RSA Conference 2020 USA Recap: Workforce Development, 5G and Data Privacy
By Shannon Van Every, Senior Account Manager
Tradeshows are an excellent way for cybersecurity vendors to gain exposure and meet potential customers. In recent years we have seen a tremendous increase in cybersecurity spending and investment. This was certainly evident at RSAC 2020, with the Moscone Center stuffed full of flashy competitors, flush with VC cash. In this environment, teams must work smarter every year to maximize ROI.
This year our team was at RSAC the entire week, meeting with our clients and staffing briefings, and observing vendor trends on the show floor.
Below are a few of the top trends from RSAC this year:
Workforce Development
The human element is top-of-mind for 2020, since the cybersecurity skills gap still persists: there simply aren’t enough skilled workers to fill the 4 million job roles that remain unfilled. This year we saw vendors offering solutions to resolve the global cybersecurity workforce gap. In a time of high-profile data breaches and destructive cyberattacks, this is also an opportunity for automation. Automating mundane tasks will help elevate security professionals and enable them to prioritize tasks that matter most.
5G
5G promises to bring faster data rates and a spectrum of new services. At RSAC, we saw the security challenges of 5G take center stage. Compared to last year, there was a strong uptick in sessions focused on 5G, with many focusing on China and its involvement in the ongoing trade war with the U.S. and the fight for 5G monopolization.
Data Privacy
On January 1, 2020, companies were obligated to comply with California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), legislation that governs the data collection practices of technology companies across the U.S. that have California residents as customers. As more states and countries mandate the protection of users’ privacy, companies will need to implement privacy measures across products, services and internal processes. Data privacy used to be a “nice-to-have,” but it’s now trending as a core business and security requirement.
Our team will be monitoring how these topics play out this year and what new ones will crop up throughout 2020.
