San Francisco Moscone Center sees 40,000 people for cybersecurity-focused RSA Conference

The annual RSA Conference, with its massive gathering of cybersecurity experts and entrepreneurs, has once again drawn over 40,000 people from 130 countries to the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

This year’s conference brings together the boldest and brightest minds in cybersecurity, featuring guest speaker and tech founder Casey Ellis.

Ellis, a professional hacker and creator of tech company Bugcrowd, focuses on improving the security of programs like election systems and aviation systems, making them hack-proof.

“Essentially what we do is we take all the people that hack computers in good faith, so the good version of hackers — locksmiths, not burglars, in that sense — from all around the world, and connect them with security problems that need to be solved,” he said.

Themes highlighted at this year’s RSA conference include burnout, risk management, and the fast developments around AI.

Casey emphasized the importance of prioritizing security efforts amidst rapid innovation.

 “You know the speed of progress, in general, is the biggest kind of threat across all sectors at this point and time,” Casey said. “There’s such a pressure to innovate and get new tech out into the market. You know haste is kind of the natural enemy of making good decisions that reduce risk.”

Regarding concerns about safety in the Bay Area and discussions about alternative locations, Linda Gray Martin, the SVP of the conference, expressed confidence in San Francisco as the secure and ideal location for the annual gathering.

“You know we’ve been in SF for the past 33 years. We often say it’s in our DNA. I mean it really is a great location for us; it’s in the heart of Silicon Valley. It’s in the heart of the technology industry.”

Casey Ellis, who established his company in the Bay Area over a decade ago, shares the sentiment that the cybersecurity conference belongs in San Francisco. He views it as a sort of homecoming.

“It’s how it’s always been. I think there’s an element of, ‘This is my hometown conference.’ It almost feels like a homecoming-con, because over the years of building Bugcrowd here, all of the folk that I’ve worked with, this is kind of a meeting point for everyone, so I kind of love that aspect of it.”

Thirty-three years later, the RSA Conference remains a meeting point for the global technology community, firmly anchored in the city by the bay.