CRESTx, inspired by TEDx, is a new initiative to bring cutting edge security information and ideas to university students: a series of 'short talks on big ideas.' "The aim of the CRESTx information exchange," explains Ian Glover, president of CREST, "is to provide the students with access to current information and help in the important process of sharing resources and information between Universities."
One of the problems for students is that learning is often dominated by books, and information security books are quickly out of date. “Availability of up to date information for students on trends within the industry and details on exploits and threats is not great,” said Glover. “There is very little published material and it’s often woefully out of date."
The purpose of CRESTx is to bring the latest ideas and techniques in security from the industry and academia to students, but at the same time, adds Glover, "it provides exposure for the University allowing potential employers to see the quality of the individual students and the University in general.”
The one-day conference comprises more than a dozen short presentations in four different subject areas: personal security and privacy; critical infrastructure protection; governance, risk management and compliance; and the human element of cyber security. The day starts with a presentation on 'dealing with fake digital personas' by Dr Alistair Baron, and closes with Glover's own presentation on 'making security a profession'
This is the first of an ongoing new series of CRESTx conferences. It features 20 speakers giving individual presentations of between 5 and 20 minutes. It is being hosted on campus at Lancaster university - and at the time of writing this, "There are 36 tickets remaining for this event."