 PR Highlights: Media Coverage Expansion & Successful Campaigns; Green Copenhagen; FIRST on Social Media; and Upcoming Events

FIRST POST: Oct-Dec 2024

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Message from the Chair; The Growing Role of Cyber Diplomacy in Managing Digital Conflicts; APCERT & FIRST Regional Symposium; FIRST Membership Committee - Updated Liaison Process; FIRST Welcomes New Members and Thanks Sponsoring Teams!; Trainer Recognition; Growth Stack Media Q4 PR Highlights: CISA Endorsement & Emerging Industry Leadership; Special Interest Group Updates; Early Bird Registration for FIRSTCON25 Copenhagen Ends February 10!; Upcoming Events

FIRST POST: Jul-Sep 2024

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Message from the Chair; Board members Roles and Responsibilities for 2024/2025; FIRST-AJCCBC Workshop Series – Summer 2024; First NETSEC training in Fukuoka; Looking back at the Fukuoka Annual Conference; Training on Fundamentals of Cyber Threat Intelligence successfully delivered at the International Information Technology University (IITU), Almaty, Kazakhstan; FIRST at the Summer School on Internet Governance in Meissen; Special Interest Group Updates; FIRST Newcomers & Membership Committee; IMPORTANT: Heads-Up on VAT for FIRST for all events in EUROPE from 2025 onward; FIRST Gains Momentum in Media Landscape; Upcoming Events; FIRST on Social Media

2024 Events and 2025 Preview

Fri, 23 Aug 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Greetings FIRST Community,

2024 has been an exciting year of memorable programming, including the annual conference, which visited Japan in June! With just four months before the end of the year, we want to highlight the content and opportunities still to come.

FIRST POST: Apr-Jun 2024

Mon, 20 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Message from the Chair; Message from the Chair; FIRST Standards Committee; CTI Conference in Berlin; FIRST Newcomers & Membership Committee; On the Road to Fukuoka - See you soon!; FIRST as a Diana Initiative Community Partner; Growth Stack Media PR Updates; Special Interest Group Updates; FIRST Impressions Podcast; FIRST on Social Media

FIRST POST: Jul-Sep 2023

Tue, 18 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Message from the Chair; Conference Roundup; Special Interest Groups; Weekend Training; Training on DNS Prevention, Detection, Disruption and Defense; Diversity and Inclusion; New Board Member Introduction; M3AAWG 58 Meeting; 36th Annual FIRST Conference to take place June 9-14, 2024 in Fukuoka, Japan; New Members; Standards; Communications; Upcoming Events.

FIRST appoints new chair as organization continues to grow globally

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 13:00:00 +0000

FIRST’s AGM took place during the 35th Annual Conference in Montréal, Canada at the start of June 2023. Senior cybersecurity expert Tracy Bills, CERT/CC was elected to lead FIRST’s Board of Directors with the organization’s leadership team further strengthened with the appointment of Carlos Alvarez from ICANN to the Board.

FIRST POST: Autumn 2019

Mon, 30 Sep 2019 15:10:00 +0000

Bringing together Security and Incident Response teams from around the globe.

2019 Episode 9: Seeing Clearly and Communicating Effectively to Address Event Overload– Thomas Fisher, FVT SecOps Consulting

Fri, 27 Sep 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Is content king? Fisher argues data alone can lead us astray, instead, it is the story we should focus on. With a presentation loaded with artwork and visuals, Fisher hopes to teach statistic savvy security responders to see the bigger picture. What patterns appear when we take a step back? What narrative does the evidence summon? Question your answers and dive into this discussion with Chris and Martin.

2019 Episode 8: Developing a Conceptual Model for Insider Threat – Monica Whitty, University of Melbourne

Fri, 20 Sep 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Not EVERYONE who tweets from the toilet at 6 in the morning is a Narcissist.” In this episode, Chris and Martin dive into a discussion with data savvy Monica Whitty about how to spot and stop an insider threat. Unfortunately, most insider attacks we never see coming, but as Whitty explains, hindsight can be a tool. Realizing that not every perpetrator is evil or malicious, companies can begin to see the data for what it really is: people. Navigate psychological factors and learn to spot warning signs in this perceptive podcast!

2019 Episode 7: Blue-Team vs. Red-Team Tabletop Exercise – Chiyuki Matsuda, DeNA Co., Ltd.

Fri, 13 Sep 2019 12:00:00 +0000

No computers, no worries! After favorable feedback from the 2018 Conference, Chiyuki and her team returned this year with even more tabletop fun. Chris and Martin get the inside scoop on how a little friendly competition creates an international platform for learning. Without technology, red and blue teams ultimately work together to solve a handful of security scenarios in this Choose Your Own Adventure style exercise.

