Security and encryption experts from around the world are joining a number of organizations to call on India to reconsider its proposed amendments to local intermediary liability rules.

In an open letter to Indias IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday, 27 security and cryptography experts warned the Indian government that if it goes ahead with its originally proposed changes to the law, it could weaken security and limit the use of strong encryption on the internet.

The Indian government proposed(PDF) a series of changes to its intermediary liability rules in late December 2018 that, if enforced, would require millions of services operated by anyone from small and medium businesses to large corporate giants such as Facebook and Google to make significant changes.

The originally proposed rules say that intermediaries which the government defines as those services that facilitate communication between two or more users and have five million or more users in India will have to proactively monitor and filter their users content and be able to trace the originator of questionable content to avoid assuming full liability for their users actions.

By tying intermediaries protection from liability to their ability to monitor communications being sent across their platforms or systems, the amendments would limit the use of end-to-end encryption and encourage others to weaken existing security measures, the experts wrote in the letter, coordinated by the Internet Society .

With end-to-end encryption, there is no way for the service provider to access its users decrypted content, they said. Some of these experts include individuals who work at Google, Twitter, Access Now, Tor Project and World Wide Web Consortium.

This means that services using end-to-end encryption cannot provide the level of monitoring required in the proposed amendments. Whether its through putting a backdoor in an encryption protocol, storing cryptographic keys in escrow, adding silent users to group messages, or some other method, there is no way to create exceptional access for some without weakening the security of the system for all, they added.

Technology giants have so far enjoyed what is known as safe harbor laws. The laws, currently applicable in the U.S. under the Communications Decency Act and India under its 2000 Information Technology Act, say that tech platforms wont be held liable for the things their users share on the platform.

Many organizations have expressed in recent days their reservations about the proposed changes to the law. Earlier this week, Mozilla, GitHub and Cloudflare requested the Indian government to be transparent about the proposalsthat they have made to the intermediary liability rules. Nobody outside the Indian government has seen the current draft of the proposal, which it plans to submit to Indias Supreme Court for approval by January 15.

Among the concerns raised by some is the vague definition of intermediary itself. Critics say the last publicly known version of the draft had an extremely broad definition of the term intermediary, that would be applicable to a wide-range of service providers, including popular instant messaging clients, internet service providers, cyber cafes and even Wikipedia.

Amanda Keton, general counsel of Wikimedia Foundation, requested the Indian government late last month to rethink the requirement to bring traceability on online communication, as doing so, she warned, would interfere with the ability of Wikipedia contributors to freely participate in the project.

A senior executive with an American technology company, who requested anonymity, told TechCrunch on Wednesday that even as the proposed changes to the intermediary guidelines need major changes, it is high time that the Indian government decided to look into this at all.

Action on social media platforms, and instant communications services is causing damage in the real world. Spread of hoax has cost us more than at least 30 lives. If tomorrow, someones sensitive photos and messages leak on the internet, there is currently little they can expect from their service providers. We need a law to deal with the modern internets challenges, he said.

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Over two dozen encryption experts call on India to rethink changes to its intermediary liability rules - TechCrunch

Ethereums Serenity will launch by the end of this year, according to ConsenSys Co-founder Andrew Keys. Given the current state of development though, few share his excitement.

In a Jan. 7 post published on the ConsenSys site, Andrew Keys shared his predictions for 2020. Keys was one of the co-founders of ConsenSys, having since become a managing partner at DARMA Capital.

While Keys predictions touched diverse themes ranging from the world economy to human rights, two are especially notable for their optimism.

According to the executive, 2020 will see Ethereum move stridently beyond Phase 0 of Ethereum 2.0, onto Phase 1 and the launch of shard chains.

In addition, while Serenity continues development, Keys believes that layer two solutions will turbocharge Ethereum and bring it towards 2.0 levels of scalability at layer one.

The recent Istanbul hard fork was the last stage in Ethereum 1.0, introducing several improvements and adjustments. Some of the core Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) that went into the upgrade were closely related to Zcash (ZEC). EIP-152 improved interoperability with the actual Zcash blockchain, while EIP-1108 made optimizations for cryptography routines leveraged by projects such as Aztec and ZEther.

Aztec Protocol aims to introduce confidential transactions within the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain by using SNARK zero-knowledge technology the same powering Zcash shielded transactions.

