Tag Archives: foss

KCA slides, photos and videos

I was in Brisbane last week to talk about Linux Kernel Security at Kernel Conference Australia (KCA).

The aims of the talk were to provide a general overview of security features in the Linux kernel, and to examine historical context around Unix security and how Linux is evolving to address modern security requirements.

People may be interested in my slides. They’re available as a PDF download and via Slideshare. Note that full speaker notes are included in the slides, in the second half of the deck.

The conference was streamed live online, and the video from my talk may be viewed here. I’m watching to see how the talk, and my speaking in general, might be improved. As painful as this may be, it seems very effective in understanding what worked and what didn’t. I think I can tighten this talk up for possible future use, and focus more on how our development process—not merely the technology—helps address evolving security requirements.

I later participated in an OS security panel with Cristina Cifuentes and Fernando Gont, the video of which is also online.

I’ve also uploaded a flickr photo set. Brisbane is a great location for a conference, especially in the southern hemisphere winter.

It was unusual being the only Linux speaker at a conference. I hope the talk was useful, if at least to encourage more thinking about security in operating systems.

The primary organizer of KCA, James MacPherson, has posted an initial wrap-up of the conference. If the conference continues—I hope it does; it has a lot of potential for the Australian kernel R&D community—I think it would be highly advantageous to more actively seek speakers (and even organizers), from the broader community. One major local Linux kernel developer had a Linux kernel video talk rejected, which seemed odd given that similar talks were accepted (e.g. the new OpenSolaris sound system), and that an additional OpenSolaris talk was added to the program after the CfP closed.

I understand that organizing conferences is difficult, so I hope this is taken as constructive feedback. I’d certainly be interested in helping review papers or otherwise help out in the future if the conference is held again, and if it is aimed at the broader community.

FOSS.MY 2009 CFP Open

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur

I just noticed that the Call for Participation for FOSS.my 2009 is now open, until August 15th.  I spoke at the inaugural event last year, and had a great time.  Held in Malaysia, this is a true grass-roots conference.  It’s modelled somewhat on other community events such as LCA and FOSS.IN, and probably the leading such event for Southeast Asia.

The conference will be held on the weekend of the 24th and 25th of October, immediately following the Japan Linux Symposium and the Kernel Summit.  If you’re visiting the region for either of the Tokyo events, Malaysia is relatively close-by, and there are several good budget airlines in the region.  I’d highly recommend submitting a proposal or simply attending.

Kuala Lumpur is certainly a great city to visit, too.