FIRST announces winner of The Incident Response Hall of Fame

Wed, 31 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Prof. Dr. Klaus-Peter Kossakowski honored as the inaugural inductee of The Incident Response Hall of Fame

2019 Episode 6: Recorded Live from FIRST 2019 – Ken Munro, Partner and Founder of Pen Test Partners, LLP

Thu, 18 Jul 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Join Chris John Riley and Martin McKeay live from annual FIRST conference in Edinburgh, Scotland as they interview Ken Munro. Ken is a partner and founder at Pen Test Partners, LLP and was the opening keynote for the 31st Annual FIRST Conference.

2019 Episode 5: How to Manage the Tangled Web of Dependencies, Lisa Bradley and Jessica Butler of NVIDIA

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Missing out on #FIRSTCON19 this week! No worries! Join the interview in progress. Martin chats with Lisa Bradley (Senior Manager, NVIDIA PSIRT) and Jessica Butler (Senior Application Developer, NVIDIA) about their presentation at FIRST 2019 happening Monday, June 17 from 16:45-17:45.

Over 1,100 delegates set to attend world-renowned information security conference in Edinburgh

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 09:30:00 +0000

Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams 31^st Annual Conference opens today at Edinburgh International Conference Centre

FIRST POST: Summer 2019

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 07:00:00 +0000

FIRST launched its FIRST Post, a quarterly newsletter with updates from the FIRST community. Learn more about our Edinburgh conference, our new Executive Director, Chris Gibson, and several key initiatives such as the Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) framework and policy outreach.

2019 Episode 4: Fingerpointing False Positives, Desiree Sacher of Finanz Informatik

Thu, 13 Jun 2019 14:00:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress! Desiree is a SOC Security Architect at Finanz Informatik. Desiree and Chris John Riley discuss her upcoming presentation that focuses on how to better integrate improvements into your security monitoring. Desiree presents at the 31st Annual FIRST Conference on Monday, June 17 at 12:45 in Fintry.

FIRST releases 2018-2019 Annual Report

Thu, 06 Jun 2019 12:00:00 +0000

The Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams releases its third annual report, covering the scope of its activities from the 2018 conference in Kuala Lumpur, through its 2019 annual event in Edinburgh.

2019 Episode 3: Malware Detection Cat and Mouse - Interview with Ralf Hund, CTO at VMRay

Wed, 05 Jun 2019 18:00:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress! Chris John Riley chats with Ralf Hund, CTO at VMRay and a supporter of the annual FIRST conference since 2016. Ralf shares his thoughts on the ongoing game of cat and mouse the industry is faced with when dealing with malware detection and the new protection technologies VMRay is working on in order to provide incident responders with faster and greater visibility to threats.

2019 Episode 2: Top Common Tabletop Exercise Failures - Michael Murray and Robert Lelewski, Secureworks

Thu, 30 May 2019 14:00:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress! The guys speak with presenters, Mike Murray (Senior Manager) and Robert Lelewski (Proactive Services Team Lead) of Secureworks. The duo are presenting on Thursday, June 20th from 11:00-12:00 and will be sharing their experiences and takeaways from conducting over hundreds of tabletops across various organizations. Get a primer of their upcoming session in this interview.

2019 Episode 1: Andrew Cormack, 2019 Program Chair

Fri, 17 May 2019 18:30:00 +0000

We’re kicking off the first episode of this year’s podcast with the man of the moment, Andrew Cormack, program chair of the 31st Annual FIRST Conference! Chris John Riley and Martin McKeay return as our podcast hosts once again and pick up where they left off almost a year ago during their last chat with Andrew. The guys touch on the program selection process, highlights of this year’s program, and what new things attendees will experience this year. Andrew is the Chief Regulatory Adviser at Jisc and a long time member and supporter of FIRST and the IR community.

FIRST conference date in Edinburgh

Thu, 09 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000

The Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) has its 31st Annual Conference at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre in Edinburgh, from June 16 to 21, 2019.

Tripwire names FIRST Annual Conference among top information security conferences of 2019

Thu, 03 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

This five-day annual conference features incident response, management and technical tracks, keynote presentations, lightning talks and plenty of networking opportunities. In addition to learning the latest security strategies in incident management, attendees can earn up to 25 continuing professional education (CPE) credits and gain insight into analyzing network vulnerabilities.

2018 Episode 10: Live from FIRST | Andrew Cormack, 2019 FIRST Program Chair

Wed, 29 Aug 2018 15:00:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress! We’re closing out the 2018 podcast series with our 2019 program chair! Chris and Martin spend the last day of FIRST 2018 with a very well-known and very much appreciated active member of FIRST, Andrew Cormack. Andrew is the Chief Regulatory Adviser at Jisc Technologies and has graciously taken on the role of conference program chair for the 31st Annual FIRST Conference: Securing the Castle, June 16-21, 2019 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Take a listen and find out what Andrew has been up to and what he’ll be looking for to fill the 2019 program.