On the other hand, Matter Labs is attempting to leverage SNARKs for scalability. On a basic level, its Zk Sync technology would allow offloading of the majority of transactional computations off-chain using a zero-knowledge proof to guarantee their correct execution.

Finally, Plasma focuses on creating sidechains for specific use cases. In a 2019 interview with Cointelegraph, CEO of ConsenSys Joseph Lubin explained:

Plasma is this class of technologies that enable you to have less decentralized platforms sitting at layer two in the Ethereum ecosystem. They can benefit from the full trust in some cases sometimes they benefit from partial trust but if they're linked in really rigorously, they can benefit from the full trust of the base trust layer, and you can get the best of both worlds.

However, these technologies are not yet live. Only Aztec looks poised to launch its cryptography engine this month, after conducting its trusted setup ceremony on Jan. 9.

Matter Labs revealed in a blog post that it would launch a smart contract framework this month but not the full scaling technology. Representatives from Matter Labs failed to reply to Cointelegraphs inquiries on detailed time tables.

Plasma Group, a non-profit research group, recently declared that their theoretical work on the technology is complete, but failed to indicate specific implementations underway.

Cointelegraph approached Afri Schoeden, a former Parity Technologies developer, for additional insight. When asked whether 2020 will feature working sidechain solutions, Schoeden replied:

No. We will see COSMOS maturing, Polkadot launching maybe, and Ethereum 2.0 finally taking shape. But we are still far away from viable solutions that would work in production.

Though Istanbul was the last step before the introduction of Ethereum 2.0 technology, it is unclear when the next stages will be implemented.

According to a mid-2019 roadmap by ConsenSys, phase zero of Serenity was supposed to be implemented by years end. This will introduce the Beacon Chain, the first to be powered by Proof-of-Stake validators.

Though Keys noted that a block explorer for the beacon chain was released, it merely tracks a testnet version. He then continued:

Ethereum developers have already proven their ability to work wonders, and that this decentralized team is now in the stride of hitting ambitious roadmap targets is the best indicator in all of blockchain for future success.

Schoeden, however, was far less optimistic:

From what I observe, maybe we can expect Q4/2020 launch window for phase 0.

Cointelegraph sought out comments on the roadmap from the Ethereum Foundations press team, but did not receive a response at publication.

Follow this link:
Ethereum 2.0 Will Come in 2020, According to ConsenSys Co-Founder - Cointelegraph

Law360 (January 8, 2020, 11:09 PM EST) -- After leveraging the U.S. Supreme Court's Alice decision to trim BlackBerry's IP claims, Facebook argued in California federal court Wednesday that BlackBerry's remaining messaging and targeted advertising patent claims should be thrown out, including one that purportedly relied on "jargon" to make it appear more advanced than it is.

In a motion seeking summary judgment and to strike, Facebook Inc. sought to punch holes in the various remaining patent claims, saying that one offered no technological improvements and another offered only a basic concept.

Of one of the claims, Facebook said that BlackBerry "will likely lean on the claim's cryptography jargon...

In the legal profession, information is the key to success. You have to know whats happening with clients, competitors, practice areas, and industries. Law360 provides the intelligence you need to remain an expert and beat the competition.

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Facebook Targets Rest Of BlackBerry IP Suit After Alice Win - Law360

Security takes a team, and it's a journey. Fortunately, you can keep up with the state of security through networking and knowledge sharing at industry conferences.

You can find security conferences tailored to every IT security pro's needs, including application security, information security, and data security. Some events are very large, while others are more intimate. Some are loud and boisterous; others are more formal and toned down. Some focus on vendors and their latest products, while others emphasize training and education. A few have a narrow scope, while others aim to be comprehensive.

TechBeacon's list of the top security conferences goes through all of these details so you can find the right ones for you. Stay up to speed on securityand move toward continuous securitywith continuous learning.

Twitter: @SecurityBSidesWeb: securitybsides.comDates: January-DecemberLocations: Multiplelocations worldwideCost: Most are free

Almost every week, there's a BSides conference taking place somewhere in the world. BSides describes itself as a community-driven framework for building events led by members of the security community, not byvendors. BSides events create opportunities for individuals to both present and participate in an intimate atmosphere that encourages collaboration.

