Today was the first meeting of the New York Information Security Community (nyinfosec). nyinfosec provides an information security focus group for Long Island-based practitioners, but attendees from New York City are also welcome.
While the number of attendees was a little disappointing, the content of the discussion was great. We covered a great amount of topics, ranging from netflow analysis tools to DMCA infringement notices, via a little sidestep to policy development and incident response.
All participants agreed that the initiative adds value, and that the meetings should continue. A new date has not yet been set, but we're shooting for a cycle that has meetings every 2-3 months.
If you are a security practitioner on Long Island or in New York City, please let me know and I'll be glad to provide you with more information.
I was not aware of a new information security community in New York City, heads up post would have helped! Perhaps the best thing that can be done to boost attendance is to move the meetings to Manhattan. Speaking for myself, and I am sure many others, I do not want to use my free time to travel to Garden City for a meeting that has yet to prove itself.
That was exactly the reason that we are looking to Long Island for starting a new cycle of meetings. Especially for people further out on the island, traveling into the city for a meeting of an hour or two is often not worth it. With this initiative, we hope to cater to those information security professionals who are unwilling (or unable) to travel to the city often, yet feel the need to maintain and expand a professional network.
For those of us who are fortunate enough to live relatively close to New York City, traveling might not be a problem. For those of us who live out in Suffolk, the city is simple too far for a meeting of a couple of hours.
Toe format that we have adopted is also unlike any returning event that I am aware of.
Your heads-up notice is well-received. We had emailed many of our professional contacts, but I neglected to post here. I'll make sure that our next meeting is also announced here.