This sounds like the best thing since sliced bread:
Ever feel like Chicken Little? Wonder if letter grades, color codes, and/or duct tape are even a tiny bit useful? Cringe at the subjectivity applied to security in every manner?
If so, MetriCon 1.0 may be your antidote to change security from an artistic “matter of opinion” into an objective, quantifiable science. The time for adjectives and adverbs has gone; the time for numbers has come.
MetriCon 1.0 is intended as a forum for lively, practical discussion in the area of security metrics. It is a forum for quantifiable approaches and results to problems afflicting information security today, with a bias towards practical, specific implementations. Topics and presentations will be selected for their potential to stimulate discussion in the Workshop.
Workshop Format
MetriCon 1.0 will be a one-day event, Tuesday, August 1, 2006, co-located with the 15th USENIX Security Symposium in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Beginning first thing in the morning, with meals taken in the meeting room, and extending into the evening.
Attendance will be by invitation and limited to 50 participants. All participants will be expected to “come with opinions” and be willing to address the group in some fashion, formally or not. Preference giventothe authors of position papers/presentations who have actual work in progress.
Each presenter will have 10-15 minutes to present his or her idea, followed by 15-20 minutes of discussion with the workshop participants. Panels may be convened to present different approaches to related topics, and will be steered by what sorts of proposals come in in response to this Call.
Goals and Topics
The goal of the workshop is to stimulate discussion of and thinking about security metrics and to do so in ways that lead to realistic, early results of lasting value. Potential attendees are invited to submit position papers to be shared with all. Such position papers are expected to address security metrics in one of the following categories:
– Benchmarking
– Empirical Studies
– Metrics Definitions
– Financial Planning
– Security/Risk Modeling
– VisualizationPractical implementations, real world case studies, and detailed models will be preferred over broader models or general ideas.
How to Participate
Submit a short position paper or description of work done/ongoing. Your submission must be no longer than five(5) paragraphs or presentation slides. Author names and affiliations should appear first in/on the submission. Submissions may be in PDF, PowerPoint, HTML, or plaintext email and must be submitted to MetriCon AT securitymetrics.org.
Presenters will be notified of acceptance by June 15, 2006 and expected to provide materials for distribution by July 15, 2006. All slides and position papers will be made available to participants at the workshop. No formal proceedings are intended.
Location
MetriCon 1.0 will be co-located with the 15th USENIX Security Symposium (Security ’06).
Cost$200 all-inclusive ofmeeting space, materials preparation, and meals for the day.
Important Dates
Requests to participate: by May 15, 2006
Notification of acceptance: by June 15, 2006
Materials for distribution: by July 15, 2006Workship Organizers
Andrew Jaquith, Yankee Group, Chair
Adam Shostack, emergentchaos.org
Gunnar Peterson, Arctec Group
Elizabeth Nichols, ClearPoint Metrics
Pete Lindstrom, Spire Security
Dan Geer,Verdasys
Funny, I was just at a conference today arguing that the truth is in the quantitative studies. There are some wonderful people putting this together – it seems full of promise.
