Global Nerdy

Are you free next Tuesday, October 18th from 9:00 a.m. to noon, for an event you can attend either in person or online? If so, perhaps you might want to catch my talk at the upcoming InfraGard Tampa Bay Members Alliance meeting. It’s titled The Secret History of Login!

Here’s the description:

If you’re reading this, the chances are very good that you’ve logged into a system or resumed a session where you logged in earlier. It’s a common enough occurrence that most of us don’t think about it unless we’re in a hurry or if we can’t remember our username/password combination.

Logging in is new enough that there are still many people alive who knew the world before usernames and passwords, yet old enough that it’s developed some problems that will take time and effort to solve. This talk will tell the strange story of how login grew from a last-minute hack to become part of our daily experience. Along the way, you’ll get an overview of some of the ways it’s been implemented, the popular software movement it inspired, how it inspired both a software movement and a whole new category of crime, and some best guesses about its future.

What is InfraGard Tampa Bay Members Alliance?

First of all, they’re affiliated with the FBI! As their About page states:

Our mission is to mitigate criminal and terrorist threats, risks and losses for the purpose of protecting our region’s critical infrastructure and the American people. Founded in 2004, the Tampa Bay chapter has established itself as a leader nationwide, setting the highest standards for programs, training and education. For the last decade, we have proudly contributed to the safety and security of Tampa Bay via an all-threats, all-hazards approach. At the national level, the InfraGard National Members Alliance was founded in 1996 and now comprises over 80 regional chapters, each linked to an FBI Field Office.

InfraGard’s success can be attributed to the unprecedented communication, collaboration and coordination it has forged at the epicenter of America’s most critical resources. Our membership is comprised of individuals that represent private businesses; local, state and federal law enforcement agencies; academic institutions; first responders and more.

All members are vetted by the FBI and pass comprehensive background checks prior to being accepted to InfraGard. The trust inherent in those who have successfully passed these checks is unmatched in any other public-private partnership in the country, making InfraGard a unique and highly successful solution to engaging the private sector in the protection of our nation’s critical infrastructure.

What’s happening at this meeting?

There’s a lot going on at this meeting — in fact, I’m not the only speaker at this one! Here’s the agenda:

You can attend in person or online!

They’re streaming this event, so you have the option of attending online if you can’t make it to the in-person event. Here are the registration details:

• Interested in attending in person? Register here.
• Interested in attending remotely? Register here.