Who should attend: Security pros and enthusiasts

Twitter: @DataConnectorsWeb: dataconnectors.comDates: January-DecemberLocations: 50 major citiesCost: Free

These conferences are focused on best practices, products, and services in an educational environment. Topics covered by the forums include cloud computing, the evolving IT landscape, andhow to combat cyber criminals. Each event is built around regionallybased vendors and speakers and qualify for CPE credits.

The events are free, with registration. Data Connectors may share registration information with the sponsors of a conference, who may use it to send marketing and promotional material to attendees.

Who should attend:Information, cyber,and network security professionals

Twitter:@AppSecCaliWeb: 2020.appseccalifornia.orgDate: January 21-24Location: Santa Monica, California, USACost: $99 to $1,200

Open Web Application Security Project chapters in Los Angeles, Orange County, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Inland Empire in Southern Californiaare sponsoring this event. It gives infosec pros an opportunity to learn and share knowledge and experiences about secure systems and secure development. Although a regional OWASP event, it attracts practitioners from around the world.

Who should attend: Information security professionals, developers, and QA and testing professionals

Twitter: #enigma2020Web: usenix.org/conference/enigma2020Date: January 27-29Location: San Francisco, California, USACost: $1,500 (academic, student, government, and nonprofit discounts available)

Enigma, a Usenix event, centers on a single track of talks covering a wide range of topics in security and privacy. Topics at the 2020 forum include "Securing the Software Supply Chain,""Third-Party Integrations: Friend or Foe?""Catch Me If You Can!Detecting Sandbox Evasion Techniques," and "Bringing Usable Crypto to Seven Million Developers."

Who should attend: Security practitioners, chief privacy officers, chief financial officers, researchers, developers, andcryptographers

Twitter: @shmooconWeb: shmoocon.orgDate: January 31-February 2Location: Washington, DC, USACost:Sold out

ShmooCon is a three-day conference organized by the Shmoo Group, a security think tank started by Bruce Potter in the 1990s. The conference has been compared to the Black Hat and Def Con conferencesprobably because of its appeal to folks who like to compromise devices, networks, and appliancesbut on a smaller scale.

Who should attend: Hackers, CSOs, and government security professionals

Twitter: @BlueHatILWeb: bluehatil.comDate: February 5-6Location: Tel Aviv, IsraelCost: Invitation only

This invitation-only event is sponsored by Microsoft. The conferencewas cooked up by Fastly CSO Window Snyder, who designed itto get "blue hats"an industry term for bug bounty hunterscommunicating with Microsoft engineers and tobring them up to speed on current and emerging security threats.

Who should attend: Security professionals and bug bounty hunters

Twitter: @SuitsandSpooksWeb: tellaro.ioDate: February 6-7Location: Washington, DC, USACost: $298 to $798 (military and government employee discounts available)

Suits & Spooks bills itself as the "anti-conference" and offers boutique forums on top-line security issues. Among the issues discussed at the DC event are achieving early detection of terrorism in smart cities, the future of war and leadership in a connected and chaotic world, and the future of Big Tech in the era of GDPR and antitrust. In addition to the DC event, forums will also be held in Seattle, Washington (October 28; invitation only),and Los Angeles, California (November 18).

Who should attend: Civilian and government cybersecurity professionals, anddefense industry executives

Twitter: @internetsociety / #ndss20Web: ndss-symposium.org/ndss2020Date: February 23-26Location: San Diego, California, USACost: Workshops, $235 to $395; symposium, $490 to $1,110 (time-sensitive and student discounts available)

The Network and Distributed System Security Symposium is organized by the Internet Society. The event caters to researchers and practitioners of network and distributed system security, with an emphasis on system design and implementation. A major goal of the conference is to encourage and helpthe Internet community to apply, deploy, and advance the state of available security technologies.

Who should attend: University researchers and educators, chief technology and privacy officers, security analysts, system administrators, and operations and security managers

Twitter: @rsaconference / #RSAC2020Web: rsaconference.com/usaDate: February 24-28Location: San Francisco, California, USACost: Full conference pass $750 to $1,995 (time-sensitive, student, government, and loyalty discounts available)

This is one of the world's largest security conferences. Its size is a sign of the robust growth in the IT security industry and just how dangerous the threat landscape has become. Attendees should do their pre-conference homework and sketch out a game plan, since this is a very large conference.

The forum attracts more than 42,000 attendees and some 700 speakers across more than 550 sessions. In 2020, conference organizers are adding a new "Engagement Zone," a dedicated networking space meant to encourage interactive, collaborative, and cooperative learning for the thousands of cybersecurity experts in attendance.

