With less than two months to go until AppSec DC is here, AppSec organizer and OWASP chapter lead and international committee member Rex Booth was nice enough to do an interview with us about all things AppSec.

In this interview, Rex tells us who should attend AppSec this year, why he got involved with AppSec in the first place, and why application security is one of the most important areas of the security field.

Why did you originally get involved in AppSec, and how have you seen AppSec grow since you first got involved?

Following undergrad, I immediately started working as a web application developer.  In college, I had a professor who had the foresight to emphasize the importance of security within applications, and I took it to heart – first as a developer and later as a consultant.  In the years since I started professionally, AppSec has matured and grown significantly to the point where the field is almost becoming crowded – which is a great thing – but we still haven’t fully penetrated the most important market: developers.

In your own words, what is the theme of AppSec this year, and which part of AppSec are you looking forward to the most?

From an OWASP perspective, I think the theme could easily be maturity; meaning that as an organization, we’re growing numerically, we’re growing in terms of recognition, and our products – our tools, documentation, and methodologies – have truly come into their own.  Personally, I’m looking forward to November 14th, the day after the conference, when I can look back and admire the completion of a successful event that brought together so many talented people under one roof.

For those that aren’t already familiar with AppSec, who should attend, and which tracks would you recommend for those that don’t have a technical background?

In an ideal world, everybody would attend, since application security is the responsibility of everybody from the end user, to the developer, to executive leadership. I think the ultimately unsatisfying answer is that it depends on your background and your role in your organization.  As a manager, I’d personally probably gravitate to the SDLC and Compliance tracks, but we’ve received so many quality presentations, I think each individual will have to make some tough decisions on what to attend.

On that note, this year’s AppSec will hold hands-on training before the conference; what kind of training will be offered, and how does it tie into the conference as a whole?

We’re fortunate to offer a wide variety of training from very qualified firms and individuals.  Our training selection will cover topics ranging from hands-on testing to threat modeling to secure development.  These trainings also include various technologies, so if you focus on Java or .Net or PHP, we have classes that focus on those technologies.  We made a concerted effort to provide training that reflects the diverse audience we expect at the conference; security professionals, developers, managers and everyone in-between – there’s truly something for everyone.

The goal of OWASP is to make application security more visible; why do you feel that application security is one of the most important areas of the security field?

Other facets of security have become something of a science over time.  Application security very much remains an art.  Accordingly, we as a community and as individual users aren’t able to apply a patch or deploy a device and call it a day.  We have to remain vigilant and continue to actively seek and develop advances in our field.  It’s not that application security is inherently more important than other aspects of security – it’s that application security is currently the weakest link in the chain and needs the most attention.

AppSec is still looking for volunteers; what kind of people are you looking for, and what kind of time commitment should they be able to give?

The most important characteristic we’re looking for in our volunteers is dedication and the ability to follow-through.  Even if you only have 10 hours to give, we likely have an opportunity for you to participate.

Lastly, if people walk away with only one thing from AppSec this year, what do you hope it is?

I hope that everyone who attends walks away feeling that they, as individuals, as professionals, and as members of our community, can make a difference in application security.

Rex’s Bio: Rex Booth is a Senior Manager with Grant Thornton’s Global Public Sector practice in Alexandria, VA.  He has over nine years of professional experience in application development and information security services for government agencies, private industry, and financial institutions.  During his tenure at previous employers, he designed and developed complex distributed web-based applications.  As a member of a managed security services team, he co-architected and implemented a scalable information detection and prevention information aggregation solution for use in a real-time 24/7 information security monitoring system, correlating and reporting on hundreds of devices.  Since joining Grant Thornton, Rex has managed and assisted with multiple information security and risk management engagements auditing IT system controls including FISMA, IV&V, SOX, and OMB A-123 engagements as well as identity management and system certification and accreditation efforts.  Rex has presented on the topic of information security and assessment methodologies to various institutions and is currently a chapter lead and international committee member for the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP).

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A special thanks to Rex, Doug Wilson, and Mark Bristow for agreeing to interview with us. Doug’s interview is already available, and Mark’s interview will be published soon, so keep an eye out!