2018 Episode 9: Live from FIRST | How to Avoid Having a Really Bad Day...Rob McMillan, Research Director, Gartner

Fri, 24 Aug 2018 17:00:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress! Join Martin and Chris as they chat with Rob McMillan and discuss the evolution of incident response. Rob is the Research Director at Gartner and former co-founder and general manager of AusCERT. Rob was a featured keynote speaker at the 2018 annual conference.

2018 Episode 8: Live from FIRST | Bruce Schneier, CTO, IBM Resilient

Thu, 09 Aug 2018 14:00:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress! Chris John Riley interviews one of our favorites and a long-time supporter of FIRST, Bruce Schneier. Bruce is currently the CTO at IBM Resilient and lecturer at Harvard Kennedy School. While Bruce was not presenting at this year's conference, he stopped by to hang-out with the FIRST community to talk shop and talk about his new book, "Click Here to Kill Everybody". Listen in to this fun and engaging interview. Special thanks to IBM Resilient for their continued support of FIRST and their sponsorship of the annual conference banquet.

2018 Episode 7: Live from FIRST | Paresh Khetani, Head of Enterprise Solution Evangelist, TIME Malaysia

Mon, 30 Jul 2018 20:00:00 +0000

Each year, FIRST works with local teams to help locate an internet solutions provider willing to provide the conference with its own direct connectivity independent of the conference venue. This year with the championing of Cybersecurity Malaysia, FIRST was lucky enough to gain the support of TIME dotcom – one of Malaysia’s leading ISPs. Join the interview in progress as Chris chats with Paresh on the types of security challenges they face as an ISP and how they are planning for the future.

Making it mandatory to declare data breaches

Mon, 02 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

The Star — Malaysian newspaper The Star writes about the FIRST conference, data breach legislation, and quotes Gant Redmon of IBM Resilient and Datuk Dr Amirudin Abdul Wahab, CEO of Cybersecurity Malaysia.

The challenge of scaling up security for a whole country

Thu, 28 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Digital News Asia — An article about Martijn van der Heide of ThaiCERT, and his mission to secure a whole country through training, awareness, and developing support for critical infrastructure sectors via sectorial CERT teams. He presented his work at the 30th Annual FIRST Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The importance of cooperation during a security response

Wed, 27 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Digital News Asia – The article covers Ben Ridgway’s presentation at the 30th Annual FIRST Conference in Kuala Lumpur, discussing the importance of cooperation during a security incidents.

FIRST security conference opens in Malaysia with a record attendance

Wed, 27 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Digital News Asia — The 30th annual conference of The Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) began on June 26 in Malaysia, boasting a record-breaking 829 attendees from 79 countries, including 55 from Malaysia from both the private and public sector. The articles quotes our Chair, Thomas Schreck, Christopher Painter, keynote speaker and Commissioner, Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace and Datuk Dr Amirudin Abdul Wahab, CEO of Cybersecurity Malaysia.

A Communion of Cyber Security Incident Responders at the 30th Annual FIRST Conference

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Cybersecurity ASEAN – Cybersecurity ASEAN covered the 30th edition of our Annual Conference, quoting Chris Painter’s keynote on the importance of helping policymakers understand the work incident responders do.

2018 Episode 6: Jerry Bryant, Principal Security Program Manager, Microsoft Security Response Center

Thu, 21 Jun 2018 14:00:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress! Chris and Jerry discuss Microsoft’s involvement with FIRST over the past 15 years, new training materials, PSIRTs, threat information sharing, and more. Microsoft will be exhibiting at the 30th Annual FIRST Conference.

2018 Episode 5: Alex Maestretti and Swathi Joshi, Netflix…Learning from Chaos

Thu, 21 Jun 2018 13:00:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress! Chris and Martin interview the team from Netflix - Alex Maestretti (Security Intelligence and Response Team) and Swathi Joshi (Senior Technical Program Manager, SIRT). The duo will be presenting, “Learning from Chaos, Cloud and Scale: Netflix SIRT,” on 25 June @12:15 in the Sabah Ballroom.

2018 Episode 4: Chad Loeven, VP Sales & Marketing, VMRay

Wed, 20 Jun 2018 13:00:00 +0000

Join this week's interview in progress! Chris and Martin chat with Chad Loeven, VP of Sales & Marketing at VMRay. Chad talks VMRay, their mission, and why they got involved with FIRST and how it has become one of their favorite communities to be a part of. VMRay has been a supporter of the FIRST community and conference since 2016. Be sure to visit with them in the exhibit area.

FIRST releases 2017-2018 Annual Report

Tue, 19 Jun 2018 13:00:00 +0000

The Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams releases its second annual report, covering the scope of its activities from the 2017 conference in Puerto Rico, through its 2018 annual event in Kuala Lumpur.

2018 Episode 3: Tom Millar, Technical Advisor, Office of the Under Secretary, NPPD, DHS

Tue, 12 Jun 2018 21:00:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress featuring Tom Millar. Tom has been an active FIRST community member for years and is no stranger to the annual conference. This year, Tom will present on the following topics, “TLP to IEP Evolution: What, Why & How,” on 28 June and “Professionalizing the Field of Cybersecurity Incident Response,” on 29 June.

