What to expect from Qualys QSC 2021
If there’s one thing that we (collectively, the IT industry) need to get us back into the usual swing and throng of software engineering conferences and events… it is (arguably) security.
Covid-19 compliant events that have done well so far in 2021 show a healthy respect for social distancing where needed, exhaustive vaccination record validation processes, temperature checks and of course several bucket loads of alcohol-based sanitiser per person.
Qualys, Inc. says it has carried out that level of preparedness for its QSC 2021 conference in Las Vegas from November 15 to 18… and, as a security-focused organisation, we would expect nothing less.
The company today describes itself as a provider of disruptive cloud-based IT, security and compliance solutions.
We knew about the security and we took the compliance part as part of the main meal, but the disruptive element could take some investigation – from our initial standpoint/viewpoint (and knowing Qualys previously) we’re talking about a re-engineering of the way system health and wealth is managed in the modern age of increasingly cloud native technologies.
In-person In Real Life (IRL)
At this year’s in-person In Real Life (IRL) gathering, Qualys will showcase recently released solutions and conduct training sessions to provide security and data centric developers and systems professionals with the foundation required to stop network breaches.
It’s what Qualys likes to call, the drive to stay ahead of ‘bad actors’.
CEO and president of Qualys Sumedh Thakar talks about his firm’s mission to ‘innovate relentlessly’ and says that this event is a chance for software security experts and a whole range of cloud engineers and associated professionals to meet with Qualys product experts as they come together to celebrate and learn
Thakar says that QSC 2021 highlights include a chance to explore and secure the digital journey, which is his way of saying that attendees can explore how to build-in security automation from the datacentre to the cloud.
CEO Thakar: A multi-vector kind of guy.
He promises a chance to work with peers and Qualys’ customer-facing teams on best practices and user case studies for applying security automation to real-world challenges.
Customers showcasing their successful project work with Qualys include Euronet, NortonLifeLock, Montana State University and others.
Attendees will also dive into ransomware risk assessment and learn to use technology that can proactively identify, prioritise, track and remediates assets exposed to ransomware attacks.
“We are delighted to welcome hundreds of customers, security practitioners and industry analysts to this year’s Qualys Security Conference 2021 in Las Vegas. It is an absolute pleasure, for the 21st year in a row, to bring together a group of experts to exchange knowledge, discuss pain points and problem solve.” said CEO Thakar. “In an era where the quantity and impact of cyber-attacks are rising, events such as QSC empower and assist enterprises in rewriting their cybersecurity playbook for the new era.”
Users can view critical ransomware risk exposures and drive prioritised remediation workflows. [Plus also, with Cybersecurity Asset Management (CSAM) technology] now added to its cloud platform, Qualys CSAM helps security teams inventory their complete IT ecosystem, detect security gaps and respond to risk. CSAM enables security professionals to see the entire picture of their assets, from inventory to detection to response.
Noteworthy keynote
The industry expert keynote will be delivered by Chris Krebs, former director CISA & DHS, which stands for Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Department for Homeland Security, just in case you need reminding.
Krebs is keen to share perspectives on global cybersecurity threats, recent cybersecurity legislation, supply chain security and the future of public/private partnerships for cybersecurity.
According to Qualys, “He will shed light on the state of cybersecurity based on his tenure with CISA and the DHS, where he successfully managed risk to the nation’s businesses and government agencies, bringing together partners to collectively defend against cyber and physical threats.”
CEO and president Sumedh Thakar will also speak with his usual candour and humour. Much of the discussion this year will focus on strengthening defense against sophisticated attacks.
AI engineering for developer security
If there is one trend worth further highlighting, it will be the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), autonomous control and intelligent automation.
In the Qualys space this means zero touch patch management with Qualys’ Zero Touch patching, which helps proactively patch prioritised vulnerabilities with ‘intelligent’ automation – before attacks can exploit them.
The company is delivering this event for CIOs, CSOs and CTOs; directors and managers of network, security and cloud; developers and DevSecOps practitioners; Qualys partners and consultants; or any forward-thinking security professionals.
Key possible questions areas to table (and we’d love to hear your opinion on other areas) include but are not limited to:
- How much of a threat or advantage is quantum engineering?
- Shouldn’t all DevOps be DevSecOps and we can drop the Sec by now?
- Do developers really still fall into that stereotype of caring more about performance, speed and functionality than safety and security?
- Is AI (and RPA) the biggest change factor in application security engineering?
- What does Qualys really do that sets the company apart from its competitors?
- Is cloud-native more secure anyway?
- What does Qualys stand for anyway and is it Quality Software?
The CWDN team will be tuning in, please join us.