With AppSec DC right around the corner, we were lucky enough to secure an interview with OWASP co-chair Doug Wilson. In addition to co-chairing OWASP (a formidable feat in itself) Dough is also an integral part of this year’s AppSec DC.

In this interview, Doug sheds light on what AppSec DC is all about, and why you should attend if you aren’t planning to already. Also be sure to check out the official AppSec DC wiki page to find out more about how you can attend or get involved in this year’s AppSec DC.

What can people expect from this year’s AppSec compared to previous years?

AppSec, like a lot of OWASP and Web App Sec in general, is still growing into full maturity. This year’s AppSec will be the biggest conference that OWASP has done to date, and probably the biggest Web Application Security conference in the world. Bigger is not always better, but I think that the size and scope this year have allowed us to get a real wealth of speakers and talent to take part in this event. The conference itself hasn’t been influenced by events in Washington, so much as current events influenced the choice by OWASP to have the event IN Washington itself. The OWASP board charged us with creating a quality conference, which they would have done regardless of location, but they especially targeted the DC Metropolitan area because of the many things that OWASP has to offer to the federal government, combined with the rapidly emerging importance of Web AppSec to the federal space at the same time.

Cyber Security is a big concern across the boards inside the beltway, but let’s face it — network security is a more mature field. There are more solutions and people ready to provide those solutions on that front, whereas the Web App Sec field is still somewhat immature in the federal space. Thus an organization such as OWASP that is developing practical tools and guides that can be used to build solutions for little or no cost in that space is invaluable to the government . . . if the government is aware that it is there, and how it can be utilized. We really hope that a lot of federal decision makers, at high and low levels, take advantage of the opportunity of having OWASP’s national gathering right in the middle of DC, so they can become acquainted with what we have to offer.

Is AppSec still looking for volunteers? If so, what do you need the most help with, and how should people go about getting involved?

AppSec is always looking for volunteers. OWASP is a non-profit, and aside from specific vendors hired to come in and fulfill some contracts (such as catering), almost none of the people working the conference from the OWASP side will be paid. We are doing it because we are passionate about what OWASP stands for, and because we want to pull off an excellent conference. We’ll need help to do that, and are looking for equally passionate people to help out.

What we mainly need is people to staff the days of the show: Obviously, this is a trade off, because if you are working the show, you will miss out on part or all of the content that attendees get to appreciate, but you will be helping the event happen, and without that, no one would get to see the content. All of the organizers and our “Arch Minions” as we have taken to calling them (lead volunteers) are willing to make that sacrifice. However, we will have many positions that need filling that can be staffed for part of the conference, and we invite people who want to help out, or who want to see only part of the conference on the cheap to sign up and help make this event happen. You’ll get the opportunity to see some of the talks, and work the rest of the event. We’ll need folks for registration, badge checking, speaker and trainer assistance, facilities liaisons, and much more. If you are interested, you can contact myself or one of the other organizers via our OWASP emails (fairly easy to dig up), or by emailing infoATappsecdcDOTorg.

Another thing we will always need more of are sponsors. Sponsorships are important to the depth of our conference. Without sponsors, we can still provide the fundamental conference, but sponsorship dollars help OWASP and help us put on a better conference, with more perks and benefits for the attendees, which make for a more enjoyable overall experience. So every additional sponsor we sign up will add to the quality of the experience for everyone attending. If you are interested in sponsoring, or know an organization that would be a good fit, please contact us.

While AppSec places a heavy focus on people who are already in the field, you also make AppSec open to students. What do you hope college students in particular will get out of AppSec, and how do you think it will influence them when they graduate and enter the field?

The biggest thing I think that anyone wants to get out of a conference like AppSec is to learn new things, and interact with other people who are knowledgeable in their field. I think that that is also a lot of what drives students in any discipline, and AppSec will provide an excellent learning environment to properly motivated individuals. My hope is that we will attract people who are developers and are curious about security, or people who are studying a standard IS/IT/IA track and want to learn more about application security. One of the most powerful people for making effective change in application security in any organization is a security conscious developer. Right now, that’s a rare animal, but someone who has development skills and security knowledge has the best of both worlds, and is in a very good position to look for great career opportunities, even in a “down market.” My hope is that we can take people who are aware of the concept of security, but haven’t really prioritized it, and make them re-evaluate how important it is, and eventually just include it in how they go about creating applications in the future. That’s the ultimate goal of Web App Sec, really — having a world where all developers are security conscious, and security is considered from the first inkling of putting a project together.

