September 20, 2024
September 20, 2024
The RSA Conference has been the place for CISOs and other cybersecurity professionals to convene as an industry for more than three decades. This year, 40,000-plus attendees descended on San Francisco to learn about the latest trends – preparing for upcoming regulations, analyzing complex ransomware developments, or even navigating job expectations in the face of evolving cyber threats. From the stage, government officials often make international news with their keynotes. That was the case this year, as U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken debuted the country’s global cybersecurity strategy. Meanwhile, major celebrities also provide entertainment — Alicia Keys, Jason Sudeikis and Matthew Broderick were a few of those onsite this May. This is a big production.
Behind the scenes, in a pivotal role, is Ben Waring, director of Global PR and Communications for RSAC. He helps to manage messaging for the show, prep event executives for news activities, orchestrate speaker interviews with media, corral reporters for press conferences, and generally ensure that the event goes smoothly for press, speakers and attendees.
I spoke to Ben after this year’s event to get a sense of what goes into comms at this incredible scale. Here is an edited version of our conversation.
You had some high-profile speakers at the conference this year, including Secretary of State Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. What's it like to manage press for speakers like that, especially during a time of heightened geopolitical tensions?
We certainly set a new mark this year, with two of the highest-profile members of the current administration attending. To orchestrate that, you're working with a lot of different government entities and a lot of moving parts. Primarily, we had to deal with coordinating schedules and interview requests. And then there are the logistics around physical security for the speakers and their teams. It's challenging, but also really exciting.
<split-lines>"And then there are the logistics around physical security for the speakers and their teams. It's challenging, but also really exciting."<split-lines>
You’ve watched the event evolve up close across different roles over the years. What are the most marked changes you’ve seen?
Exhibitors used to drop off paper media kits in the press room – or share thumb drives – and now everything's completely digital. We’ve added recording booths in several sites across the Moscone campus [in San Francisco] for traditional and independent media and bloggers to interview speakers. We cut the recording for them and send it to them to publish online and socialize. The booths were constantly in use. We had to create a whole new badge type for these content creators. In the early days, it was tough to envision ‘cyber security influencers,’ but here we are. It’s been exciting to see the evolution of media attending our event.
<split-lines>"It was tough to envision ‘cyber security influencers,’ but here we are. It’s been exciting to see the evolution of media attending our event."<split-lines>
What are some things you’ve most loved doing at the conference over the years?
One year, when I was doing freelance comms for RSAC, I got to do some blogging for our College Day program. I interviewed students about their studies and career plans in cybersecurity. Education is a personal passion of mine, as I have a master's degree in it. I like hearing what the students are most excited about and helping them get into the field. That’s especially important given the skills gap we have in cybersecurity.
I also really enjoy interacting with reporters and our media partners, especially people that are new to the cybersecurity space. The New York Stock Exchange is a great example of that. They have a new content team and started covering RSAC last year. We helped them arrange 60 video interviews last year and about 30 this year, including with RSAC’s Executive Chairman Hugh Thompson. That's an outlet you wouldn’t necessarily think would focus on cybersecurity, but now they do. And that’s huge.
Now, let’s backtrack a bit. How exactly did you get into comms in the first place?
I had a very non-traditional route to PR. Sports was my first passion and I’ve always been a sports stats nerd. I got my undergraduate degree in sports management and a masters in education. I realized there are a lot of interesting stories to tell about the athletes and students, so I taught myself how to write AP Style, worked on refining my storytelling, and ended up working at several universities wearing different hats under the comms and PR umbrella. Eventually, I moved to Austin and landed a job working in tech PR at Shift Communications. RSA Conference was our client and I eventually went to work there after establishing solid relationships over the years.
So, what does the future hold for RSAC?
We're constantly evaluating ways to keep our cybersecurity community connected and engaged, not only during RSA Conference week, but also the other 51 weeks of the year.
<split-lines>"We're constantly evaluating ways to keep our cybersecurity community connected and engaged..."<split-lines>
Attendees tell us they love to be able to leave their regular work week behind, come to the conference and connect with others in the industry, or learn new things that they can take back to work. We're trying to find ways to help folks keep that learning and conversation going beyond the conference week. That might involve helping people get training or certifications to advance in their careers, or helping them stay connected beyond our on-site networking.
I’m definitely excited about what’s in store.
