Blue Team Con is a conference performed yearly for cybersecurity specialists, working with companies directly to ensure the safety of their assets, students, and entrepreneurs. The gatherings are aimed at filling gaps in investigation and information transmission for blue team workers. The main themes of the conference are thread detection and elimination, administration of security systems and their observance, as well as the design of new programs for information protection (“Blue Team Con – About”, 2021). In 2021, the meeting of the Blue Team Con is set for Saturday, August 28, and will continue to Sunday, August 29, in Chicago, Illinois (“Blue Team Con 2021”, 2021). The gathering provides a ground for communication and knowledge exchange for both professionals and non-professionals.
The Blue Team Con organization delivers relatively short talks with professionals of the sphere. Padgett-Beale employees would communicate with speakers who have experience working for top companies globally, such as Microsoft (“Speaker Bios”, 2020). Although the talks last only for 30 to 50 minutes, the participants could access the speakers’ contacts to establish further networking. Moreover, the format of brief lectures is beneficial for those who want to visit as many discussions as possible. Thus, the structural composition of the conference is convenient for attaining a maximum of advantages relatively fast.
Furthermore, the Blue Team Con covers matters that have no apparent connection to the cybersecurity area but are vital for the industry workers. For example, one of the talks concerns legal problems of various protection solutions (“Talk Track 1 – 50 Minutes”, 2021). Padget-Beale’s employees may update their knowledge about client privacy and apply it while developing security appliances. The understanding of the constraints related to this point will prevent the company from law infringing and proceedings. Therefore, the conference is insightful in the questions of a company’s proper performance additionally to information protection.
The time zone of Chicago, Illinois, and New York are the same; therefore, it would not create additional difficulties to travel to the conference location. One should arrive in Chicago on Friday, August 27, and stay there till Sunday, August 29, in order to visit as many meetings as possible. The cheapest flight costs $154, not including the possible additional baggage fees. The non-stop flight to the destination takes about 8 hours, while the return time amounts to 10 hours. Snacks during traveling are available, but they demand extra payment (“New York – Chicago”, 2021). The Blue Team Con organization decided on choosing the Fairmont hotel as the place of the meetings (“Venue & Travel”, 2021). The price of one night in the hotel is 199$; the sum of two nights needed for participation in the conference is $398 (“Fairmont Room”, n.d.). As for meals and incidentals, the expenses are $76 for one day of staying in Chicago, Illinois, plus $57 for the first and the last day of travel (“Per Diem Rates Look-Up”, n.d.). An UberX taxi that can guarantee the arrival and departure from the hotel to the airport costs $50-65; for two rides, it will be about $120 (“Taxi Fare UBER from O’Hare International Airport to Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park”, n.d.). Finally, I would pay $200 for the ticket of a professional (“Blue Team Con 2021”, 2021). The total price of the Blue Team Con conference attendance is $1005, without any additional costs.
In sum, the Blue Team Con is a relatively attractive event for improving knowledge about cybersecurity and meeting people from the industry. Most importantly, it does not take a tremendous amount of time and money to visit it. The conference speakers provide the participants with different content that is not related to the topic precisely but is still vital for the company’s assets protection.
References
Blue Team Con – About. (2021). Blue Team Con. Web.
Blue Team Con 2021. (2021). Eventbrite. Web.
Fairmont room. (n.d.). Blue Team Con 2021. Web.
New York – Chicago. (2021). KAYAK. Web.
Per diem rates look-up. (n.d.). GSA. Web.
Speaker bios. (2020). Blue Team Con. Web.
Talk track 1 – 50 minutes. (2021). Blue Team Con. Web.
Taxi fare UBER from O’Hare International Airport to Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park. (n.d.). Taxi How Much. Web.
Venue & travel. (2021). Blue Team Con. Web.