Author: rvasadmin

RVA5ec After Party–Register Now!

May 19, 2016
Announcement

 

after-party---Anomali_Logo_BlackBlue-RGB-transThe RVAsec after party hosted by Anomali and GuidePoint Security will be at District 5 on Thursday, June 2nd, following the conference. It’s just a few blocks from VCU, so head over after the conference for some cocktails and food!
after-party - GPSLogoNoTagLine-trans

Note that wrist-bands will be required for access to the room & bar, which can be retrieved at the door or at RVA5ec through one of the Anomali or GuidePoint representatives. You must pre-register or register on site.


District 5
1911 W Main St.
Richmond, VA 23220
district5rva.com

Click here to register!

Badges: Hack.RVA At It Again!

May 12, 2016
BadgesConference

We are very pleased that Hack.RVA will be the masterminds behind our badges once again!  They have been with us since the very beginning and this makes it the 5th conference in a row. We know just how much work is involved with this project and we are privileged to have their creations at our conference!

We recently spoke with Morgan Stuart and Paul Bruggeman about the badges:

(RVAsec) The badges have always been a huge hit at RVAsec. Can you tell us a little about the badges and the process over the years?

For us, the goal of the RVAsec badge has always been to make something that gets the conference goers talking and engaging with each other. That means puzzles, games, and usually some way to screw with each other.

This year, like the past years, the badges have all been built by hand, right here in RVA by a bunch of crazy HackRVA members. We start from bare copper boards, etch out our custom design, place surface-mount parts, hand-solder through-hole components, and flash them with our own firmware. This removes any manufacturing cost, which frees up some green to stuff the board with cool features and components. It also gives the badges a unique look that you won’t find anywhere else.

This will be the fourth RVAsec badge that Paul and I have organized out of HackRVA, and each year we try and find ways to improve on the end result. It’s been challenging, but everyone is proud of the progress we make each year. We’ll have all the past year’s badges on display at our booth, so newcomers and nostalgia-seekers should come check it out.

(RVAsec) What are the plans for the badges this year?  What are the new features?

We really liked last year’s hardware, and felt that the design could stick around at least one more year. Still, we reworked the layout quite a bit to help prevent the hardware failures we were seeing and improve some of the functionality. Since we didn’t have to redesign the hardware from scratch, or implement drivers for new components, we could procrastinate bit more on the whole project. In all seriousness, we’ve used the extra time to involve more people and start thinking a little bigger with software. We have a lot more people cranking out code, including some special attention to power management. We’re looking forward to the inevitable commit/merge frenzy in the final days.

(RVAsec) How is the badge build process going this year?

We’ve etched, placed parts, and performed an initial QC on over 350 Badges. Now we’re soldering on the final through hole components and doing a more thorough QC pass on every board.

(RVAsec) It was rumored the badges played a part in the CTF last year.  Can you tell us more?

It wasn’t a secret – last year we had a wide range of challenges for people to complete on the badge that would net them points in the conference CTF. Difficulty ranged from following simple instructions within the badge’s menu, to parsing through the raw firmware, to decoding low-frequency serial transmissions. And yes, there will be more badge CTF challenges this year!

(RVAsec) If someone wanted to hack them, what would they need to do?

The badges will again have standard USB, which can be used to re-flash the firmware or even call many of the core routines.

(RVAsec) Can you give attendees any other hints about the badges?

We’ve always enjoyed adding some nostalgia-factors to the badge, and this year will be no different. Also, this year’s badges should match almost any outfit…

(RVAsec) Anything else?

Obviously Paul and I are not doing this alone, we’ve had amazing help from some very dedicated volunteers out of HackRVA. We start in the fall with hour-long meetings each week and we slowly ramp up to 4 hour build sessions in the spring. It’s quite the commitment and support grows every year. Quick shout-out to some of those that have been contributing:

  • Jon Lundquist

  • Alan Ford

  • Lloyd Flanagan

  • Jason Phillips

  • Allison Sands

  • Thad Martin

  • Eli Woods

  • Giovanni Viscardi

  • Charles Nelson

We are very excited to see the badges this year and know RVA5sec attendees will love them again!

If you have time to visit one of their Thursday night Open Houses that occur every week, like tonight, you should go check them out!

RVA5ec Schedule Now Posted!

May 12, 2016
AnnouncementConference

schedule_clipartThe full schedule for the RV5sec 2016 conference is now published!

With the huge success of last year we have kept things pretty consistent for 2016.

Registration & breakfast start at 8 AM on Thursday, June 4th and end at 6 PM (followed by the after party).

Registration and breakfast start again at 8 AM Friday, June 5th and end at 4 PM, followed immediately by the closing reception at VCU.

For the full details and times for specific talks, please see the schedule page.

Trey Ford to Keynote RVAsec!

May 11, 2016
AnnouncementConference

Trey Ford - low res - cropped-TIGHTERWe are pleased to announce that Trey Ford will be keynoting RVA5ec!

Trey Ford is a security executive, industry strategist and research advocate. Over the last 15 years, Trey ran Black Hat events worldwide as General Manager, and provided services ranging from global security strategy, incident response, product management, PCI QSA and security engineering for a variety for industry leaders including Rapid7, Zynga, McAfee, FishNet Security and WhiteHat Security.