Recently, Mark Bristow (another organizer) and I gave a talk at the DC PHP Users Group on Web Application Security 101, and how the OWASP Top Ten applied to it. We got a fairly warm reception, and I felt good about it. But a week or so later, I was at a store near the University of Maryland College Park campus, and someone stopped me coming out the door. It was a person who had seen the talk at the DC PHP group — but was also a CS student at Maryland. He was really excited about the talk, and really wanted to know more, and to attend the conference. That made me feel much better than just “good” — that one bit of outreach had possibly taken someone who was going into the field of application development, and made them aware of something that could reshape their entire career for the better. We had made them start to prioritize security in what they did, and having them be excited about it on top of it. That’s awesome! I think that’s why we want to encourage students, and that’s what they can get out of it above and beyond what they learn at the training or talks.

In the press release for this year’s AppSec, you say “AppSec DC is a unique opportunity for federal decision makers and key technologists to become familiar with OWASP and the resources it has to offer.” AppSec has a heavy mix of both private and public sector speakers this year. Why do you feel it is especially timely for the private and public sectors to learn where each other is coming from?

One of the things about Web Application Security is that it’s a really big problem to try and solve. It affects everyone who uses the internet, and potentially even those who don’t. At a time where the government is trying to tackle the gigantic issues of protecting National Critical Infrastructure and securing IT resources across the government, the main access method to both control of infrastructure and information (i.e. the “Web”) is the most important thing to focus on. Only by working together and collaborating will we be able to make inroads on this massive problem, and both sides have resources that the other do not.

If we wait for the government to figure out all the expertise that has been developed in the private sector, or if we wait for the private sector to have the reach and impact of the government, we’re doomed. However, if the government reaches out to  the public and private companies and groups (such as OWASP) who are already focused in this area, it can be a winning situation all round. The government (and the citizens!) of many countries, not just the United States, can have more confidence in the stability of their infrastructure and their government resources, while the governments provide growth opportunities for companies and organizations that provide the expertise. I think that every day we do NOT have this sort of collaboration in place is one where we get further and further away from the constantly moving target of creating more secure web applications for all walks of life.

You also go on to say that, “OWASP’s mission and community align closely with the goals set forth by the US Chief Information Officer: transparency, engagement of staff, reduction of cost, and innovation in technology. OWASP can enable the government to attain these goals in the pursuit of securing critical technologies that depend on the web.” Which tracks at this year’s AppSec would you recommend for government employees who want to reach the goals you outlined?

It really depends on the employees role within the government. I like to feel that we have something for everyone. For those who are new to OWASP, and/or those who focus on high level decision making, we have several tracks that talk about some of our core ideas, as well as steps to apply security at a process or management level. Tracks such as the OWASP and the SDLC track on the first day, and the Process, Metrics, and Compliance track on the second day all have a wide variety of talks that will provide value to decision makers, managers, and development team leaders, or anyone who wants to get an overview of how you can apply good web application security practices to your organization’s current efforts. Conversely, we’re not letting our technical specialists down. The Tools track, the Web 2.0 track, the OWASP track, The Attack and Defend track, and pieces of all the other tracks will appeal to engineers who are developing or attacking applications and want to know what’s new and on the cutting edge. A large number of our speakers are experienced presenters, with previous talks at AppSec, Black Hat, Defcon, Shmoocon, and others under their belts.

Do you feel that some of the training courses offered on the 10th and 11th would be good for government employees who want to learn about application security more deeply, but might not have a technical background?

