BSidesCharm 2024 - Beyond Booze: Rethinking Networking Events for a Healthier Security Culture

[Music] good evening thank you so much for being here my name is Jen van ANP I am immensely GR ful that bides charm has given me the opportunity to speak on the subject and I know it's a little bit different from most of the topics that we're used to seeing at security conferences but it's a subject that I'm very passionate about and first I want to share a little bit about why look at this freckle-faced cutie patootie in her strawberry short cake dress this photo is from when I was in second or third grade this cute kid is just full of Hope and potential this is also around the same age I was the first time I got

drunk I really didn't like myself and as Caroline Wong mentioned in her brilliant keynote alcohol helped me to forget at least for a little while then heavier drug use started in high school and massively worsened in college I put myself and and my family through the ringer but then miraculously in October 2000 I got sober thank you I am now unapologetically noisy when it comes to Breaking the stigma around addiction recovery so that is my why today we stand at the precipice of a significant cultural shift within our industry traditionally alcohol has played a starring role in our social networking events often being seen as indispensable to fostering a relaxed and social environment but as we evolve

towards more inclusive and healthc conscious work events it's critical that we reassess our often toxic relationship with alcohol in the workplace but don't be scared I am not going to cast alcohol as the evil villain in my talk today heck right after I'm done I'm going to be joining all of you at the happy hour and having a great time mocktail style the goal of this dialogue is to explore how we can foster a networking environment that is welcoming inclusive and supportive this conversation is about expanding our options not limiting them to create a security culture that prioritizes well-being and genuine connections but first we need to talk about the problem for decades heck probably centuries alcohol has been the

central part of professional Gatherings and celebrations I personally have worked in three different Industries automotive healthare and now cyber security and while those Industries are very different the networking events are almost exactly the same quick Google image search confirms unequivocally that networking event means sharply dressed individuals with wine glasses in their hands instant Rapport just add champagne and I'm sure that this will be no surprise to anyone in this room working in security can be quite challenging in a 2022 survey conducted by times 66% of Security Professionals indicated that they experienced sign significant levels of stress at their work and when it comes to in-person conferences or even virtual events anxiety levels for many of us are increased which often

leads to increased alcohol consumption and when that alcohol consumption is employer sponsored it becomes even tougher for people to resist there's a saying that alcohol is the only drug you have to justify not using that say comes into play pretty often when I'm at work events often the first thing that people say when they hear that I don't drink is oh I'm so sorry or oh did you have a problem well yeah I had a problem not that it's any of your damn business I'm just kidding I don't mind talking about my struggles but not everyone does or should they have to why someone would choose not to drink really isn't anyone's business at that

particular moment there is a whole slew of potential negative consequences that can come about as a result of alcohol in the workplace impaired judgment embarrassing behavior health issues I chose these images because quite frankly they crack me up and they tied in nicely with that very last bullet point on the screen but this is a serious issue and can lead to Big complications in a professional setting it can have serious repercussions on someone's career and reputation there's also an element of potential liability when involved when the alcohol is being supplied by an employer so what does it mean to go beyond booze at our networking events I'm going to share some tips and ideas for alternative networking events and

some real world examples of things that you can Implement whether you're an event organizer a field marketer or a team leader who's looking to make their their work outings more inclusive and if we have enough time at the end oh well I know we're going to have enough time at the end because I've practiced this a few times I'll talk a little bit about what it means to go beyond AB booze in our personal lives for anyone who's interested in making some incremental changes to move towards a lifestyle that's less dependent upon alcohol we'll start with the tips for going Beyond booze at our networking events tip number one it's considerate to considerate the first thing to think

about is just to think about it don't make it an afterthought try to consider what the event or the experience will be like for those of us who don't drink and who are choosing not to drink for whatever reason sobriety health related issues medication conflicts training for a marathon whatever the case might be just considering it is already so considerate and then work that consideration into your regular planning for an event so that that way it just becomes part of the standard process if you're not sure what to do or how to make the event more welcoming for people who don't drink phone a sober friend that's exactly what the organizers here at bides charm did they started thinking

