• Cyber-activism and cyber-war will be the core themes of this year’s event, to be held on February 3 at the Círculo de Bellas Artes, Madrid, Spain.
  • Admission is free and places are limited. Prior registration is required at www.securitybloggersummit.com

On February 3 at 18:00, the 3rd Security Blogger Summit will open at the Círculo de Bellas Artes (Madrid). Organized by Panda Security, this year’s Security Blogger Summit will focus strongly on cyber-activism and cyber-war. Several distinguished guests will join the round table to explore the legality of these activities, analyzing the most recent cases, international cooperation and its limitations, and will offer predictions of how these activities will evolve in the future as well as recommendations going forward.

Issues such as the Anonymous attacks on copyright protection agencies or its actions in defense of Julian Assange, editor-in-chief of Wikileaks, will no doubt be hotly discussed topics at the event. Similarly, the alleged attacks on Iranian nuclear plants (using the Trojan Stuxnet), the attack launched by the Tariq ibn Ziyad Iraqi resistance group in response to the threat of the pastor Terry Jones to publicly burn the Koran, or the claim that China was behind targeted attacks against multinationals such as Google to obtain industrial secrets (dubbed Operation Aurora), will be some of the issues that the speakers at the Security Blogger Summit will address.

With some guests still to be confirmed, the round table will comprise, among others:

  • Enrique Dans. A lecturer in IT Systems at the IE Business School, he contributes to numerous newspapers and magazines including El País, El Mundo, Público, ABC, Expansión, Cinco Días, Libertad Digital and PC Actual on subjects related to the Internet and new technologies, and has been an active blogger for six years. His blog, enriquedans.com, is one of the most popular in the Spanish-speaking world.
  • Elinor Mills. Senior writer at CNET News on security issues, she has been working in the field for more than 20 years. At CNET she has covered issues ranging from online security to the privacy of online advertising and search engines.
  • Robert McMillan, A San Francisco-based journalist specializing in IT security, he writes on computer crime, security products and the ongoing fight of IT professionals to stay one step ahead of hackers. In 2010 he was named one of the top IT security journalists in the US by the SANS Institute.
  • Chema Alonso. Studied IT engineering at URJC, and with a postgraduate degree in IT systems he is currently working toward a doctorate in Web security. He has been working as a security consultant at Informática 64 for 10 years. He has been named by Microsoft as a Most Valuable Professional in security for six years. He will also be attending as a representative of the National Cyber-Security Advisory Council.
  • Rubén Santamarta: A security researcher with over ten years’ experience in the world of reverse engineering and IT security. He has discovered dozens of vulnerabilities in leading products, as well as a software flaws in industrial control and SCADA systems.
  • Josu Franco, from Panda Security, will host the event and moderate the round table discussion.

Admission to the Summit is free, although there are limited places. As such, anyone interested in attending should register now at www.securitybloggersummit.com. There will also be small gifts for all those attending.

The event will start at 18:30 (doors open at 18.00) and will last three hours, including a coffee break. The event will be bilingual, with simultaneous Spanish to English translation. There will be a dinner/cocktail party afterwards to allow those attending to further discuss the issues and network.

The public will be able to attend the Summit directly, or follow it on Twitter in Spanish (@PandaComunica) or English (@Panda_Security), using hashtag #SBS11.

Date: February 03, 2011
Venue: Círculo de Bellas Artes, Columnas room, 4th floor. Calle Alcalá, 42. Madrid.
Time: Doors open 18.00. Summit starts at 18:30 and ends at 21:00, with dinner/cocktails afterwards.
Admission: Free. Prior registration required at www.securitybloggersummit.com.

You’ll find more details about the Security Blogger Summit, as well as information on speakers, registration etc., at www.securitybloggersummit.com.