Again, it will depend on their role. We have good courses for technical and non-technical people who are interested in Web App Sec. For leaders and managers, we have the Threat Modeling Express course from Security Compass, and Leading the Development of Secure Applications from Aspect Security. Both of those courses are designed for non-technical decision makers, and both are being taught by experts from top companies in the field. If an attendee is interested in learning a bit more about the technical process, we have a variety of courses deal with “how to learn to test” in various arenas, such as the Samurai Web Testing Framework class from Inguardians, and the Applying the OWASP Testing Guide with the OWASP Live CD course taught by Matt Tesauro (creator and project lead on the Live CD). These courses will probably require a little more technical knowledge, but will teach some of the fundamentals of how to test a web application and walk users through some of the steps involved in the process.

And lastly, what would you say to those who are still sitting on the fence about attending AppSec?

I’d say that this is a great opportunity for everyone interested or affected by Web Application Security, but especially those located near Washington DC. DC has a huge population of people who are interested in security, and an even bigger population who should be and are affected daily by decisions that are made (or not made) regarding security. AppSecDC offers a very inexpensive, extremely valuable learning and networking opportunity which is unlike anything else ever offered in the District. If you are not from DC, it’s a chance to come and see the infosec climate in the Nation’s Capital, and interact with government employees and those who work with them, at the same time listening to and learning from some of the top minds in Web Application Security from around the world. This is the biggest OWASP event, and likely the biggest Web Application Security Event ever held. Considering the price tag (especially with OWASP membership discount and early bird registration discounts), it should be a very simple decision when you see the value that you will get for your investment.

As an additional incentive to out of towners, our location is right in the middle of downtown at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, and our host hotel, the Grand Hyatt Washington has been nice enough to extend our convention rate through the weekend, so if you are coming in from out of town, you can stay the weekend and see the sites of the nation’s capital as well.

Doug’s Bio: Doug Wilson is a Senior Application Engineer with SAIC, where he supports government and private sector customers. He specializes in Information Security and Highly Available Web Architectures. Doug has been working in a variety of IT positions for the past ten years, and has always been “the security guy” regardless of what he’s been doing. Prior to joining SAIC, Doug worked as a contractor at the National Institutes of Health for almost six years. While at NIH, his main duties were developing progressive security and application hosting programs for a group that supports infrastructure at NIH for over 40,000 users. Prior to NIH, Doug had worked for several local web hosting companies.

When Doug is not working feverishly trying to get everything in order for AppSecDC, he is also a co-chair of the Washington DC Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) chapter, and founder/organizer of the monthly CapSec DC happy hour. He also participates in the DC web design and development community, having presented on Web Application Security at Refresh DC, Barcamp DC, the DC PHP Users Group, George Washington University, and other events in the DC metro area.

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A special thanks to Doug, Rex Booth, and Mark Bristow for agreeing to interview with us. Mark and Rex’s interviews will be published in the upcoming weeks, so keep an eye out for them!

Just a quick reminder that the SANS AppSec event is today, April 29th. For more information about SANS, see its description in our Infosec Conferences section.

View our Calendar for a list of similar infosec events in and around the NoVA area. See our original post for more information about this meetup.

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If you attend this workshop, why not write about it for NovaInfosecPortal? We’re currently looking for some great guest bloggers to feature on the site. If you’re interested, drop us a line, or send us a tweet @grecs.

Have you registered for the SANS AppSec event yet?

If not, there’s still time left to purchase your registration. While the event starts tomorrow, April 29th, registration is still open. You can purchase your registration through our SANS section (just click on the SANS image to be taken to the official website), which won’t cost you anything extra, but will help us keep this site running strong.

Entitled “Application Security Workshop — What Works? What Products, Services and Configurations Work Best to Protect Applications From Common Atttacks?” this SANS training workshop gives attendees real information from real professionals in the field. The primary speakers for this event are Jeremiah Grossman of WhiteHat and Konrad Vessey of NSA, meaning that they’ll have information that you won’t be able to get anywhere else.

So if you’d like to learn about solutions that are more than just nice sounding theories, this is definitely a workshop you should attend.