Who should attend: Security professionals

[ Understand what's driving thenext-generation SOCwith TechBeacon'sguide. Plus: Download ESG's report on the state of cloud-based security analytics and operations ]

Twitter: @SecureWorldWeb: secureworldexpo.com/eventsDates: March-NovemberLocations: Multiple sites across the United States and CanadaCost: $45 to $795

SecureWorld is a series of regional conferences held annually in the United States and Canada. Conference agendas vary from region to region and include subjects of localas well as broader interest. Cities lined upfor 2020 areCharlotte, North Carolina;Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;Boston, Massachusetts;Houston, Texas;Cincinnati, Ohio;Toronto, Ontario;Kansas City, Kansas;Atlanta, Georgia;Chicago, Illinois; Santa Clara, California; St. Louis, Missouri; New York, New York; Detroit, Michigan; Dallas, Texas; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Denver, Colorado; and Seattle, Washington.

Who should attend: CSOs, CISOs, compliance officers, security consultants, directors, governance officers, cloud security practitioners, security researchers, and othersecurity professionals

Twitter: @nullcon / #nullconWeb: nullcon.net/website/Date: Training, March 3-5; conference, March 6-7Location: Goa, IndiaCost: Training, $624 to $993; conference, $169 to $300 (student, group, and time-sensitive discounts available)

Nullcon was founded in 2010 with the idea of providing an integrated platform for exchanging information on the latest attack vectors, zero-day vulnerabilities, and otherthreats. Its motto"The neXt security thing!"drives the narrative of the conference.

Organizers promise a venuewhere security researchers and experts discuss and showcase the future of information security and the nextgeneration of offensive and defensive security technology. The forum is known for responsibly disclosing new vulnerabilities, risks, and attacks on computers.

In that vein, the forum has a section called Desi Jugaad (Hindi for "Local Hack"), which invites researchers to cook up innovative approaches to real-life security problems.

Who should attend: Security practitioners (analysts, testers, developers, cryptographers, and hackers),security executives (CISOs and CXOs), business developers and venture capitalists (presidents, directors, vice presidents, and consultants), recruiters, and academics

Twitter: @WEareTROOPERS / #TR20Web: troopers.deDate: March 16-20Location: Heidelberg, GermanyCost: Conference, 2,190; training, 2,290; conference, training, and roundtables, 3,990

Troopers is an old-school, multitrack security conference that attracts speakers from more than 25 countries. Beforethe start of the two-day, three-track conference there are two-days of training. On the last day of the forum, a number of roundtable sessions are offered to allow attendees and speakers to discusscurrent security topics. There are also a number of special eventsTelco Security Day, IoT Security Day, and IPv6State of Play Day.

Who should attend: Security researchers and managers; security team members and leaders; network administrators; security testers; operations managers; Windows, Linux, and SAP administrators; CISOs; and CSOs

Twitter: @ISMGCorpWeb: events.ismg.io/summitsDates: March-DecemberLocations: Multiple sites worldwideCost: $160 to $995

This series of conferences on cybersecurity and fraud are staged around the world by the Information Security Media Group, a publisher of online information security publications. Content at the conferences is driven by the group's editorial team, and the events offer attendees an opportunity to learn from industry influencers, earn CPE credits, and meet with technology providers.

Who should attend: CISOs and cybersecurity professionals

Twitter: @WWHackinFestWeb: wildwesthackinfest.com/sandiegoDate: March 10-13Location: San Diego, California, USACost: $325

Conference organizers say this is the most hands-on conference in the industry. Numerous labs are available to conference-goers, as well as "Capture the Flag" and escape room events. In addition, theover 50 presentations and speakers are encouraged to include actionable takeaways in their presentations. A sister conference is scheduled for September in Deadwood, South Dakota, USA.

Who should attend: Security pros, penetration testers, application security specialists, threat intelligence analysts, system architects, researchers, system administrators, and students

Twitter: @ISCEventsWeb: iscwest.com/HomeDate: March 17-20Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USACost: $75

This conference encompasses both physical and connected security. It attracts some 30,000 security and public safety professionals each year. More than 1,000 security brands and exhibitors are represented at the event.

A wide array of technologies are covered at the forumeverything from video surveillance and access control to smart home technologies, IoT, and unmanned security. A sister conference will be held November 18-19 in New York City.

