Announcing: Data-driven Security Smashup

Data-driven Security Smashup

A Hackathon + Supercollider of Talent, Ideas, & Resources

Fall 2019

Las Vegas, NV; Saturday - Monday August 3-5, 2019

[updated June 14, 2019, see "RESET..." for more info]

• Venue: rented house*, well off the Strip Working on it.  Aiming for UNLV
• Timing: just before B-Sides LV/Black Hat/Defcon
• Organizers: Me, Jon Hawkes, plus 2-6 others to be named (interested? Contact me)
• On-site capacity: ~30 30 - 60
• Remote/virtual participation? Yes. Details TBD  Also several Satellite locations
• Call for Participation: coming soon, mid May
• Call for Sponsorship: coming soon, mid May
• Other locations: if this first Smashup goes well, we'd like to 'step-and-repeat' it soon in the EU, UK, Switzerland, elsewhere in US, and maybe more
• Updates and news:  follow @dds_smashup on Twitter

Summary

The Data-driven Security Smashup (DDS Smashup) is a combination of hackathon and ‘supercollider’ of talent, ideas, and resources, aiming for breakthrough innovations in data-driven cyber security, especially solutions to problems that span domains of people, process, technology, institutions, and culture.  

Why Is Breakthrough Innovation in Cyber Security So Hard?

Short answer: Innovation activities tend to focus on just a few pieces at a time, treating it as a simple problem. That doesn't create breakthroughs because the system* is too complicated.

* "system" = technology, information, people, processes, organizations, institutions, economics,...

In Sciences of the Artificial, Herbert Simon argued that most evolved systems (natural and artificial) were "partially decomposable" (if not fully decomposable) into units or subsystems that could be studied and understood in isolation. While cyber security is partially decomposable for many purposes, it is my conjecture that it is much less decomposable than we believe or desire.

What this means is that breakthrough innovations will depend on many, simultaneous inventions, including crossing system levels.