The RSA Conference is one of the most widely recognized IT security events in the world. However, the RSA-sponsored event this coming Febuary has been marred by a recent string of allegations and boycotts. Six speakers at the event have already confirmed that they will not be attending the said event due to a 2004 incident that involved RSA security and the National Security Agency (NSA).
The problem started when details regarding a secret deal between RSA Security and the NSA were made public in December 2013. The NSA allegedly paid RSA Security $10 million to purposely use weak random number generators for encryption methods that many developers use. This means that it will be easier for the NSA to crack encryptions thereby weakening the general security for millions of users.
The initial reports were first published by Reuters and were based on a series of interviews and statements from both former and currently employees from RSA Security. While the EMC-owned RSA Security has denied the allegations regarding weakened encryption methodologies, the company has been unable to explain the details behind the NSA's $10 million payment. In light of Edward Snowden's whistleblowing activities, it seems the NSA is embroiled in yet another surveillance fiasco.
The recent announcements regarding the boycotting of the 2014 RSA Conference by some security experts can also be seen as a sign of the growing frustration of IT professionals over the NSA's snooping activities. Many experts and professionals are already complaining that many NSA-funded activities have severely compromised Internet security both for private firms as well as individuals. The list of speakers who have backed out include respected IT security professionals such as Google security experts Chris Palmer and Adam Langley and F-Secure's chief research officer Mikko Hypponen.
Despite the announcement of the boycotts, RSA still expects around 560 speakers to show up at the upcoming conference next month. The conference will be held in San Francisco and RSA estimates that this year's turnout will exceed last year's attendance record of 24,000 individuals.