FIRST to hold its 30th Conference in Malaysia

Wed, 06 Jun 2018 23:00:00 +0000

This will mark the first time that the information safety organization brings the conference to Malaysia.

2018 Episode 2: Thomas Fischer – Don’t Ignore GDPR; It Matters Now!

Mon, 04 Jun 2018 13:00:00 +0000

May 28th has come and gone…Thomas Fischer, independent data protection advocate talks GDPR. How do you define personal data? Who is accountable? What is actionable and fineable? Join the interview in progress and be sure to join Thomas on Thursday, June 28th from 11:00-12:00 in the Management/Privacy Track for what is sure to be a lively discussion.

2018 Episode 1: Jeffrey Carpenter, 2018 Conference Program Chair

Thu, 24 May 2018 13:00:00 +0000

Let's get things rolling with this season's podcast series! Chris John Riley and Martin McKeay return as our hosts. Episode 1 features 2018 Program Chair, Jeffrey Carpenter. Jeff is Senior Director of Threat Intelligence and Incident Response Consulting at SecureWorks and has been an active member, supporter, and all-around various hat-wearer of FIRST over the years. Jeff talks program goals, session insights, and things to expect at this year's 30th anniversary celebration event.

FIRST releases inaugural annual report

Mon, 24 Jul 2017 15:00:00 +0000

The Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams releases inaugural annual report, covering the scope of its activities from the 2016 conference in Seoul, through its 2017 annual event in Puerto Rico.

FIRST strengthens global ties by partnering with regional security organizations

Thu, 15 Jun 2017 20:00:00 +0000

The Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams signs Memorandums of Understanding with GÉANT and OIC-CERT to enhance collaboration.

FIRST Kicks off its 29th Annual Conference

Mon, 12 Jun 2017 22:00:00 +0000

The event offers conferences, keynote presentations and activities designed to maximize network opportunities and information exchanges on information security and incident response.

2017 Episode 5: Alex Pinto, Chief Data Scientist at Niddel and lead of the MLSec Project

Tue, 06 Jun 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress! Martin chats with Alex Pinto, Chief Data Scientist at Niddel and lead of the MLSec Project on his upcoming presentation, “Beyond Matching: Applying Data Science Techniques to IOC-Based Detection.” Alex talks about the glamorous life of a data scientist and shares some of the key takeaways from his presentation. Alex presents on Monday, June 12 at 11:15-12:00.

2017 Episode 4: Ben Stock, Post-Doc researcher at CISPA, Saarland University

Mon, 05 Jun 2017 20:00:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress featuring Ben Stock, post-doc researcher at CISPA, Saarland University as he discusses the highlights of his research regarding vulnerability notification. Ben and his colleague Christian Rossow, Professor of IT Security at CISPA, Saarland University will be presenting, “Hey, You Have a Problem: On the Feasibility of Large-Scale Web Vulnerability Notification,” on Tuesday, June 13th at 11:45-12:15.

Puerto Rica será sede de un foro mundial de seguridad informática

Fri, 02 Jun 2017 18:57:00 +0000

El Nuevo Dia (Spanish) — El Nuevo Día writes about our announcement of holding the FIRST conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Over 700 security experts from 68 countries are expected to participate.

FIRST to hold its 29th Conference in Puerto Rico

Wed, 31 May 2017 23:00:00 +0000

This will mark the first time that the information safety organization brings the conference to the island and the Caribbean region.

2017 Episode 3: Lewis Philbey, Cyber-security Lead at Surevine

Wed, 31 May 2017 22:00:00 +0000

Join this week’s interview in progress as the guys talk TRUST. Lewis Philbey, Cyber-security Lead at Surevine shares his insight on issues that companies of all sizes face when sharing information. The guys also hit on some of the hurdles individuals new to the information security world face within group sharing and why organizations like FIRST exist to vet and foster trusted forums. Surevine is the official sponsor of the Sunday Ice Breaker Reception on June 11th. We’ll see you there!

2017 Episode 2: Chad Tilbury, Technical Director at CrowdStrike and Senior Instructor at the SANS Institute

Mon, 22 May 2017 18:00:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress featuring seasoned forensic investigator, Chad Tilbury. Chad is currently the Technical Director at CrowdStrike and a Senior Instructor at the SANS Institute. Windows credentials are arguably the largest vulnerability affecting the modern enterprise. Martin, Chris, and Chad talk common attacks, mitigation techniques, best practices, and what to attendees can expect to take away from Chad's workshop. Chad presents Monday, June 12 from 11:15-12:45 at the 29th Annual FIRST Conference at the Caribe Hilton, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

2017 Episode 1: Derrick Scholl, Director of the Security Incident Response Team at Juniper, FIRST BoD and 2017 Conference Liaison

Wed, 17 May 2017 13:50:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress! FIRST's official podcast team, Martin McKeay and Chris John Riley, are back! Martin and Chris kick off this year's series with FIRST Board of Director and 2017 Conference Liaison, Derrick Scholl. Amazing programming and new opportunities are abundant this year. Find out more about how you can make the most of your time at the 29th Annual FIRST Conference and what NOT to miss out.