Who should attend: Security and public safety professionals

Twitter: @CanSecWestWeb: cansecwest.comDate: March 18-20Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaCost:Conference, C$2,300 to C$2700; training, C$6,600 to C$7,500 (time-sensitive discounts available for conference and training)

CanSecWest is a three-day, single-track conference featuring one-hour presentations in a lecture theater setting and hands-on dojo training courses from security instructors. Organizers say thatpreference is given to new and innovative material, highlighting important andemergent technologies ortechniques, or best industry practices.

Who should attend: CISOs, CSOs, enterprise IT security pros, and executives

Twitter: @Infosecurity / @InfosecurityBEWeb: infosecurity.beDate: March 18-19Location: Brussels, BelgiumCost: Free, with registration

This is the first in a series of conferences organized by education and networking companyInfosecurity Group. In addition to coveringIT security, the conferences also discussdata management and cloud computing. Besides the Belgium forum, events are also planned for Copenhagen, Denmark;Mexico City, Mexico;So Paulo, Brazil;Utrecht, Netherlands; and New York, New York.

Who should attend: Security pros, executives, and managers

Twitter: @devseccon #DevSecConWeb: devseccon.com/singapore-2020Date: March 18-19Location: SingaporeCost: 245 to 495

This is the first in a series of conferences held throughout the year by MyDevSecOps, a global community connecting developers and security. According to the organizers, these events are run by practitioners for practitioners. The forums include talks by key industry figures about making DevOps and security work together, as well as interactive workshops. Additional forums will be held in Sydney, Australia;Boston, Massachusetts; London, UK; Tel Aviv, Israel; on the West Coast of the United States; and online.

Who should attend: DevSecOps and IT security professionals

Twitter: @BlackHatEvents / #bhasiaWeb: blackhat.com/asia-20Date: March 31-April 3Location: SingaporeCost: Briefings, S$1,700 to S$2,200; training, S$4,000 to S$6,620; (time-sensitive discounts available for briefings and training)

This is the Asian sister of the famous North American conference for hackers held in Las Vegas. It combines hands-on training sessions taught by industry experts with briefings containing cutting-edge research, including the latest zero-dayvulnerabilities. There's also a businesshall for solutions and service providers, and an "arsenal" feature where the latest open-source security tools are demonstrated.

Who should attend: Security analysts, risk managers, security architects/engineers, penetration testers, security software developers, and cryptographers

[ Explore TechBeacon's guideto SecOpschallenges and opportunities. Plus: Downloadthe 2019 State of Security Operations report. ]

Twitter: @sansinstitute / #SANS2020Web: sans.org/event/sans-2020Date: April 3-10Location: Orlando, Florida, USACost: Courses, $2,800 to $7,610

The SANS Institute, founded in 1989, focuses on security research and providing intensive, immersive security training via a variety of conferences, smaller events, and courses that reach about 165,000 security professionals around the world. Its big annual event, SANS 2020, doubles as a conference, with keynote speakers and networking opportunities, and a training event.

SANS pledges that what people learn in its courses and events can be applied immediately once they get back to their workplaces. For IT pros who can't make it to the conference, SANS offers many of the forum's courses in virtual classrooms, where they can participate in live sessions remotely.

Who should attend: IT security pros, CxOs, network and system administrators, security managers, and security testers

Twitter: @HITBSecConf / #HITB2020AMSWeb: conference.hitb.org/hitbsecconf2020amsDate: April 20-24Location: Amsterdam, NetherlandsCost: Training, 1,899 to 4,299; conference, 799 to 1,499 (student and time-sensitive discounts available)

HITB emerged during the early dotcom days as a news and resource portal for hacking and network security. In 2003, its operators decided to try their hand at staging a conference. The result was the Hack In The Box Security Conference, which is held annually in Amsterdam.

It focuses on "next-generation" computer security issues. It includes a competition, technology exhibit, and "hackerspaces" for hackers, makers, and breakers. In addition to Amsterdam, conferences will be held in Singapore in July and Abu Dhabi in October.

Who should attend: Security pros, researchers, and hackers

Twitter: @SecurityWeekWeb: icscybersecurityconference.com/singapore/Date: April 21-23Location: SingaporeCost: $895 to $1,295 (time-sensitive, military, and government discounts available)

Organized by SecurityWeek, this is the longest-running cybersecurity-focused conference for the industrial control systems sector. Its target audience consists of energy, utility, chemical, transportation, manufacturing, and other industrial and critical-infrastructure organizations.