• Who: SANS, with Jeremiah Grossman of WhiteHat and Konrad Vessey of NSA
• What: ”Application Security Workshop — What Works? What Products, Services and Configurations Work Best to Protect Applications From Common Atttacks?”
  • According to the SANS website, workshop attendees will “hear from actual users of multiple products – senior people from the federal government and from major financial organizations. They will tell you which products and services they implemented, what worked, what didn’t and the lessons they learned along the way. It is real-world, from-the-trenches information that you really cannot get any other way.”  
• When: 04-29, 8:30 AM - 6:30 PM EST
• Where: The Marriott Wardman Park (2660 Woodley Rd. NW Washington, D.C. 20008)

For more information on SANS, see its description in our Conferences section. View our Calendar for a complete list of infosec events in and around the NoVA area. To purchase registration for an upcoming SANS event, click here.

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Speaking of SANS, Do you have your pass to SANSFIRE yet? If not, why not purchase it through NovaInfosecPortal? It doesn’t cost you anything extra, and it helps us keep the site going.

Just a reminder that the OWASP – VA Chapter Infosec meetup is tomorrow, January 8th. Covering the OWASP ASVS project and the relationship between Application Security and the CMMI, the meetup is a must-attend for anyone who wants to learn more about these topics.

If you plan on attending the meeting, please don’t forget to RSVP by clicking here.  

If you’d like more information about this meetup, check out our original post. If you’d like to learn more about other infosec events in and around the NoVA area, please take a moment to check out our calendar for a complete list of events.

The upcoming meeting of the OWASP – VA Local Chapter will kick off the new year with two controversial topics: the OWASP ASVS project and the relationship between Application Security and the CMMI.

Since it’s never safe to discuss potentially controversial topics on an empty stomach, the organizers of the OWASP – VA Chapter will provide pizza with the understanding that attendees will do the honorable thing and provide a small donation to cover the cost.

After eating enough pizza to keep tempers satiated, the OWASP – VA Chapter will unveil the keynote speakers of the meeting — Michele Moss, Booz Allen & Mike Boberski, Booz Allen — both of whom have inside knowledge about the featured topics of the evening.

Want to learn more about the meeting? Keep reading below. If you plan on attending the meeting, please RSVP by clicking here.

• Who: Mike Boberski, Booz Allen & Michele Moss, Booz Allen
• What:
  • About OWASP ASVS: Mike Boberski — project leader and co-author of the OWASP Application Security Verification Standard — will give a presentation entitled “About OWASP ASVS,” which will discuss the long-term and short-term goals of the OWASP ASVS Project. These goal include normalizing the rage of coverage and level of rigor available in the market when it comes to performing application-level security verification in addition to creating a set of commercially-workable open standards that can be tailored to specific web-based technologies.
  • Evolutions in the Relationship between Application Security and the CMMI: Michele Moss will give a presentation entitled “Evolutions in the Relationship between Application Security and the CMMI,” using her nearly 12 years of experience helping organizations use capability maturity models — including CMMI and SSE-CMM — to discuss Application Security and CMMI in detail. Moss has also been a primary contributor to efforts of applying assurance focus to CMMI, making her an expert on CMMI and its range of coverage in the current market.
• When: 01-08, 6:00 – 8:30 PM EST
• Where: Booz Allen, One Dulles Facility (13200 Woodland Park Road; Herndon, VA 20171)

For more information on the OWASP – VA Local Chapter, see its description in our NoVA Meetups section. View our Calendar for a complete list of infosec events in and around the NoVA area. Here is a link to the page with information on this meetup.

Here is some information regarding this week’s Tuesday AFCEA – Central Maryland (CMD) Chapter infosec meetup event.

• Who: Craig Smilowitz, HP & David Del Re, HP
• What: Application Security
  • Application quality includes not only functionality and performance, but also web application security. While some security vulnerabilities exist in your web server or application infrastructure, at least 90 percent of those vulnerabilities exist in the web application itself. To address web application security, you must treat these security vulnerabilities as defects. As such, application security must be incorporated into your existing quality management practices within the software development lifecycle.
• When: 10/14, 7:30 – 9:00 AM EST
• Where: Booz Allen Hamilton (134 National Business Parkway; Annapolis Junction, MD 20701; in Suite 1100)

For more information on the AFCEA – CMD Chapter, see its description in our NoVA Meetups section. View our Calendar for a complete list of infosec events in and around the NoVA area. Here is a link to the page with information on this meetup.