Beating Urban Overload at ISC West

How to stay focused, evaluate solutions, and get real value

by David Feeney, CPP, PSP, CISSP, PMP

To stay focused and get real value from large-scale events like ISC West and GSX, here are four practical strategies to keep Urban Overload at bay.

1. Before the conference, identify the organizational challenges you are trying to resolve.

Some attendees walk the show floor aisle by aisle to “see what’s out there” or to learn about emerging solutions simply for the sake of awareness. In an already overstimulating environment, that approach can generate a lot of distracting noise.

Instead, identify your top organizational challenges before the conference. Once those priorities are clear, use the conference exhibitor lists (here for ISC West and here for GSX) to research which vendors might be relevant, rather than starting with the vendors and working backward.

On the show floor, stay focused on solving those specific problems. Rather than asking booth staff, “What do you do?” or “Do you have <insert solution>?,” describe your challenge and ask how their company would approach it. Assess your confidence in their ability to address your needs, then move on and repeat the process with other vendors.

By the end of the conference, you should have more than just information. You should have a short list of solution providers you are confident can help.

2. Don’t contract S.O.S (Shiny Object Syndrome).

It’s easy to get caught up when a product you’re looking at is cool, slick, impressive, polished, etc. There is a part of everyone that wants that shiny new object, but that shouldn’t drive decision-making. If you look at a product and get the same feeling as when you see a Bugatti, step back and ask yourself these questions:

• What current active problem does this solve for your organization?
• Did you know you had that problem before you met the provider of this solution?
• Does it do any/all of the following for you? If not, is it really a “solution” for you?
  i. Improve processes
  ii. Enhance capabilities
  iii. Provide reliable, corroborated, actionable data/intel

3. Know that not all problems can or should be solved with AI.

You have surely heard plenty about security applications of artificial intelligence in recent years and months (and maybe even the last 30 minutes). And you may have heard the Abraham Maslow quote (paraphrased), “if your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.”

All of that together leads to a possibly controversial conclusion: Not all problems should be solved with AI. Reduce manual documentation effort? Absolutely. Enhance my video capabilities? Great. Prioritize my assets and risks? No thank you. Asset and risk prioritization involves significant nuance, context, ambiguity, and variables – all of which can be problematic for AI. Prioritization of assets and risks is also upstream from most security decisions, so any errors or omissions can cascade throughout your security operations.

4. Don’t forget about education!

With more than 500 exhibitors each at ISC West and ASIS GSX, it is easy to lose track of the slate of educational sessions. ISC West’s extended educational schedule is now four days to accommodate over 140 sessions, including five Infragard sessions on the Tuesday schedule. Education tracks include Leadership, AI, Risk Management, Identity, Cyber, Data Center Security, and more. For GSX, the educational slate will be announced later this year.

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