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My 10th RSA Conference: A Look Back At The Journalist Landscape

It was April of 2001, while working for Computer Associates (now known as CA), that I made my way to San Francisco for what was my first RSA Conference. There were no blogs (as we know them today), Twitter, Facebook, YouTube or LinkedIn. And despite the rapidly emerging success of online media, print was still king.

Next month, I will once again be roaming the floors of the Moscone Center for my tenth consecutive RSA Conference. Over the years, it has most certainly been an amazing journey for the security marketplace -- and in particular -- the security journalist landscape. While many of the names and faces have changed, many still remain, albeit in varying roles much different than those of yesteryear. Here is a quick look at a few of the security technology journalists that I have had the pleasure to work with over the years and where they are now:

Illena Armstrong: Without question one of the mainstays on the security editorial scene, Illena is currently the editor-in-chief of SC Magazine and has been with the publication for as long as I can remember. I was honored to accompany Illena as her special guest at the SC Magazine Awards in 2006. It was a thrill to sit at the head table alongside Illena and eight other security industry luminaries. This year, Schwartz Communications is a sponsor for the SC Awards and we are looking forward to being there and presenting one of the prestigious awards.

Bill Brenner: Now serving as the senior editor of CSO Magazine, you may know Bill from his very active participation on Twitter. He came over to the IDG family in 2008 from TechTarget, where he spent the prior four years as a senior news writer for the Security Media Group, or better known to many as Information Security Magazine and SearchSecurity.com.

Andy Briney: In the journalist community, it is jokingly said that there are two "dark sides": a move to the vendor community and a move from editorial to publishing. In 2005, Andy made the jump to the latter, albeit with the same publishing firm, TechTarget. Andy currently serves as a senior vice president and group publisher at TechTarget, but many of us remember him from his days as editor-in-chief of Information Security Magazine. In fact, Andy had been with the publication since 1998 and saw it through the acquisition by TechTarget. Definitely a world of difference between the type of editorial content created then and what it has evolved into today!

Joris Evers: And speaking of turning to the "dark side", Joris made the jump from his security beat at CNET to a, get this, public relations role at McAfee in 2007. Since the move, Joris hasn't looked back and he is currently flourishing in his role of security specialist & director, worldwide public relations.

Dennis Fisher: The whereabouts of Dennis these days might best be described by his fellow journalist peers as a "hybrid dark side". In 2009, Dennis left his post as executive editor at TechTarget's Information Security Magazine and SearchSecurity.com to start up a new security news website called Threatpost, where he and Ryan Naraine (see below) serve as co-editors. The "hybrid" part comes into play, as Fisher's employer is Kaspersky Lab and they are the sole sponsor of Threatpost. Fisher's dual role includes that of security evangelist for the anti-malware vendor. And of course, many know Dennis from his days covering the security beat at eWeek from 2000-2006.

Brian Fonseca: While Brian left the security scene many years ago, he has left an indelible mark on those who travel in those circles with his infectious up-beat attitude. Brian was the very first security journalist who I met in person during his days covering the security beat for InfoWorld. Brian left InfoWorld in late 2003, when he joined the eWeek staff and began covering storage. In 2006, "Fonzy" made the jump to the vendor side when he joined IBM in a marketing capacity. Brian has since made a brief return to the journalist community when he was reunited in the IDG family at ComputerWorld, but in late 2008, he joined Sun Microsystems as a marketing communications manager. He has survived the Oracle acquisition and currently serves in a similar capacity.

George Hulme: One of the few journalists who realized early on that he wanted to make a change in his life, George left the security beat at InformationWeek in May 2005 to venture off and start his own freelance writing consultancy, where he has flourished ever since. George remains a regular at industry trade shows and events when his schedule permits, and he continues to successfully pen the InformationWeek security blog.

Rob Lemos: A long-time security industry veteran who was once affectionately referred to as "one of the Rob's" during his days with ZDnet and CNET (Rob Vamosi being the other), Rob moved on to the well regarded SecurityFocus website (a Symantec-sponsored security news website) in 2005, where he spent nearly five years as the managing editor. Rob is currently doing freelance writing assignments for the likes of MIT Technology Review, YourSecurityResource.com (a Symantec-sponsored security news website) and work with IDG's CIO and CSO magazines.

