Global Security Leaders Convene at FIRSTCON to Address Critical Infrastructure Threats

FIRSTCON is an annual event recognized as one of the top 19 information security conferences by TripWire. This year, the conference saw a record-breaking attendance of nearly 1,050 in-person and virtual computer incident response leaders and teams from around the world, united in their mission to bridge security response gaps and make the internet a safer place.

The conference served as a crucial platform for the global technology community to share goals, ideas, and information on protecting Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) and improving cybersecurity worldwide. Attendees gained deeper insights into how countries can work more closely with one another to establish trust, share information, and collaborate in the face of evolving cyber threats.

"The record-breaking attendance and depth of expertise shared at FIRSTCON 2024 underscore the critical importance of international collaboration in protecting our interconnected digital world. As we face increasingly sophisticated threats to critical national infrastructure, the insights and strategies developed here will play a crucial role in shaping our collective defense against global cyber threats," said Chris Gibson, CEO, FIRST.

Key speakers and their topics included:

• Satoshi Okada and Takuho Mitsunaga of Toyo University, Japan: Discussed the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration in AI Governance, highlighting the need for inclusive and diverse perspectives in AI development and implementation.

• Merisa Lee of Cisco Meraki: Emphasized the importance of improving communication between IT teams and senior leadership to better protect organizations from cyber threats.

• Luca Morgese Zangrandi of TNO (Netherlands) and Vasileios Mavroeidis of the University of Oslo: Highlighted the importance of information sharing in defense strategies, introducing the CACAO (Collaborative Automated Course of Action Operations) method for improved collaboration across organizational boundaries.

The conference underscored the critical need for regular international meetings, joint training exercises, and simulations to develop coordinated defense strategies against global cyber threats. It also emphasized the importance of collaboration between public and private sectors in protecting CNI.

Christine Hoepers was also inducted into FIRST's prestigious Incident Response Hall of Fame, which celebrates individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the global incident response community. Hoepers is the first woman to join a distinguished group of past inductees.

Ends

Issued on behalf of FIRST. For further information please contact FIRST Press.

About FIRST

FIRST aspires to bring together incident response and security teams from every country across the world to ensure a safe internet for all. Founded in 1990, the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) consists of internet emergency response teams from over 715 corporations, government bodies, universities and other institutions across more than 100 countries in the Americas, Asia, Europe, Africa, and Oceania. For more information and to see the full calendar of events, visit: FIRST.Org.

Connect with FIRST on social media via GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, Meta, X and YouTube.

Conference Sponsors

Local Host: JPCERT/CC; Diamond Sponsors: CyCraft, LAC, NISC; Platinum Sponsors: Amazon, Cisco, Internet Initiative Japan (IJJ), Stairwell; Gold Sponsors: Bitdefender, Deloitte Tohmatsu Cyber LLC, PwC; Our Welcome Reception Sponsor: Adobe; Our Monday Sponsor Showcase Sponsor: Silent Push; Our Conference Internet Sponsor: QTNet; Silver Sponsors: Censys, Corelight, Fortinet; Bronze Sponsors: Machina Record, NRD Cyber Security, NTT Data, OTRS, Prelude, SentinelOne, Sygnia, TeamT5; Exhibitors: Arctic Security, CTM360, SANS, Threatray, Thinkst Canary; Capture the Flag Support: Shield eXtreme Co.; Challenge Coin Sponsor: Hitachi; Champion Sponsors: AironWorks, Apura; Lanyard Sponsor: CIRCL; and FIRST Partner: OASIS Open.

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