As RH-ISAC welcomes 2022, we would like to take a moment to reflect on the accomplishments of 2021, made possible only by the dedication and resilience our member community has shown. Despite the challenges thrown at the industry, from the pandemic to major security events like the Log4j vulnerability, our members have continued to come together and demonstrate, as always, the RH-ISAC spirit of collaboration and sharing.
We are grateful for how enthusiastically the community has embraced virtual events, starting with a series of regional workshops hosted by member partners this past spring. Despite moving online, these events remained local-focused, small-group activities, creating an environment for easy networking and knowledge exchange between peers.
Members become well-versed in Zoom networking, enjoying a wine tasting as part of RH-ISAC’s second online Cyber Intelligence Summit, which featured industry leading keynotes, New York Times journalist, Nicole Perlroth, and former CISA Director, Chris Krebs, as well as numerous breakout and working group sessions.
A benefit of 2021’s online focus was our ability to connect with new audiences around the world. This year, RH-ISAC held our first Asia-Pacific Workshop, which brought together RH-ISAC members in time zones that would not normally be able to attend traditional events. The workshop was a great success and has led to the formation of a Slack channel specifically for collaboration between members in this region.
Slack remains one of the many ways our membership has been able to stay connected these past few years. Another is Member Exchange, which was added in September of 2020 as a discussion and resource hub for CISO and analyst communities. This past year has seen increased adoption of Member Exchange, as well as continued use of the listservs, IOC ingestion integrations, and working groups that allow members to find and share relevant information.
These platforms are useful year-round, but never more so than during major security events like the recent Log4j vulnerability. When the news of the zero-day was released, RH-ISAC’s intel team created a post for tracking updates on the Member Exchange, as well as a post in the Intel Slack Channel. Members used these posts to stay up to date as new information became available and added their own findings to share with the community. Members also joined the Weekly Intel Call, where experienced teams shared what could be expected in the coming weeks and months. The sharing of this knowledge is one of those intangible benefits of belonging to a sharing community. Learn more about the benefits of membership on RH-ISAC’s website.
Even as we return to in-person events, our online intel sources, as well as webinars such as Cyber Thursday, will continue to provide a platform for the virtual exchange of knowledge that has become the “new normal”.
Thank you once again to all of our vendor partners, sponsors, and members who made 2021 a success. You can find more information in the 2021 Year in Review Report, now available on the RH-ISAC website.