FIRST releases twenty years of conference materials

Tue, 18 Apr 2017 13:00:00 +0000

The leading association of incident response and security teams publishes its repository of twenty years of incident response learnings.

Additional Programming Now Available!

Wed, 12 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000

In addition to the main conference programming, additional pre and post conference programming is now available for review. Please be sure to review as additional registration may be required for certain events/meetings.

Update on Hotel Block

Wed, 12 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Additional rooms have been added to the FIRST room block at the Caribe Hilton. Please act fast as these rooms will fill up.

Conference Standard Registration Expires April 26 - Don't Delay!

Wed, 12 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Standard registration rates for both members and non-members expires on Wednesday, April 26th — submit your registration today before the late rate kicks in. Learn more about conference registration here.

Conference Draft Agenda Posted!

Wed, 22 Feb 2017 19:00:00 +0000

The working draft of the 29th Annual FIRST Conference agenda has been posted. Please note that the agenda will be undergoing modifications over the next few weeks as we confirm our speakers. For any specific scheduling questions, please contact the planning team at first-2017@first.org.

Statement on FIRST events and the US Executive Order on Immigration

Tue, 31 Jan 2017 23:00:00 +0000

The FIRST Board of Directors recognizes and shares the concerns of members and event attendees about recent changes in US immigration policy. We believe global participation is a prerequisite to developing strong and successful responses to internet security issues.

The call for papers for FIRST 2017 closed on 1st December 2016

Fri, 02 Dec 2016 13:24:00 +0000

For the first time the call was not extended, as a satisfying number of submissions from around the world have been received in time. Actually we have a representation of over 40 countries. While the number of submissions is much higher and much diverse from the previous years there is also a considerable lower number of presentations from the US, showing that the incident response and security teams have really become international. This year's conference chair, Prof. Dr. Klaus-Peter Kossakowski, a long term veteran in the cyber security community and past chair of FIRST, is looking forward for a fruitful discussion within the Program Committee consisting of over 60 volunteers. The reviews will be carried within the next six weeks. He is confident that a very interesting program will be presented in early February 2017 to the public.

Call for Speakers for the 29th Annual FIRST Conference

Mon, 17 Oct 2016 22:34:00 +0000

The Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), a recognized global leader in incident response has released the Call for Speakers for the 29th Annual FIRST Conference to be held in Puerto Rico, June 11-17, 2017. The Program Committee is looking for presentations on leading-edge research, challenging discoveries, working solutions and established best practices already adopted by more than a single team. They also invite fresh ideas and challenges presented to the global community for discussion and consideration.

2016 Episode 9: AnubisNetworks Team Talks Asia-Pacific, Growth of Mobile

Thu, 28 Jul 2016 18:05:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress! The discussion dives into the very relevant issues that the AnubisNetworks team has been researching and fighting that have been arising out of the Asia-Pacific region. Chris chats with Joao Gouveia, CTO at AnubisNetworks and Nuno Vieira da Silva, Head of Sales at AnubisNetworks. AnubisNetworks has been a supporter and sponsor of the Annual FIRST Conference since 2015.

2016 Episode 8: Sharing is Caring - Alex Sierra and Alex Pinto of Niddel

Thu, 28 Jul 2016 18:00:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress! Martin chats with Alex Sierra, CTO of Niddel and Alex Pinto, Chief Data Scientist at Niddel about their presentation, "Sharing is Caring: Understanding and Measuring Sharing Effectiveness." This presentation was delivered at the 28th Annual FIRST Conference in Seoul, South Korea, June 13, 2016.

28th Annual FIRST Conference in Seoul

Thu, 30 Jun 2016 16:41:00 +0000

The Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), a recognized global leader in incident response has successfully finished its 28th Annual Conference, which takes place this June (12th – 18th) in Seoul, South Korea. Co-hosted by the MSIP (Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning), KISA (Korea Internet Security Agency) and KrCERT/CC, the conference was held at Conrad Seoul.

2016 Episode 7: A Global Perspective on Voluntary vs. Mandatory Information Sharing with Stuart Murdoch, Founder and CEO at Surevine

Thu, 09 Jun 2016 12:09:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress! Stuart Murdoch and Chris John Riley tackle the messy subject of breach disclosures and how different companies and countries are handling the information sharing process. Does mandating this type of information sharing actually reduce the amount of information being shared? What are the platforms/infrastructure available? Stuart is Founder and CEO of Surevine, an SME specializing in smart and secure collaboration technology. Surevine is the official sponsor of the Ice Breaker Reception at the 28th Annual FIRST Conference in Seoul, South Korea. Meet Surevine on Sunday evening, June 12th and then again Tuesday, June 14th-16th at FIRSTCON16.

