Category: Conferences

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Conferences

The Girls in Tech Conference (Wednesday, Sept. 15th)

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The Girls in Tech Conference takes place online next Wednesday, September 15th, and it’s sponsored by Okta and Auth0!

The Girls in Tech Conference is a one-day virtual conference where participants gather
to find community, sharpen their skills and learn how
to thrive in tech.

Conference agenda

Here’s the conference agenda, which is full some pretty interesting-sounding motivational keynotes, workshops and presentations (you’ll want to check out the detailed agenda, too).

The event takes place in the US Pacific Time Zone. All times are in PDT and EDT.

  • 9:00 am PDT / 12:00 pm EDT: Introduction | State of the State
  • 9:12 am PDT / 12:12 pm EDT: Opening Remarks
  • 9:19 am PDT / 12:19 pm EDT: Meditation, Breathing, and Focus
  • 9:31 am PDT / 12:31 pm EDT: The Battle for the Soul of AI
  • 9:48 am PDT / 12:48 pm EDT: Find Your ‘Fearless’ and Build the Career of Your Dreams
  • 10:05 am PDT / 1:05 pm EDT: Improbable is not Impossible
  • 10:22 am PDT / 1:22 pm EDT: Community How Women In STEM Are Taking Off
  • 10:39 am PDT / 1:39 pm EDT: Break
  • 10:56 am PDT / 1:56 pm EDT: Breakout Sessions
    • Track 1 – Demystifying Artificial Intelligence
    • Track 2 – Reasons We Resist (Procrastinate)
  • 11:53 pm PDT / 2:53 pm EDT: Community AWS Panel Interview: The Blueprint for Success
  • 12:25 pm PDT / 3:25 pm EDT: Lunch Break
  • 12:47 pm PDT / 3:47 pm EDT: Empowering Women in the Workplace
  • 1:04 pm PDT / 4:04 pm EDT: Arm Yourself With Cybersecurity Skills
  • 1:21 pm PDT / 4:21 pm EDT: Fireside Chat: Thriving At Work With Disability
  • 1:48 pm PDT / 4:48 pm EDT: Break
  • 2:05 pm PDT / 5:05 pm EDT: Career Growth Is Risky Business
  • 2:22 pm PDT / 5:22 pm EDT: Facing Bias: It’s Not Easy
  • 2:39 pm PDT / 5:39 pm EDT: Breakout Sessions
    • Track 1 – Creativity in Writing Software
    • Track 2 – Unlock Your Creative Confidence
  • 3:36 pm PDT / 6:36 pm EDT: Break
  • 3:53 pm PDT / 6:53 pm EDT: How To Find Your Voice And SPEAK UP!
  • 4:10 pm PDT / 7:10 pm EDT: Forget Work-Life Balance: The Secret is to ‘Integrate’
  • 4:27 pm PDT / 7:27 pm EDT: Building A Career In Tech: Just Do It
  • 4:44 pm PDT / 7:44 pm EDT: Starting A Family Doesn’t Mean Your Career Is Over
  • 5:01 pm PDT / 8:01 pm EDT: A Career With No Regrets
  • 5:18 pm PDT / 8:18 pm EDT: Why You Shouldn’t Strive For Perfectionism
  • 5:35 pm PDT / 8:35 pm EDT: The Three Ps Of Career Success
  • 5:52 pm PDT / 8:52 pm EDT: Year in Review, Wrap up & Conclusion
  • 6:00 pm PDT / 9:00 pm EDT: Networking Function

Auth0’s keynote speaker

In addition to being a sponsor (and the place where I work), Auth0 is providing a fantastic keynote speaker, our CISO (Chief Information Security Officer), Jameeka Green Aaron:

Jameeka joined Auth0 earlier this year, and she brings two decades’ worth of experience, having worked at places including Nike, Hurley, Lockheed Martin, and the U.S. Navy. She is also committed to advancing women and people of color in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields, and she participated in the U.S. State Department’s TechWomen program and the National Urban League of Young Professionals. She currently sits on the board of the California Women Veterans Leadership Council, is an advisor for U.C. Riverside Design Thinking Program, and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Jameeka will speak at 5:01 p.m. in a session titled A Career with No Regrets, which has this description:

Women are known for selling themselves short. But after this energetic career pep talk, you won’t be passing up on opportunities too soon. Jameeka Green Aaron will inspire you to dream big, rock the boat, and take the road less traveled in your journey to changing the world.