Most attendees are control systems users, working as control engineers, in operations management, or in IT. Topics addressed in the forum include protection for SCADA systems, plant control systems, engineering workstations, substation equipment, programmable logic controllers, and other field control system devices.

Who should attend: Operations, control systems, and IT security professionals

Twitter: @ruhrsecWeb: ruhrsec.de/2020Date: May 5-8Location: Bochum, GermanyCost (2018): 199 to 1,599

True to its location at Ruhr University, the conference has a collegiate feel to it, with both academic and industry talks planned for the event. In the past, the conference has made headlines with research about exploiting vulnerabilities in popular printer models. All profits from the conference will be donated to a local nongovernmental youth organization.

Who should attend: Hardware/IoT security practitioners, application developers, security researchers, software testers and QA professionals, network administrators, academics, and computer science students

Twitter: @THOTCON / #THOTCONWeb: thotcon.orgDate: May 8-9Location: Chicago, Illinois, USACost:Sold out

Organizers describe this event as a low-cost "hacking conference" with a nonprofit and noncommercial goal and a limited budget. It's been held annually in Chicago since 2010, born from its organizers' desire to host an affordable security conference for hackers who live in and around the Windy City. Proceeds are used for the following year's conference.

There's a bit of a cloak-and-dagger aura about the forum. Not only does its homepage have messages in Russian, but its exact location in Chicago is never revealed to attendees and speakers until a week before the conference.

Who should attend: Hackers, especially those from the Chicago area

Twitter: @NorthSec_io / #nsec20Web: nsec.ioDate: May 10-17Location: Montreal, Quebec, CanadaCost: Conference, C$150 to C$5,300 (student and time-sensitive discounts available)

Attracting more than 600 attendees annually, NorthSec is the biggest applied security event in Canada. It's aimed at raising the knowledge and technical expertise of both professionals and students.

The event offers a single-track conference, training workshops, and a capture-the-flag competition. Speakers address topics ranging from application and infrastructure security to cryptography and ethics. Workshops and training cover subjects such as penetration testing, network security, software and hardware exploitation, web hacking, reverse engineering, malware, and encryption.

Who should attend: CSOs, CISOs, CTOs, software developers, software engineers, programmers, industry analysts and consultants, security researchers, security engineers, cryptographers, privacy advocates, computer scientists, penetration testers, and reverse engineers

Twitter: @IEEESSPWeb: ieee-security.org/TC/SP2020Date: May 18-20Location: San Francisco, California, USACost (2019): Symposium, $745 to $1,565; workshop, $380 to $530 (time-sensitive, member, and student discounts available for both symposium and workshops)

Since 1980, thisIEEE symposium has been a venue for airing developments in computer security and electronic privacy. The conference attracts both researchers and practitioners ready to share their knowledge on a broad range of security topics. In addition to the symposium, the IEEE offers a number of workshops that allow forum-goers to take a deeper dive into specific aspects of security and privacy.

Who should attend: Researchers, security practitioners, and students

Twitter: @reconmtl, @reconbrxWeb: recon.cxDate: JuneLocation: Montreal, Quebec, CanadaCost (2019): C$800 to C$1,400 (student and time-sensitive discounts available)

REcon is an annual conference held in Brussels and Montreal that focuses on reverse engineering and advanced exploitation techniques. The single-track conference covers subjects such as software and hardware reverse engineering, finding vulnerabilities and writing exploits, and bypassing security protections.

In addition to the conference, training sessions lasting two to four days are offered. They cover subjects such as hacking operating systems, firmware, and IoT devices.

Who should attend: Security researchers, programmers, developers, and information security team members, plus leaders of those disciplines

Twitter: #GartnerSECWeb: gartner.com/en/conferences/na/security-risk-management-usDate: June 1-4Location: National Harbor, Maryland, USACost: $3,250 to$3,825 (time-sensitive and public sector discounts available)

As with all Gartner conferences, Gartner analysts will feature prominently in keynotes, panels, roundtables, how-to workshops, and one-on-one meetings, but there will also be companies presenting case studies, and many opportunities to network.