Virginia Secretary of Technology, Karen R. Jackson to Keynote RVAsec!

May 10, 2016
AnnouncementConference

Karen Jackson Pic

We are pleased to announce that Karen Jackson will be keynoting RVA5ec!

Karen Jackson serves as the Secretary of Technology for the Commonwealth.  Prior to her appointment, she served as the Commonwealth’s Deputy Secretary of Technology and Vice President of Broadband Programs for the Center for Innovative Technology.

Ms. Jackson serves as a senior advisor to the Governor on technology matters including innovation, data analytics, telecommunications, cybersecurity, and unmanned systems.  She is also responsible for overseeing the Commonwealth’s IT infrastructure.

As Secretary, she is responsible for policy and legislative initiatives as well as developing programs to facilitate innovation, entrepreneurship, technology development and adoption. Ms. Jackson also serves as the Virginia lead for the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP) and co-chair of the Virginia Cybersecurity Commission.

Ms. Jackson has been actively engaged in the federal policy initiatives including the development of the National Broadband Plan. She received a 2009 IP3 award from Public Knowledge for her work in information policy, and was named to Government Technology’s 2010 list of the top 25 Doers, Dreamers, and Drivers.  She was recently named to The Governing Institute Women in Government Leadership Program Class of 2015.

Ms. Jackson serves on a number of Boards including the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the Center for Innovative Technology, and serves as Governor McAuliffe’s representative to the FCC’s Intergovernmental Advisory Committee.

She holds a bachelor’s of science in business management from Christopher Newport University and a master’s of business administration from The College of William and Mary.

Hotel Block: More Rooms Added!

May 3, 2016
AnnouncementHotel

We were able to get more rooms added to the hotel block!  If you need a room please do not wait and book now!

RVAsec has reserved a block of rooms at the Crowne Plaza for out of town guests. The rate is $121/night (which does NOT include parking).

You can either book online or call the hotel.

When you call (855-472-7802) the hotel please tell mention the block “RV3” to get the special rate.

  • Secure your reservation by 5/19/16 to ensure receiving the group rate
  • Discounted parking rate of $10.00 per car, per night.
  • Please note that the Booking Link will not work on a smartphone

 

Crowne Plaza Richmond Downtown
555 East Canal Street, Richmond VA 23219
800-2CROWNE

More details can be found on the Hotel page.

 

Ticket Prices Go Up On 4/21!

April 19, 2016
AnnouncementConference

Tickets for RV45ec are now on sale!

RV4sec’s base ticket price for 2015 is $150 and will be in place on 3/1–so don’t wait! And if that’s not enough incentive to purchase your tickets early, late registrations (after 4/21) will be $225!

Don’t forget all the things you get with registration, including 2 full days of talks, meals, snacks, drinks, reception, after party, prizes, a capture the flag contest, t-shirt & swag!

Once we sell out there will be no more tickets available.

So, to recap the conference prices:

  • $150 regular price until 4/20
  • $225 late registration until 5/26
  • $350 super late registration until 6/1

 

If you are unable to attend due to the price, please contact us to discuss as we do have stipends available and volunteer opportunities are a great way to get in for free! Once again there will be no tickets sold at the door, and don’t forget that RV4sec has sold out every year–so don’t wait!

Register now!

Hotel Information – Book now!

April 19, 2016
AnnouncementConference

RVAsec has reserved a block of rooms at the Crowne Plaza for out of town guests. The rate is $121/night (which does NOT include parking).

You can either book online or call the hotel.

When you call (855-472-7802) the hotel please tell mention the block “RV3” to get the special rate.

  • Secure your reservation by 5/2/16 to ensure receiving the group rate
  • Discounted parking rate of $10.00 per car, per night.
  • Please note that the Booking Link will not work on a smartphone

 

Crowne Plaza Richmond Downtown
555 East Canal Street, Richmond VA 23219
800-2CROWNE



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If for any reason you are unable to get the RVAsec rate or the block of rooms has been filled, please let us know so we can contact the hotel!

Once the block is full or expires we are not able to have it extended.

Make sure you check out information on getting to the conference.

RVA5ec 2016 Speakers Announced

April 15, 2016
AnnouncementConference

We had a lot of great submissions to the CFP this year!  It was extremely hard but we’ve managed to whittle it down to another great lineup for RVA5ec.

Without further delay, here are the speakers for the 2016 RVA5ec conference!

Wendy Nather (Keynote)
Andrew Hay Steve Christey
Ben Smith Andrew McNicol
Evan Johnson Juan Carlos
Brenton Kohler Troy Wojewoda
Chris Romeo Mark Weatherford
Rockie Brockway David Sirrine
Joey Peloquin Dawn-Marie Hutchinson
Michelle Schafer & Tim Wilson
Inga Goddijn & Becky Swanson
Caleb “chill” Crable & Evan “detro” Keiser

 

For detailed information about the speakers and their talks please see rvasec.com/speakers/

Thank you to everyone who submitted a proposal to the CFP–the review team had to make some tough decisions and we appreciate all the time and hard work that went into submitting.

We look forward to seeing you soon!