How to register

Once again, this is a virtual conference that takes place online. All you need to attend is an internet connection and a ticket!

There are three tiers of ticket prices for the Girls in Tech Conference:

  • General admission: $35.00. If you have a job, this ticket is for you.
  • Job seeker: $25.00. If you don’t have a job, this ticket is for you.
  • Student: $20.00. If you’re a student, this ticket is for you.

You can find out more on the conference’s Pricing page.

Categories
Conferences Games Programming

Learn Godot Game Engine along with game designer Terry Cavanaugh!

Who’s Terry Cavanaugh?

Terry Cavanaugh poses with a Nintendo Switch.
Terry Cavanaugh.

Terry Cavanaugh is an indie game developer based in Monaghan, Ireland. His portfolio includes the commercial games  Dicey Dungeons…

…Super Hexagon (which is super-hard)…

…and VVVVVV (which is frustrating and maddening in the best possible way):

He’s also behind some freeware gems, including At a Distance, Don’t Look Back, and Tiny Heist.

What’s Godot Game Engine?

Godot Game Engine logo

Godot Game Engine is an free-as-in-beer, free-as-in-speech game engine for developing 2D and 3D games for desktop, web, mobile, and XR platforms.

2D game being designed in the Godot IDE.
Tap to view at full size.

(In case you’re wondering, it’s pronounced “Go-DOH”, and the name comes from the Samuel Beckett’s absurdist play Waiting for Godot.)

3D game being designed in the Godot IDE.
Tap to view at full size.

You code Godot games in C, C++, C#, and their own Python-like language, GDScript.

Here’s the list of Godot Game Engine’s “pros” from gamedesigning.org:

  • Platform integration: you can easily upload creations to different platforms. If you want to get your project out easily and quickly, this is an option for you.
  • Constantly updated: The developers are hard at work updating Godot. Since it’s free, this is a pretty cool aspect, so I recommend throwing a few donations dollars their way!
  • It’s free: It’s completely free! No packages! No subscription models! No memberships!
  • Great User Interface: The UI is easy to use and read, leading to better and more comprehensive game development
  • Scripting: The ease of use for scripting is actually a lot easier than many different engines. They use their own invented script, titled GDScript. It’s easier to pick up and translates beautifully into finished projects and assets
  • Community and online resources: As I said before, the community for Godot is supportive and has a huge presence online. I got lost in a YouTube rabbit hole looking at some Godot tutorials videos alone. Again, I recommend the subreddit for engaging with the community and checking out the actual Godot site for some demos and tutorials for beginners.
  • Seamless Downloads: You can download it right from the browser and get going immediately with the self-contained program. Have at it!

How can you learn Godot Game Engine with Terry Cavanaugh?

Screen shot of Terry Cavanaugh’s “Stop Waiting for Godot” page.

“Let’s all learn Godot, next weekend!” wrote Terry Cavanaugh on this page. “Sometimes the word ‘game jam’ means competition, but that’s not really the vibe I’m going for here. There’s no judging, and nobody is going to win. Or, if you prefer, as they say over at Ludum Dare, your game is your prize.”

That’s the plan — he’s going to learn Godot by building a game, and he’s inviting people to come along for the ride. You can even build one as he builds one.

I think I’ll check it out. It sounds like fun, and might be a interesting way to put my recently-acquired gaming laptop through some new paces.

The details

Categories
Conferences Security

Okta/Auth0’s developer day: “Auth for All” – Tuesday, Aug. 24!

Tired of writing the login part of your application? Would you rather work what your API actually does rather than work on securing it? Want to know what identity, authorization, and authentication are, and how you can use them to create applications that give your users great, secure experiences?

Then you’ll want to attend Okta’s and Auth0’s virtual developer day, Auth for All, which happens on Tuesday, August 24! The theme will be “Build the future of identity with us,” and it’ll be a day of celebrating developers around the world while learning how identity empowers builders of all kinds to innovate.

