IT security big guns converge on California

The IT security community is converging on San Francisco for the fourteenth annual RSA Conference, to be held next week.

Keynote speakers including Microsoft's Bill Gates, Cisco's John Chambers and other industry leaders will be laying out their plans and visions for IT security over the coming year.

It is widely expected that Gates will detail Microsoft's plans to market antivirus software for its operating system following its purchase of GeCAD.

One of the highlights of the conference is expected to be an address by Frank W Abagnale , who was immortalised in the film Catch me if you can. He will be detailing common methods of identity theft and how to beat the fraudsters.

The growth of security appliances looks set to be a hot topic, with Computer Associates focusing on how consolidation among security vendors is driving the move to dedicated security appliances, rather than software alternatives.

Over 11,000 IT security professionals are expected to attend the show, with many move watching live webcasts of keynote speeches and breakout sessions.

vnunet.com will be posting the news as it happens, both on the website and in a specially created security blog.