2016 Episode 6: How to Discover Cyber Security Talents – Moataz Salah of CyberTalents

Thu, 09 Jun 2016 12:08:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress! Founder of Bluekaizen (a company focused on cyber security education), Moataz joins Chris Jon Riley to discuss the global issue facing organizations today – identifying and hiring skilled cyber security professionals. Moataz presents his full presentation on Wednesday, June 15th @ 16:00-16:30 at the 28th Annual FIRST Conference in Seoul, South Korea.

2016 Episode 5: Decade of Change: Tom Cignarella & David Lenoe from Adobe

Thu, 09 Jun 2016 12:07:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress! Tom and Dave give insights on their upcoming presentation focusing on the lessons learned along the way at Adobe and the landscape to come. Tom and Dave present on Tuesday, June 14th @ 13:00-14:30 at the 28th Annual FIRST Conference in Seoul, South Korea.

2016 Episode 4: Does It Pay to be Cyber-Insured? Featuring Marie Moe (SINTEF) and Eireann Leverett (Concinnity Risks)

Thu, 02 Jun 2016 15:23:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress! While cyber-insurance isn’t necessarily anything new, it has emerged as a hot topic amongst the C-suite and those in charge of mitigating corporate risk in recent years. Marie and Eireann discuss their thoughts and research on the area of cyber-insurance, real-life cases, and why CERTs should be collaborating with insurance companies. Join Marie and Eireann for their full presentation at FIRST 2016 Seoul on Tuesday, June 14th at 15:00.

2016 Episode 3: An Interview with Jason Jones from Arbor Networks

Thu, 26 May 2016 14:40:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress! This week’s podcast features Jason Jones, Senior Security Researcher for Arbor Networks’ ASERT team. Jason talks a little bit about his current research at Arbor that focuses on issues in South Korea as well as his upcoming presentation at FIRST 2016, “Tasty Malware Analysis with T.A.C.O.: Bringing Cuckoo Metadata into IDA Pro.” Jason presents on Monday, June 13th at 17:00.

2016 Episode 2: Art Manion and Chris King, CERT/CC | Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure for Vendors

Wed, 18 May 2016 22:13:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress! Art and Chris discuss their upcoming tutorial session at FIRST 2016, “Coordinate Vulnerability Disclosure for Vendors.” Their upcoming session is aimed to help vendors, providers, and CSIRTs grow their capability to handle vulnerability reports from external researchers. Art and Chris are both members of the Vulnerability Analysis Team at CERT/CC. Check their session on Monday, June 13 at 13:00 at the 28th Annual FIRST Conference.

South Korea’s Adviser in Cyber Security to open 28th Annual FIRST Conference in Seoul

Tue, 17 May 2016 19:00:00 +0000

The Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), a recognized global leader in incident response, has announced the line-up for its 28th Annual Conference, which takes place this June (12th – 18th) in Seoul, South Korea.

2016 Episode 1: Koichiro ‘Sparky’ Komiyama, Conference Liaison 2016

Tue, 10 May 2016 17:37:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress! FIRST’s podcast duo of Martin McKeay and Chris John Riley sit down with Sparky Komiyama (JPCERT/CC) and talk about his role as conference liaison, some hints on the annual banquet dinner, and what to expect in Seoul. Gain insights in to the upcoming conference program, keynotes, and some presentations that Sparky is looking forward to hearing at the 28th Annual FIRST Conference, June 12-17, 2016 in Seoul, South Korea.

FIRST room block at the Conrad Seoul has reached capacity

Wed, 04 May 2016 19:44:00 +0000

If you would still like to stay on property, please send an email to first-2016@first.org with your name, arrival date, departure date, and Hilton Honors # (if applicable). The hotel will do their best to offer their next best available rate to our participants.

The Program for the 2016 conference is now live

Wed, 06 Apr 2016 18:07:00 +0000

Call for Speakers Notification Delayed to February 25

Thu, 11 Feb 2016 14:29:00 +0000

Due to the record high number of submissions this year, the review process is running slightly behind schedule. We appreciate your patience and hope to issue notifications February 25, 2016. For questions regarding your submission, please contact the Program Chair at first-2016chair@first.org.

Extended Deadline for FIRST 2016 Call for Speakers - December 31st!

Mon, 21 Dec 2015 15:41:00 +0000

28th Annual FIRST Conference: Getting to the Soul of Incident Response - June 12-17, 2016 | Seoul, Korea - Call for Papers Extended to 31 December!

2015 Episode 7: Live from FIRST 2015, Sponsor Highlight – Ray Stanton, Executive VP, BT Advise

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 15:42:00 +0000

Recorded live from the 27th Annual FIRST Conference in Berlin, Germany. Martin and Chris chat with long-time supporter of the FIRST community and annual conference, Ray Stanton about the growth of the organization, attendee profiles, and what to expect next. Ray is Executive Vice President with BT Advise and has more than 27 years or experience in information technology and security.