And in case you were wondering…

The agenda

WhenSession
1:00 p.m. EDT /
10:00 a.m. PDT		Platform + Chat Room Opens
1:30 p.m. EDT to
2:15 p.m. EDT / 10:30 a.m. PDT to
11:15 a.m. PDT		Opening Keynote: Build the Future of Identity with Us

In today’s keynote, we’ll kick off Developer Day by celebrating developers like you building for the web, mobile, cloud infrastructure, and everywhere else code runs around the world. Then, lifelong hacker and security expert Alyssa Miller will share updates from the world of cyber security that will help you build your apps and infrastructure with
2:30 a.m. EDT to
3:00 p.m. EDT / 11:30 p.m. PDT to
12:00 p.m. PDT		Traveling Through a Secure API in Python

In this talk, we will see how you can use Python and Auth0 together to build your very own “Where Have I Been” map! I will walk you through all the steps we will need starting from scratch. From building the first API endpoints, protecting the endpoints that create new markers, all the data manipulation, and even deployment!
2:30 a.m. EDT to
3:00 p.m. EDT / 11:30 p.m. PDT to
12:00 p.m. PDT		Auth for IOT: Securing Your Smart Home

Have you moved into a new house and want to automate all the things? Sounds pretty cool, right? Just one tiny concern: how secure is it to use “smart home” devices? Should you create your own software to control your blinds? What about hacking your cameras? The world of IoT (Internet of Things) has so many options to choose from but very little guidance about how secure they are, and how you as a developer can prevent unauthorized access. In this session, we will go over what you can do with existing platforms like Alexa and roll your own DIY projects to lock down who can use them – YOU.
2:30 a.m. EDT to
3:00 p.m. EDT / 11:30 p.m. PDT to
12:00 p.m. PDT		OAuth: Past, Present, and Future

OAuth is the foundation of most of modern online security, used everywhere from signing in to mobile apps to protecting your bank accounts. Despite its ubiquity, there are still many misconceptions about OAuth and OpenID Connect in the wild.

In this session you’ll learn about the background and original motivations that drove the creation of OAuth, how OAuth and OpenID Connect are used today to provide secure online experiences, as well as the latest developments and future work within the OAuth and OpenID Connect communities.

This session will cover the many new RFCs that have been published since the original draft of OAuth 2.0, which both add and remove functionality from the core spec. These include OAuth 2.0 for Native Apps, Proof Key for Code Exchange, OAuth 2.0 Security Best Current Practice, as well as some in-progress and experimental drafts such as JWT Access Tokens, Rich Authorization Requests, and various Proof of Possession techniques. This session will cover the current status of this ongoing work and what you need to know to be prepared for the future.
3:15 p.m. 3:15 p.m. EDT to
3:45 p.m. EDT / 12:15 p.m. PDT to
12:45 p.m. PDT		Authenticating Your Next(js) Jamstack App
3:15 p.m. EDT to
3:45 p.m. EDT / 12:15 p.m. PDT to
12:45 p.m. PDT		Inclusive Digital Identity and Web Monetization for Earning Online

Digital IDs controlled by the users enables users to seamlessly onboard to any web app or platform. With Web Monetization, users can earn freely and spend freely from their digital Identity connected wallets. This talk with highlight two open standards, the Verifiable Credential Standard and the Web Monetization Standard and show how developers can build with them today.
3:15 p.m. EDT to
3:45 p.m. EDT / 12:15 p.m. PDT to
12:45 p.m. PDT		Seamlessly Integrate Identity Into Your APIs with Okta and Kong

Learn how to implement powerful new authentication and authorization scenarios with Kong and Okta. In this demo-heavy session, we will show you how to do sophisticated API access and API management flows with OIDC and OAuth – including how to plug in Identity into your CI/CD pipelines.
4:00 p.m. EDT to
4:30 p.m. EDT / 1:00 p.m. PDT to
1:30 p.m. PDT		Shift-Left DevOps for Your APIs with Okta and JFrog

With Okta and JFrog, strengthen your shift-left DevSecOps strategy by validating the security of your application’s REST API endpoints before you release to production and to your customers. Learn how you can use Okta and JFrog to automate the validation of your authentication and authorization policies for your REST APIs.
4:00 p.m. EDT to
4:30 p.m. EDT / 1:00 p.m. PDT to
1:30 p.m. PDT		OAuth for Game and XR Developers