about this issue months ago to try to find ways that the happy hour event could be more inclusive and welcoming for everyone Defcon does a fabulous job of this too and I also want to give a shout out to Blue Team con for their sober games room shukan is going to be sponsoring that space this year and my nonprofit is also going to assist so it's going to be a blast my next tip is to think outside the box our industry has plenty of happy hours whiskey tastings wine pairings and bar crawls use those big brilliant brains and get creative there are tons of fun activities that we can do and that you can host that don't involve

alcohol I'm going to share some of the things that our nonprofit has been involved in along with some other cool ideas that I've come across first the sober Speak Easy this was our launch event that took place last year right before Defcon it took place in the underground Distillery at the mop Museum in Las Vegas a sober event at a bar you might ask we are all about breaking stigma and reclaiming spaces the Mob Museum bartenders whipped up some mocktails that were absolutely amazing we sent a Speak Easy password to attendees before the event so that that way they could come in through the back door just like in an old old timey Speak Easy it was awesome and here's a hot tip

if you're planning an event without alcohol but you still have food and beverage minimums you can pick some really amazing food because you're not going to blow your budget on alcohol anyone who is present at that event can attest to the fact that the food was scrumptious in a few weeks we'll be hosting a rocking mocktails event at the RSA conference this one will feature rock and roll themed mocktails and arts and crafts activities with a punk rock slant yes there will be safety pins involved we're also really proud to be sponsoring the Mind Over cyber mindfulness and networking breakfast that event is going to feature a meditation workshop and they'll have a journaling or intention notebook as a

swag item I'm a big fan of journaling more on that later code and coffee is an awesome Community for developers of any level and you can check out a list of their events at COD and coffee.org they talk about coding over you guessed it coffee so these are just a few examples of networking events that don't involve alcohol and I know that we can all dream up even more tip number three it doesn't have to be fancy if you don't have the budget to throw a big alcohol-free party you can still find ways to make networking event more inclusive for those who don't want to drink get crafty like literally try offering some crafts the photo on the left with my

friend who I don't want to accidentally dox is of my nonprofits first booth at wwest hacken fest last year unfortunately the box with my table cover swag item stickers was lost at the USPS Facility so when I say it doesn't have to be fancy you know I mean it thankfully our popup banner and all of our crafting supplies were in my checked bag thank goodness we had a DIY inspiration station where attendees were able to make their own keychains bracelets or little charms it was a really big hit it was fun interactive and engaging and then the photos on the right were from another conference where we sponsored a crafting activity that involved blanket tying this was at the

cyber security marketing society's annual conference in Austin Texas the blankets were set up in a room an attendees tied knots around the edges and then wrote an inspirational message on the label and then the blankets were donated to foster children in the local Austin area that just adds a whole another layer to warm

fuzzies being inclusive can even be as simple as offering a single mocktail or a fun alcohol-free beverage during your happy hour event this chief mocktail officer or CMO was offered during the marketing conference's social event they also served alcohol at their event but they had this refreshing and clever themed beverage available for anyone like me who didn't want to drink and then you have the knitting and networking event okay this one is not an actual event yet but I thought about it when I was creating these slides and I thought how cool would that be like who here would want to go to a knitting and networking event I definitely would I have no idea how to knit but I'm sure

maybe someone in this room or at least at this conference has the knowledge and will be able to help us put something like that together the key is just to challenge ourselves and to think creatively to find some alternative options and then when you found those alternative options tip number four comes into play and it's all about promos coms and signage if you've decided to offer an alternative option at your networking event whether it's an entirely alcohol-free Suare or it's a single mocktail or two at an open bar don't forget to share those options will be communicate early and often this will help to set expectations and it'll let the folks who are seeking those alternative options

like me know that they are welcome at your event I cannot express in words the joy and gratitude I feel when I see that an event organizer is offering mocktail or other beverage options at their event it might not seem like a big deal to most people reading that non-alcoholic in the martini mangle social post or the RSA email but to me and others like me it means the world so mentioning that you'll have those options in your emails in your social posts will help to spread the word and set expectations and then at the event itself make sure that your signage and your menu options are clear I think S4 the annual OT security

