Self-marketing is not my strong suit. I don't feel very comfortable doing it, but Andy Warren (twitter | blog) suggests that we do so and he points out that by doing so we get the word out about SQLRally. If you haven't heard, voting on SQLRally abstracts is open through Tuesday 8 AM PST. You can vote here: voting link.
Truth be told, if you vote for any of the three in the DBA category, you can't go wrong. If one of the other two were selected, I would consider spending my hard-earned money to attend that pre-con. But here's why I think you should vote for my pre-con:
- Security breaches are usually due to lapses in security.
- Security breaches are bad publicity for the organization involved.
- Security breaches also hurt innocent folks.
- Security breaches are increasing in number.
- The threats to security are only getting worse.
- Being prepared is crucial to minimizing your servers and your organization as a target.
- I can show you how to be prepared to protect your SQL Servers.
So why me? Here's my background:
- I'm a former infrastructure and security architect.
- I'm a former directory services architect and administrator.
- I'm a former incident response team lead for my organization.
- I'm a current SQL Server MVP and my focus is on security, especially SQL Server security.
- I'm a current SQL Server DBA and database architect, meaning I work with the product every day.
- I'm a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) with practical field experience.
- I train other auditors and security managers on how to protect and audit SQL Server.
- I give of my time to present on SQL Server security to DBAs and developers alike.
Now I did say former infrastructure and security architect. My first love in IT is SQL Server. In 2009, I had a chance to go back and be a senior DBA and database architect. As much as I love security, I love SQL Server more. But I keep my head in the security world because I have to. And I still consult on the security side of things. Attackers continue to find innovative ways to break into systems and we must be ever vigilant to keep our systems locked down and as secure as we can make them while still allowing users the access they need to do their jobs. That's what this pre-con is about.
