Jordan Wiens focusing on the RSA 2007 "Interactive Testing Challenge"

Photo by Steve Maller, RSA conference photographer

Senior Network Security Engineer Jordan Wiens continued the UF Security Team's winning tradition by winning the "Interactive Testing Challenge" at this year's RSA 2007 conference.

Billed by conference organizers as "The World's Largest Community of Information Security Professionals," the convention is named after the encryption algorithm "which created the basis of electronic security as we know it today. The RSA Public Key Cryptosystem was invented in 1977 at MIT and has grown to become the most trusted encryption and authentication system in the world" (quoting from the conference web-site).

While at RSA 2007, Wiens learned valuable information from sessions on different security issues and techniques such as rootkits and advanced web exploits. More valuable, however, was the chance to meet with dozens of companies and look at products that might be useful to UF.

"One standout, for example, was Nevis, whose NAC-like product is extremely powerful and flexible and will definitely be evaluated as we consider deploying NAC technology."

However, beyond being a mere spectator, Wiens took the opportunity to demonstrate some advanced skills and techniques, winning the conference's "Interactive Testing Challenge." In this event, he had the opportunity to hone and sharpen his own web-application-assessment skills and demonstrate valuable techniques to other attendees. "These skills are exactly what UF security engineers need when conducting technical risk consultations for departments and have already been shown to be more useful than automated scanning tools in our first test run" Wiens said.