Fourth time is the charm - the t2 conference has returned 

Having been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic three times in a row, the t2 security conference finally returned on the first week of May this year. The 2-day event was held in a conference facility of the Clarion hotel, Helsinki, where everything was ready for a reunion so long awaited, and of course, Nixu Corporation and the Nixuans were present at the event. 

T2 security conference stands out as a so-called technical event, not as a marketing event, stating being an event “from hacker to hackers”. 

“t2 is a technical information security conference focusing on high quality offensive and defensive content with heavy emphasis on networking and community building.” 
- t2 event organizers

The oldest of the events in Finland, the idea for t2 arose from the need to meet same-minded people, network, share stories and learn from each other working in a field of ICT security. 

“The conference was born at a time when there was no technically oriented and independent information security conference in Finland.” 
- t2 event organizers

So, what makes the t2 different from other hacker or security related conferences? Over the past times of the conference, commitment to technical excellence has always been at the center. The organizers have set a strict policy, which by following they can deliver the best experience for technical experts of the field. Here are some of the criteria: 

• Sponsors cannot affect the agenda 

• Sponsorship will not guarantee (nor prevent) a presentation slot 

• Zero tolerance for presentations that focus on marketing or directly promoting a product 

• All submitted presentations are reviewed by the t2 Advisory Board 

• The total amount of attendees, including speakers and organizers, is limited to 99 

• One and the same ticket and price for everyone 

“Conferences, they may start like this, but they don’t always end up like this.” 
- John Lambert 

This year the topics of the presentations touched issues such as, artificial intelligence, how to survive and recuperate from a global-level cyber attack against a multinational company and how to pen-test OSDP bus and devices. They also focused on DoS and securing Azure environments, chain macOS vulnerabilities, OSINT for the future, how to protect a DevOps environment with deception, and more. 

The event is clearly divided in time and flow with presentations and breaks, for learning and then mingling and networking. After each round of presentations, running in two rooms parallel, there is a coffee break or lunch with food and snacks included in the ticket price for everyone. So after each presentation, attendees get time to mingle, chat with other guests and reflect on what they just heard and saw. 

The people make the event 

The first day of the conference ended with a cocktail event sponsored (by yours truly) Nixu Corporation at the rooftop bar of the Clarion hotel, it was a sunny day and had an amazing view over the city of Helsinki. Over a hundred guests had the opportunity to network, share ideas, meet new faces and relax. After the cocktails and dinner had been served, the guests had another opportunity to meet new people and to share their ideas and experiences. 

As with most of the conferences everywhere, the presentations were good, or more than good, but the thing in t2 is the people that one meets. The event encourages attendees to get involved, to approach people and to get to know each other. Many are from the same field of work, so common ground is easy to find. You can meet anyone from seniors to juniors, fresh faces and old ones and have a lot of discussions. 

As an event aimed at those more in technical roles, it enabled people to exchange ideas and learn new things and brought a great opportunity to make new contacts while building the community around the subject of computer security. 

The event also supports the learning and broadening the view of Nixu’s Engineering unit as they are heavily involved in OT and IoT security and also doing pen-testing, recon and OSINT related assignments for customers. Hearing war-stories how different actors have recovered from cyber attacks is always a good place to learn as Threat analysis, SOC and DFIR services are also a part of the Nixu’s portfolio. This is true, especially now, as Nixu is joining DNV for truly global market, serving customers around the world. Together for better and safer tomorrow.