Highlights of the RSA Conference Europe 2007

Vying to overtake the Infosecurity show as the must-attend event for UK security professionals, the RSA Conference Europe featured speakers including security guru Bruce Schneier.

Schneier, founder and chief technical officer of BT Counterpane, told delegates that they should not necessarily trust security vendors to give a fair representation of the security of their products. "The [security] market is assymetrical — the seller knows a lot more than the buyer," said Schneier. "In the US a lousy used car is called a lemon — but you don't know until you drive it off the lot that it's a lemon."

Famous 1960s fraudster and subject of the film Catch Me If You Can, Frank Abagnale delivered the closing keynote address at the show. After years spent masquerading in different guises, including a pilot and a doctor, a spell in jail eventually led Abagnale back to the straight and narrow. He became a respected authority on forgery, embezzlement and secure documents.

The show, held in the ExCel conference centre, featured other security industry luminaries including former FBI agent and Microsoft's chief security advisor Ed Gibson.