2015 Episode 6: Live from FIRST 2015, Sponsor Highlight with Ulf Feger, CSO, Huawei Germany

Mon, 29 Jun 2015 17:25:00 +0000

Recorded live from the 27th Annual FIRST Conference in Berlin, Germany. Martin and Chris chat with Ulf Feger, CSO of Huawei Germany to gain a better understanding of why organizations like Huawei sponsor and support FIRST’s incident response community.

2015 Episode 5: Live from FIRST 2015, An Interview with Mikko Hypponen

Fri, 26 Jun 2015 14:47:00 +0000

Recorded live from the 27th Annual FIRST Conference in Berlin, Germany. Martin and Chris interview keynote and long-time supporter of the FIRST community, Mikko Hypponen, Chief Risk Officer, F-Secure. Mikko presented, “Securing Our Future,” on Tuesday, June 16th.

Unified Security – Improving the Future

Thu, 18 Jun 2015 03:00:00 +0000

800 IT security experts gather at international FIRST Conference in the German capital

2015 Episode 4: Interview with Seth Hanford, Update on CVSS

Tue, 09 Jun 2015 15:02:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress featuring Seth Hanford, Manager of the Detection & Response Team at TIAA-CREF and chair of the CVSS Special Interest Group (SIG). Hear the latest updates on the specification and what to expect during conference week. Seth will be leading the CVSS v3 Hands-on Training session on Wednesday, June 17th at 10:30. There is also a scheduled CVSS Birds of a Feather session set for Monday, June 15th at 11am.

2015 Episode 3: Interview with Jake Kouns, “Bring Your Own Internet of Things”

Thu, 04 Jun 2015 22:41:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress featuring Jake Kouns of Risk Based Security. Coffee machines, HVAC systems… What are the present-day issues facing enterprise corporations as more and more of our daily devices become connected? Jake gives some brief insight on his upcoming presentation at FIRST 2015. Jake and co-presenter, Carsten Eiram (Risk Based Security) present, “Bring Your Own Internet of Things,” Tuesday, June 16th at 14:45.

2015 Episode 2: Interview with Dr. Marie Moe and Eireann Leverett - I’m Sorry to Inform You…

Thu, 28 May 2015 20:30:00 +0000

Join our interview in progress featuring Marie Moe and Eireann Leverett. Marie and Eireann discuss their upcoming presentation, “I’m Sorry to Inform You…,” focusing on last summer’s spear-phishing attacks on Norwegian Oil, Gas, and Energy sectors and the challenges of victim notification. “I’m Sorry to Inform You…,” is scheduled for Monday, June 15th at 13:00.’

2015 Episode 1: 2015 Program Chair, Robert Floodeen & Conference Liaison/Board Member, Derrick Scholl

Wed, 20 May 2015 17:42:00 +0000

Kicking it off with key 2015 players – Conference Liaison and Board Member, Derrick Scholl and 2015 Program Chair, Rob Floodeen. Gain insight on the creative process behind assembling and identifying conference content and the challenges of chairing a FIRST conference. Learn about our local hosts, events, and what to expect this June. *Please note that since the recording, there have been several program and keynote changes. For the latest program agenda, please be sure to view https://www.first.org/conference/2015/program.

Germany’s Federal Government Commissioner for Information Technology opens 27th Annual FIRST conference in Berlin

Wed, 15 Apr 2015 20:42:00 +0000

Cornelia Rogall-Grothe, State Secretary and Federal Government Commissioner for Information Technology at Germany's Federal Ministry of the Interior, will open the conference which this year focuses on the theme of Unified Security: Improving the Future.

FIRST Welcomes Two New Gold Sponsors – NC4 and AIRBUS

Wed, 18 Mar 2015 16:58:00 +0000

FIRST would like to welcome two new sponsors of the annual conference – NC4 and AIRBUS Defense & Space. Both organizations are joining the sponsorship team at the Gold level.

Hotel Early Bird Rate Extended to Coincide with Registration Early Bird – April 10th

Mon, 16 Mar 2015 18:47:00 +0000

We are happy to announce that the InterContinental Berlin has kindly extended the Early Bird hotel rate offer from April 1st to April 10th to coincide with our registration Early Bird offer. Please visit the Hotel Information page for more information and to book your lodging.

General Dynamics Fidelis Cybersecurity Solutions Renews Gold Sponsorship

Thu, 04 Dec 2014 12:50:00 +0000

FIRST is thrilled to announce the return of General Dynamics Fidelis Cybersecurity Solutions as a Gold Sponsor for 2015. The organization has been proudly supporting the annual FIRST conference and community since 2011. We look forward to having their team with us in Berlin.

Security Threat Landscape: June 2014 - Report from FIRST

Fri, 05 Sep 2014 17:05:00 +0000

Fortinet's Derek Manky joins Keith Shaw live in Boston to discuss happenings at the FIRST conference and chat about Internet of Things security.