conference has done a fantastic job of this the past few years in their website email and event app they mentioned that at their welcome party they're going to have non-alcoholic options and for the last two years they've had an entirely separate bar for those non-alcoholic drinks um this year they had a lot of different delicious Citrus Beverages and some non-alcoholic beers and ipas and the fact that the na bar was completely separate from the other area meant that people who didn't want to drink did not have to wait in a gigantic line just for a sparkling water nobody loves that the any bar at S4 was hoppen it probably didn't hurt that it was right next to

the Death Star pit fire pit where we were roasting marshmallows yes they have a Death Star fire pit and they have karaoke and yes I did karaoke Outdoors there in 2023 to earn the coveted limited edition karaoke t-shirt sober daytime karaoke is weird very weird but I did the damn thing and I actually had fun that brings me to tip number five which is just to have fun sober does not have to mean somber we recently co-hosted an event with cactus Con in Arizona that took place at an arcade bar we bought out the top the second level of the arcade and we had food unlimited tokens and gameplay and fun mocktails like the malware mocktini the control

alt delight and my personal favorite the liquid deep fake and if attendees wanted an alcoholic beverage they just had to go downstairs to the downstairs Bar for a cash pay option everyone had a blast so as you can see offering alternative options gives people the chance to choose their own adventure and decide how they want to celebrate so those are the tips for going Beyond booze at your work events and now I have just enough time to do a quick lightning round and share some of my favorite sobriety hacks if you want to go beyond booze in your personal life these may be familiar to anyone who attended my talk at shukan this year which was my very first talk

ever and this is my second one so thank you so much for being here but these are very thank you so sorry if these are repeats for anyone but they're very good nuggets the first sobriety hack is to believe in the power of mantras a mantra can be a saying a song lyric any kind of reminder that brings you back to your why my sobriety Mantra and my battlecry is what does it add to your life that's something that one of my uncles asked me about a year before I got sober and it planted the seed for my future sobriety and I've never forgiven him just kidding I'm so grateful for that moment eternally eternally grateful that Mantra

find the Mantra and the why that works for you the second hack is to know your triggers triggers can be people places things situations even certain smells you can avoid them if needed or work through them with a professional but just knowing them is very important hack number three is to focus on on gratitude the way I try to practice this is by keeping a gratitude journal and when I say practice I mean practice because I'm not very good at it I'm not good at remembering to write things down every single day but I try to write down either things I'm grateful for or funny moments things that have happened throughout the day it's really

morphed as I've done the practice throughout the years do things that either my parents have said that are funny or cute little things that nie that nieces and nephews have done just random happy thoughts and I'm not a neuroscientist but I swear that it has reprogrammed my brain to focus more on those moments if something cool happens to me throughout the day I try to focus extra hard on remembering that so that I can write it down in my damn gratitude Journal later that night I also give myself a bunch of Grace when I forget to write in the book for days or weeks or even months I'll just write a little note that says oops

I got busy be kind to yourselves especially when you're trying to um when you're trying to learn a new habit or unlearn an old one that no longer serves you sobriety hack number four is to find your support Squad these are the people that will have your back no matter what but they will also hold you accountable for the changes that you want to make in your life my fifth sobriety hack is tried and true tip that many people who don't want to drink at social events have sneakily been doing for ages and it's to always have a beverage in your hand often when people try to offer you drinks at social events they're just trying to be polite

if you always have a sparkling water or something similar in your hand then you won't get the barrage of hey what are you drinking hey what's your poison you'll see me practice this hack at the happy hour event in just a little while I have some very ironic coasters with reminders of those sobriety hacks so come and find me during the conference if you'd like one of those and as my time with you wraps up I want to Circle back to the previous tips that show the ways that we can go beyond booze in our networking events try to consider those alternative options from the very beginning of your planning and don't make them an

afterthought use those big brilliant cyber security brains to think outside the box and find some creative options for your networking events and those options do not have to be fancy they can be as simple as a single mocktail option at your open bar communicate about those options early and often to help set expectations and spread the word and finally for crying out loud just have fun out of

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