Bob McMillan: In 2003, Bob came on to the security scene as a senior writer for the IDG News Service. Bob has been in that position ever since and continues to always be at the forefront of what is going on with the most pressing security issues and breaking news items. As Bob's work gets syndicated globally across the vast IDG network, his work is widely read and well respected. Numerous security journalists have dubbed him a true professional's professional and acknowledge that he is as well connected as they come.

Ellen Messmer: If you attend any of the security trade shows, you have undoubtedly seen Ellen zip by you at least once. Ellen has been covering the security beat at NetworkWorld for as long as I can remember and is one of the hardest working journalists on the show floor. It's been more than once where I saw Ellen racing by and she would look up and say, "Hi, Tim. Can't talk now, on the way to the next meeting." In a nutshell, that describes Ellen's always fast-paced, no nonsense style.

Mike Mimoso: One of the true gentlemen of the security journalist community, Mike might be one of the most polite, even-tempered guys out there on the circuit. He has been a mainstay at TechTarget since 2000 and his roles have grown from senior news editor for SearchSecurity.com to his recent promotion as editorial director for TechTarget's security media group. Prior to the promotion, Mike sat in the editor role of Information Security Magazine since 2005.

Ryan Naraine: Also known in some of the smaller security circles as the "Egyptian Magician" (an inside joke stemming from Dennis Fisher telling me that Ryan is Egyptian), Ryan came on to the security scene in 2004 when he joined eWeek as a senior editor. In 2007, Naraine left eWeek and joined ZDnet, where is currently is the co-author for the widely read and respected Zero Day blog, where he self-describes his work as, "I write about hackers." In addition to his blogging role, along with Fisher, Ryan is currently a security evangelist at Kaspersky Lab and co-editor of Threatpost.

Paul Roberts: Starting in 2002, Paul began covering security during his stint as the U.S. correspondent for the IDG News Service, and he has been an industry mainstay ever since. Paul's employers changed a couple of times over the years, including a stop at eWeek and a return to the IDG family as a senior editor for news at InfoWorld, but his beat remained the same: security. In mid-2007, Paul hung up his journalist hat and became an analyst at The 451 Group, where he currently serves as a senior analyst in their enterprise security group.

Jaikumar "Jai" Vijayan: One of the industry's most tenured beat reporters, Jai has been on the ComputerWorld team since 1994 and has covered security pretty much the entire time. There is no question that Jai is a man on a mission, particular at trade shows. Even though he seems to always be on the run, if you do manage to catch up with him, you are always greeted with the warm smile that has become a trademark of his. Jai continues to this day to serve as the senior editor at ComputerWorld covering the security beat.

Larry Walsh: For those who know Larry, many would describe him as the ultimate straight-shooter, as he gives it to you as he sees it. If you are comfortable with this level of conversation, you are likely to have an engaging and spirited one with him. That is how I started with Larry, during my days at CA. We went back and forth on a few things and from there began to develop a really strong relationship. I met Larry during his tenure as the editor of Information Security Magazine, and was sad to see him leave the security sector in the latter half of 2005, when he joined the CMP family as the editor of VARBusiness. Larry's channel expertise has continued to grow as he has served as the vice president and group publisher at Ziff Davis' Channel Insider since 2008.

I will forever be grateful to the RSA Conference, as this annual event is where I have been given the opportunity to interface with so many of the folks that make our dynamic security PR world tick. Over the years I have had the chance to develop some amazing working relationships and some tremendous personal ones as well to the point where I am proud to call some of these journalists my closest friends.

After all of these years, a lot has changed across the security marketplace. There are a lot of familiar faces that remain and many new ones that have joined in the last decade. But it is quite comforting to know that one thing remains consistent: the Schwartz Communications Security Practice continues to keep its finger on the pulse of the security media and influencer landscape. What are some of your RSA memories?

Posted by Tim Whitman on February 11, 2010 at 9:12 AM