Gaming and XR technology represent a wild west for identity security. The industry itself is one of the most highly targeted and breach prone in all of tech, yet security is commonly prioritized last. Often user experience is emphasised over security and best practice standards are not always a perfect fit for some target platforms such as consoles or headsets. With constantly increasing demand for interconnected experiences in gaming, growing reliance on cloud based backend solutions, and the increased collection of player data occurring as players become the product, security has become paramount for game developers. In this talk, we will deep dive into how game and XR developers can balance experience and security using the security best practice standard OAuth. We will discuss the basics of OAuth, designing experiences for different target platforms, and using a player’s authorization to interact with other cloud based backend solutions. This session is intended for game/XR developers, or developers who are interested in game/XR development, and assumes a basic level of development knowledge with related engines and tech. Existing experience with identity security best practices and OAuth are not required.
4:00 p.m. EDT to
4:30 p.m. EDT / 1:00 p.m. PDT to
1:30 p.m. PDT		Securing Authorization In Your Web Apps
4:45 p.m. EDT to
5:15 p.m. EDT / 1:45 p.m. PDT to
2:15 p.m. PDT		Closing Keynote with Cassidy Williams
7:00 p.m. EDT / 4:00 p.m. PDTChat Room Closes

Once again, I remind you…

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is auth-for-all-600x143.png

Register now!

Categories
Conferences Humor

“Dogecoin to the MOON!” (or: Tell me again why people dismiss Dogecoin as a joke cryptocurrency)

In case you missed it, a Dogecoin fan crashed the stage at this weekend’s Bitcoin conference in Miami during a session where Square CEO Jack Dorsey was talking about their LDK (Lightning Development Kit).

The gate-crasher appeared onstage in a dark suit and dress shirt, addressing the audience by saying “Excuse me, everybody — we have a very urgent announcement.”

That’s when he stripped off his suit, revealing a Doge t-shirt and yellow shorts and started screaming “Dogecoin to the mooooon!”, complete with interpretative dance moves.

He was very quickly removed from the stage with hilarious efficiency. You should watch the video to see how someone (security? stage crew?) picked him up as if he were an misplace stage prop:

Truth be told, I would’ve been disappointed if a Dogecoin fan hadn’t done something like this.

Categories
Conferences Current Events Tampa Bay

Join us at Mini-BarCamp Tampa Bay — Thursday, March 18, 8:00 p.m. EDT!

BarCamp Tampa Bay is one of the highlights of the year for the Tampa Tech scene, and we’ve all missed it — the chance to get together, see friends and colleagues, and of course, catch the talks!

There are plans for an in-person BarCamp Tampa Bay in the fall, and hopefully the vaccine situation will allow us to gather together then. In the meantime, there have been plans made to do the next-best thing, and it’s happening tomorrow, Thursday, March 18th at 8:00 p.m. Eastern: A live mini-BarCamp Tampa Bay on the Clubhouse app!

If you’d like to attend, you’ll need the Clubhouse app, which is currently iOS-only.

Once you have the app, open the link below on your iPhone on Thursday, March 18th at 8:00 p.m. (Eastern):

https://joinclubhouse.com/event/PbR2qg5R

 

Categories
Conferences Current Events Security Tampa Bay

“Most Wanted: Women in Cyber Careers”: Thursday, March 11 at 7 p.m. EST

Tampa’s security guild, The Neon Temple, along with The Prowess Group, is hosting their 2021 International Women’s Day Symposium with the title Most Wanted: Women in Cyber Careers. It takes place online tomorrow, Thursday, March 11th at 7:00 p.m. EST (UTC-5).

If you’re interested in cybersecurity or women in tech, you should catch this session! Register to attend, as well as to get details about how to view it online.

The panelists

Kelly Albrink Kelly Albrink (GCIH, GSEC, OSCP, GWAPT) is a Senior Security Consultant at Bishop Fox, where her areas of expertise are in network penetration testing, hardware security, and wireless technologies.

Courtney Jackson


Courtney H. Jackson, MSISA, CISSP, CISM, CEH, CHFI is the Founder and CEO of Paragon Cyber Solutions, LLC, a woman, minority, veteran-owned small business headquartered in Tampa, FL. Courtney has more than 20 years of certified hands-on experience in Information Technology, encompassing both executive leadership and entrepreneurship. Through her work, she helps government agencies, startups, and commercial companies to protect the integrity of their business operations through specialized cybersecurity and risk management solutions.

Sunny Wear Dr. Sunny Wear is a Web Security Architect and Penetration Tester. She provides secure coding classes, creates software, and performs penetration testing against web/API and mobile applications. Sunny has more than 25 years of hands-on software programming, architecture and security experience and holds a Doctor of Science in Cybersecurity. She is a published author, “Burp Suite Cookbook”, a developer of mobile apps, specifically, the “Burp Tool Buddy”, and is a Pluralsight content creator, “Burp Suite for Beginners/Advanced/Writing Plugins”. She regularly speaks and holds classes at security conferences such as Defcon, Hackfest, and BSides.

