This document summarizes the history and future of BSidesJackson, an annual information security conference in Jackson, Mississippi. It discusses how the conference was started in 2012 by Chris Sistrunk and has grown each year since. Key points include how the conference is organized by volunteers, its growth in attendance from 67 to over 350 people, and changing venues over the 6 years. The document encourages continued community involvement to keep the conference strong and help Mississippi's information security community grow.

1. A STORY ABOUT A
CONFERENCE
CHRIS SISTRUNK
BSIDESJACKSON 2017

2. ABOUT ME
Chris Sistrunk
• BSidesJackson founder and organizer from 2012-2016
• Principal Consultant, FireEye – Industrial Control Systems
• Miss-placed Louisianan
• #sockstatus
• #DJaaS

3. A STORY ABOUT A CONFERENCE
• Past
• Present
• Future
2012 2017

4. WHAT IS BSIDES?
“Each BSides is a community-driven framework for building events for and by
information security community members. The goal is to expand the spectrum of
conversation beyond the traditional confines of space and time. It creates
opportunities for individuals to both present and participate in an intimate
atmosphere that encourages collaboration. It is an intense event with discussions,
demos, and interaction from participants. It is where conversations for the next-big-
thing are happening.” - http://www.securitybsides.com
The first Security BSides was BSidesLasVegas July 29-30th, 2009.

5. BSIDES IS KINDA LIKE UBER …IT’S THE CONFERENCE
THAT COMES TO YOU

6. HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE BEEN TO
BSIDESJACKSON?
• First time?
• Two
• Three
• Four
• Five
• ALL SIX

7. LET’S START A SECURITY CONFERENCE…SHALL WE?
• I had heard of Blackhat and DEF CON, but had never been
• Twitter told me about this new un-conference that people were organizing locally
• I had some spare time, so why not?

8. WHAT DOES IT TAKE?
• INSANE (see previous slide) or
dedicated
• Create Sponsorship Package Document
• Find Sponsors
• Find Venue
• Call For Papers
• Find Keynote
• Find Volunteers
• Create or Find someone to do Logos
• Design T-shirts
• Update BSides Website
• Tweet - Twitter
• Review Bank Account
• Tons of day before/day of stuff

9. 6 YEARS & 3 MONTHS AGO

10. 6 YEARS & 3 MONTHS AGO

11. TWITTER

12. 2012 – MISSISSIPPI’S FIRST INFOSEC CONFERENCE
The 67th overall Security BSides event (worldwide).

14. Pics by Scotty Polston -

15. 2013 – HACKS IN JACKSON

17. 2014 – FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT

19. 2015 – WE ARE BSIDESJACKSON

21. 2016 – NO. 5

23. DISCUSSION ABOUT PAST BSIDESJACKSONS
• Anyone have a favorite moment?
• Favorite talk?
• Make new friends?

24. ATTENDANCE

25. THE STORY NOW
• Past
• Present
• Future
2012 2017

26. A CHANGE

27. BSIDESJACKSON 2017
• This would not happen without Don Ehrhardt!!!
• A great conference in store
• 11 MORE TALKS
• 13 speakers
• Chick-Fil-A

28. 6 YEARS
4 VENUES
44 SPEAKERS
25 SPONSORS
368+ PARTICIPANTS

29. CONTINUE THE STORY
• Past
• Present
• Future
2012 2017

30. FUTURE
• Keep BSidesJackson going strong
• Mississippi needs to grow the infosec community
• At your company, in your area, and at the State level
• Meetups, other events or groups like ASIS International, InfraGard

31. OPEN DISCUSSION ABOUT BSIDESJACKSON 2018+
• Are you enjoying BSides?
• What topics?
• What venue?
• Is November still a good month?
• What else?
• WE NEED YOU AND YOUR AWESOME IDEAS!

32. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
@chrissistrunk
@BSidesJackson #BSidesJXN #HXNJXN