2014 Episode 8: Live from FIRST2014 – “Using Anthropology to Study Security Incident Response”

Wed, 16 Jul 2014 15:07:00 +0000

Join the interview in progress featuring Raj Rajagopalan, Senior Principal Research Scientist at Honeywell; Simon Ou, Associate Professor of Computer Science at Kansas State University; and Dan Moor, Technical Lead, Digital Investigation Services at HP. Listen to the trio discuss the study, how they came up with the idea, and the importance of their findings in this ongoing study. The three presented their findings on June 25th at the 2014 FIRST Conference in Boston.

2014 Episode 7: Live from FIRST2014 – Holly Stewart, Microsoft

Fri, 27 Jun 2014 16:37:00 +0000

Join our interview in progress featuring Holly Stewart, Senior Program Manager at the MMPC. Recorded live from the 26th Annual FIRST Conference in Boston, MA. Holly presented on Wednesday, June 25th on the “MMPC’s Coordinated Malware Eradication.”

2014 Episode 6: Live from FIRST2014 – Eugene Spafford

Thu, 26 Jun 2014 15:18:00 +0000

Join our interview in progress, live from the 26th Annual FIRST Conference in Boston, MA. Chris and Martin spend some quality time with the renowned Eugene Spafford of Purdue University.

2014 Episode 5: “Pass-the-Hash” – Tim Slaybaugh, Forensic/Malware Analyst, Northrup Grumman

Tue, 17 Jun 2014 16:36:00 +0000

Join our interview in progress featuring Tim Slaybaugh, Forensic/Malware Analyst at Northrup Grumman as he gives us some insight into his presentation, “Pass-the-Hash: Gaining Root Access to Your Network” at the 26th Annual FIRST Conference. Tim has presented at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and often speaks at national and international conferences on current topics in computer forensic analysis. Tim presents on June 24th 10-11:00 in the Terrace Ballroom at the Boston Park Plaza.

2014 Episode 4: Art Manion, Member of the Vulnerability & Analysis Team, CERT/CC – SEI

Thu, 05 Jun 2014 14:27:00 +0000

Join our interview in progress featuring Art Manion of CERT/CC. Art discusses his research findings, the trend of bug bounties, responsible disclosure and where he sees vulnerability markets going in the next 12-months. Art is a member of the vulnerability & analysis team at CERT where he analyzes, coordinates, and discloses vulnerabilities. He presents, “A Survey of Vulnerability Markets,” Thursday, June 26th at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel.

2014 Episode 3: Ken van Wyk, FIRST Steering Committee & 2014 Conference Liaison

Thu, 29 May 2014 20:21:00 +0000

Join our interview in progress featuring FIRST Steering Committee member and 2014 Conference Liaison, Ken van Wyk. Learn some fun facts about FIRST firsts and the importance of this year’s theme to reflect on our past in order to move forward. Ken is an internationally recognized information security expert, author and one of the founders of the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT). He has also served as Chairman of FIRST.Org.

2014 Episode 2: Seth Hanford, Manager, Threat Research Analysis and Communications, Cisco

Tue, 20 May 2014 12:59:00 +0000

Do you use CVSS; are you new to CVSS? Chris chats with Seth Hanford, Manager of Cisco’s Threat Research Analysis and Communications about the rollout of CVSS v3, the lessons learned and improvements made since the release of v2 and what to expect at the conference. The Common Vulnerability Scoring System assists incident responders through standard characteristic classification and severity scoring for software vulnerabilities. Seth presents on Monday, June 23rd at 11:00-12:00 in the Imperial Ballroom.

2014 Episode 1: Getting Back to the Roots…Jeff Boerio, 2014 Program Chair, FIRST.Org

Mon, 12 May 2014 11:44:00 +0000

Welcome back! Martin and Chris kick off our 2014 podcast series with this year’s Program Chair, Jeff Boerio of Intel. Gain insight into the program planning process, the roles and responsibilities of the program committee and find out what’s in store for attendees this June. Jeff is a Senior Information Security Specialist at Intel and has been a long-time supporter of FIRST. He has volunteered his time year-after-year as a member of the program committee and finally stepped up the challenge as chair for 2014.

New Gold Sponsors – Lookingglass & CyberSponse

Fri, 11 Apr 2014 21:53:00 +0000

FIRST would like to welcome two new sponsors to the 2014 Sponsorship Team: Lookingglass (www.lgscout.com) and CyberSponse (www.cybersponse.com). Both organizations are joining us at the Gold level and will be exhibiting during conference week.

Sponsor Update: Welcome Adobe and Co3 Systems!

Wed, 09 Apr 2014 22:29:00 +0000

FIRST would like to welcome back Adobe to the FIRST 2014 Sponsorship Team. Adobe has been a sponsor of FIRST since 2010 Miami. New to the team for 2014 is Co3 Systems with a Banquet sponsorship. This is their first time sponsoring at the annual conference.