About The Neon Tample

The Neon Temple is Tampa Bay’s security guild.

Among their number are SOC analysts, penetration testers, programmers, ’80s Wardialers, CISOs, and even the occasional intelligence collector or federal agent. Their members vary from novices just getting started, to seasoned veterans who’ve been in the trenches since before the word “cyber” was invented. They care about cybersecurity, national security, and the right to privacy, and their aim is to spread their message and mentality globally.

Once again, the 2021 International Women’s Day Symposium, Most Wanted: Women in Cyber Careers, takes place on Thursday, March 11 at 7 p.m. EST (UTC-5). To attend, register for the event here.

Categories
Conferences Current Events

Catch FTW Conf today!

FTW Conf logoIt’s International Women’s Day! If you’re reading this blog, you’re either in tech or aspire to be, and you should attend the free online community mini-conference called FTW Conf! FTW Conf starts at 11:15 EST (16:15 UTC) and you can catch it online at FTWConf.com.

The Tracks

FTWConf will feature these tracks:

  • Security: Threat modelling, trust and how you can get into security yourself. Bring your questions — there’ll be ample time for Q&A with the speakers and hosts!
  • Transparency in tech: If you’re interested in technologies gathering personal information, accountability and trust, then you shouldn’t miss the Transparency in Tech panel discussion about how to change the way transparency is built into technology.
  • Career: Feeling nervous about approaching a salary negotiation or promotion discussion with your boss? Keen to find a mentor but unsure where to begin? Wonder how you can best bounce back and build resilience in an ever-challenging world? Applying to jobs and receiving zero response? Join the Career track as we explore real experiences, practical advice, and guidance from inspiring women in the industry on these important topics. There’s an open Q&A that will help you take your career to the next level!
  • Creative: All work and no play makes anyone dull. During the pandemic we’ve all picked up new hobbies, adopted new habits. In the Creative track, we won’t be talking sourdough bread, but we will explore more brainy creative outlets, like LEGO, sketch noting, and… knitting.
  • Main: Inspiring stories, discussions about diverse topics, and where they’ll wrap up the conference with a panel featuring speakers from the other tracks.

FTW Conf speakers from Auth0

I have a number of Auth0 co-workers at FTW Conf:

Annybell Villaroel

Annybell Villaroel, Security Culture Manager at Auth0, will speak at 12:30 p.m. EST in a session titled Trust: From Zero to Hero. She’ll talk about Security Culture, what trust is, and how to extend and inspire trust. We’ll follow almost exactly the same method that FBI hostage negotiators use on their day today. It doesn’t get more battle-tested than that!

Eva Sarafinaou, Senior Security Engineer at Auth0, will speak at 1:00 p.m. EST in a session titled Threat Modeling in the “Shift Security Left” era. “Shifting security left” means prioritizing security earlier in the development timeline. Doing this means that vulnerabilities are found early on in the process, making it easier and more cost effective to fix them. How can Threat Modeling become an integral part of your organization’s shift security left strategy? How can you, the developer, design secure software? Learn what is Threat Modeling and how to apply Threat Modeling techniques in each stage of the software development lifecycle. Start thinking like an attacker!

Ana Cidre is a Developer Advocate at Auth0, the founder of ngSpain and GalsTech. She has a degree in Fine Arts and a Master in International Business Economics and Management, so she is not your usual software developer. She’s a big fan of Web Components and Angular. As a very active member of the community, she regularly organises meetups and conferences, like the amazing ngSpain. Ana is based in Spain, where she’s the founder of GalsTech, a group for women in tech from Galicia. Because she is so passionate about diversity, she is also a Women Techmaker Ambassador.

James Quick is a developer, speaker, and teacher with a passion for Web Development. He is a Developer Advocate at Auth0 and has over 7 years of experience in Advocacy and Software Development. In his spare time, he runs a YouTube channel, plays co-ed soccer with his wife, spends time with his dogs, and can solve a Rubik’s cube in under a minute.

Sam Bellen is a Senior Developer Advocate Engineer at Auth0 and a Google Developer Expert. After office hours, he likes to play around with the web-audio API, and other “exotic” browser API’s. One of his side projects is a library to add audio effects to an audio input using JavaScript. When he’s not behind a computer, you’ll find him playing the guitar, having a beer at a concert, or trying to snap the next perfect picture.

Catch FTW Conf today! It’s free, it’s online, and it’s a great way to learn and celebrate International WOmen’s Day!