Dr. Herbert “Hugh” Thompson is Chief Security Strategist at People Security (www.peoplesecurity.com) and a world-renown expert in application security. He has co-authored four books on the topic including, How to Break Software Security: Effective Techniques for Security Testing (with Dr. James Whittaker, published by Addison-Wesley, 2003), and The Software Vulnerability Guide (with Scott Chase, published by Charles River 2005). In 2006 he was named one of the “Top 5 Most Influential Thinkers in IT Security” by SC Magazine. As Chief Security Strategist at People Security he heads the company’s security education program and also directs research projects for some of the world’s largest corporations. He earned his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics and is an adjunct professor of Computer Science at Columbia University in New York. Hugh has recently been named as the Chairman of the Program Committee for RSA Conference 2010.

 

 

What are the forces that drive maturity in the underground cyber economy and is there a tie to our current economic state of affairs?  Why is the underground economy continuing to expand at a much quicker pace that countermeasures can be devised? What are some of the financial benefits that drive this maturation and pace?  Who are those perpetrating the crimes?  What does cyber terrorism have to do with the underground economy.  Why can they innovate so much faster than we do and is there something to be learned from their methods?

Hugh Thompson and Jeff Bardin will explore the forces behind the underground cyber economy taking an unusual look at some of the characters and tactics they take.