Who should attend: CISOs, CSOs, enterprise IT security pros and executives, CxOs, business continuity and disaster recovery managers, and network security managers

See the article here:
The best security conferences of 2020 - TechBeacon

Recipients of the Turing Awardwidely considered the Nobel Prize of computingmay not be household names, but their innovations have wired our lives. Tim Berners-Lee (2016 Turing Award recipient) invented the World Wide Web and the first web browser. Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman (2015 recipients) invented public-key cryptographythe security ingredient that permits us, for example, to enter credit card numbers online with confidence. Raj Reddy (1994) pioneered artificial intelligence, which enables computers to understand spoken language. Yoshua Bengio, Geoffrey Hinton, and Yann LeCuns (2018) breakthroughs in deep learning have enabled self-driving cars, facial recognition, and more.

Nominations for the 2019 Turing Award are due to the Association for Computing Machinerythe awarding organizationby Jan. 15. The ACM typically announces the winner(s) in March. Later in June, it will honor the recipient(s), along with winners of its other, less prestigious computing prizes, at an awards banquet in San Francisco. If you attend, youll notice something stark: Nearly all of those who have received computings top prize have been men.

Reading through the recipient list, you could easily come away with the false impression that men are responsible for nearly all computing breakthroughs. Since the Turing Awards inception in 1966, 70 computer scientists have won it, only three of whom have been women. The first female recipient didnt win until 2006it took 40 years to recognize a woman. Some hypothesize that the dearth of women Turing Award recipients reflects womens underrepresentation in the field. However, the roughly 4 percent of women recipients does not approximate the fact that women currently earn 21% of the Ph.D.s in computer science, down from the 1987 peak of 37%.

Million-dollar prizes like the Turing Award seize the publics attention. Winners are sought-after, invited to give high-profile speeches, meet with business leaders, and advise politicians. For a certain nerdy cohortone I belong tothey are heroes. In public programming emanating from the ACM Awards Banquet and beyond, they serve as role models to inspire young people. When womens contributions are overlooked, the public forgoes opportunities to derive inspiration and gain advice from an important sector of computing pioneers.

The Turing Award.

Missed opportunities

And the ACM has definitely missed opportunities to recognize pioneering women computer scientists. Grace Hopper (19061992) worked on the first commercial computer produced in the US, created the first complier, and invented the first English-like data processing language. The ENIAC TeamBetty Jean Bartik, Kathleen McNulty, Mauchly Antonelli, Ruth Teitelbaum, Frances Spence, Marlyn Meltzer, and Frances Holbertonwas responsible for the worlds first general-purpose computer used for calculating World War II ballistic trajectories. Sister Mary Kenneth Keller (19131985) helped develop BASIC computer code. Radia Perlman (born in 1951) developed spanning tree protocol, making the internet possible. Judy Clapp (born in 1930) developed an air defence system prototype that used radar to track and direct aircraft courses. Karen Sparck Jones* (19352007) developed inverse document frequency, the technology underlying modern search engines. Stories of women computing pioneers could fill books. In fact, they do: A few gems include Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet, When Computers Were Human, and Grace Hopper: Admiral of the Cyber Sea.

Fostering better gender inclusivity among Turing Award recipients and in the larger computing community is not only good for womenits also good for innovation and discovery. Gender diversity in science enhances the variety of viewpoints, questions, and areas addressed by researchersleading to a gender diversity dividend. Heterogenous groups of problem-solvers have been shown to outperform groups of homogenous, high-ability problem solvers, according to one study. Participants in diverse groups have been shown to prepare better in anticipation of dissenting opinions, which provokes thought and enhances their creativity, according to other studies. As one author wrote, Diversity jolts us into cognitive action in ways that homogeneity simply does not.

Nonetheless, research shows that systemic implicit and explicit bias impede women computer scientists. Pervasive stereotypes suggesting that they do not possess innate scientific talent also undermine women. Women who are perceived as feminine or adept at interpersonal skills are often deemed ill-suited for computing.

The good news

However, there is good news: Many of the very influential men who have received the Turing would prefer for the award to be more inclusive. We have been trying to prime the pump by having the [ACM] committees pay more attention to encouraging nominations in accordance with this broad desire to have all of the people represented, said Vinton Cerf (2004), recent co-chair of the ACM awards committee, and current chief internet evangelist at Googlewhere he is working on an interplanetary internet, among other pursuits.

Recognizing more women wouldnt, by itself, reduce the institutional barriers that limit womens advancement in computing. At universities, women researchers are called on for internal service roles tending to the academic family more often than men, which constrains their research time. Lack of maternity leave and affordable child care disproportionately affect women scientists during the vital early-career stages. Also, some family-friendly policies exacerbate gender inequities among research scientists, particularly as family leave policies have been shown to reduce mens teaching loads at a higher rate than womens. On-site child care has been shown to increase mens journal publicationsbut only womens teaching duties.

Some of the institutional problems are mirrored in the process of identifying potential Turing Award winners. The ACM relies on prominent computer scientists to write letters of support nominating candidates for the award. Academic letters in the sciences, necessary for career advancement and award nominations, have been shown disproportionately to contain language raising doubts about women electing to pursue science, which corroborates an earlier study. Those who are charged with evaluating professional accomplishments often do not account for mens tendency to overestimate their abilities or womens tendency to underestimate theirs. The result is a pool of Turing Award nominees that bears striking similarities to 50 years worth of draw-a-scientist experiments, in which children asked to draw a scientist overwhelmingly draw men. To be sure, not every woman in computing experiences all of these challenges. But many experience some.

We typically receive one woman nominee [for the Turing Award] every five years. Its very disturbing, said ACM President Cherri Pancake in September at the most recent Heidelberg Laureate Forum, an annual gathering of math and computer science laureates.

We need to nominate more women, said Turing Award recipient Robert Tarjan (1986) at the time. I can think of a number of women who should be nominated. They are deserving women.

Indeed. The ACM has made some progress toward gender inclusivity with regard to the Turing in recent years. Frances Allen (2006) was recognized for her work optimizing compilersprograms that translate code from one programming language into another. That laid the foundation for automatic parallel execution, in which large computational problems are divided into smaller ones that are solved simultaneously. Barbara Liskov (2008) was honored for pioneering contributions to programming languages and system design. And Shafi Goldwasser (2012) was celebrated for paving the way for the science of cryptography and inventing methods for efficiently verifying mathematical proofs in the study of complex systems.

Nonetheless, Allen, Liskov, and Goldwasser could use company not only on a potential trip to the ACM Awards Banquet or the Heidelberg Laureate Forum, but in the publics collective conscious concerning what computer science heroes look like.

Susan DAgostino is a mathematician and writer at Johns Hopkins University whose book How to Free Your Inner Mathematician: Notes on Mathematics and Life will be published by Oxford University Press in March 2020.

This piece was originally published onFutureTense, a partnership betweenSlatemagazine, Arizona State University, and New America.

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Why Have So Few Women Won the Most Important Award in Computing? - The Wire

Tech giant Google announced a few days ago that it had reached Quantum Supremacy. Now, another tech heavyweight IBM, is announcing its lofty quantum ambitions that could be detrimental to cryptocurrencies.

At the CES 2020 conference yesterday, IBM announced that it is using its 28-qubit quantum computer called Raleigh to achieve a Quantum Volume of 32. While it is not a very significant number as far as breaking the crypto code is concerned, it is important to note that IBM is doubling its volume every year.

Quantum Volume is a number used to describe the level of complexity of problems that a quantum computer can solve. A higher Quantum Volume means a more powerful computer. While the world keeps talking about AI, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, IoT and other emerging technologies, it is quantum computing that could become the most important innovation of this century. It has the ability to touch almost every industry and walk of life and can impact other emerging technologies significantly.

The first of practical quantum computers were introduced by Jonathan Home in 2009, but since then, tech giants like IBM and Google have taken the lead to create the next generation of powerful computing systems. For long, Bitcoin has been considered vulnerable to the attack of quantum computers. Therefore, Google and IBMs developments could pose a significant threat to the existence of the crypto sector.

Authors of a June 2017 paper on cryptography suggest that a quantum computer with the processing power of 2,500 qubits will be powerful enough to break the 256-bit encryption used on the Bitcoin blockchain. The most powerful quantum computer today holds only a fraction of that processing power, i.e. 72-qubit.

Crypto godfather David Chaum has already started warning the community to brace for impact and start working on an answer to Google and IBMs quantum powers right now. While their processing powers look inconsequential right now, the day may not be far when they can actually start creating ripples in the crypto community.

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IBM Becomes the Next Big Threat to Crypto after Google - CryptoVibes