When in Rome: Common Criteria, Conversations, and Carbonara
I’m writing this post from 30K feet above the Atlantic Ocean. What can I say about my experience at the International Common Criteria Conference this year in Rome? First, I have to start with Monday when I arrived and participated in the last day of the CCUF. I was thrilled to facilitate a vibrant discussion of how AI could possibly be evaluated under the Common Criteria. Given the “classroom” style setup it was really encouraging to see all the interest and participation in the discussion. There was plenty of skepticism about CC in the Cloud when we started that project in early 2020. This one is even harder to see how it could work, especially as time is really against us. But everyone recognized that there is an opportunity for CC to be part of a solution—if we can produce useful materials quickly enough. In other words, can we produce practical guidance at the pace AI demands?
On Monday night I really enjoyed catching up with some of my former team from Oracle, Brandon Harvey and Maureen Barry. I’m just so impressed how they have handled things since I left. I had a team of all-stars at Oracle and their professionalism and resilience through a difficult transition are just so impressive.
On Tuesday the official conference started. I began with a most unusual assignment; man the camera for Matt Fussa’s keynote so that the usual unmanned camera did not risk missing something important if he walked off camera. As it turned out, Matt stayed right on the lectern and I actually didn’t need to do it, but it did result in some funny comments.
During the breaks that is where my main task at the conference was activated. My job was to get attendees to do brief live interviews with me and boy was that fun. Now not everyone was able or willing to do it, but those that did seemed to really have a great time. Over the course of the 2.5 days, I managed to record about 15 interviews with a variety of attendees from around the world. The theme I kept hearing from everyone was that AI was here and CC needed to address it. That was particularly heartening considering the workshop I had led at the beginning of the week.
On Tuesday night I really enjoyed going to Rome’s Jewish quarter, also known as the Jewish Ghetto, for dinner with Josh Anzaroot and Jon Rolf and their wives. It was a truly memorable experience—not just because of the terrific dinner, but also because we were dining on the cobblestone streets just outside the Great Synagogue of Rome.
Wednesday was my busiest day by far. The highlight for me was continuing the conversation from Trust and Turbulence with Shawn Geddis and Ashit Vora in front of a live studio audience. We filmed two segments; the first is a short ~10 minutes or so for the ICT Compliance podcast; the 2nd was a continuation which would be dropped into Trust and Turbulence as a special extra podcast. I also did a special segment with the CEO of Securus (also for ICT) and I moderated a track of five iTC updates in rapid fire succession from the Biometrics, Network Device, Hard-Copy Device, DBMS and Full Disk Encryption chairs. That night the “Dine-Around” was very special; not just because of the amazing dinner with a view of the Vatican, but the terrific conversations which were not only about security certifications but also about our lives. It is a small but vibrant community and I really enjoy seeing everyone at this conference.
Thursday was one more day of interview segments in between sessions and networking. And let me say a bit about that; the positive vibes this conference generates can’t really be replicated anywhere else. I think the fact that people from 32 nations attended contributed to that feeling. The one regret I have is that I missed several sessions I didn’t mean to skip. Why did I do that? I was constantly meeting with people—catching up, discussing opportunities, or meeting someone for the first time. Those conversations were the most important part of the conference for me. After all, the talks are all recorded and I do plan on listening to those I missed.
Finally, I clocked out at 1pm and headed out to tour Rome for a few hours. It is really unbelievable walking around ancient Rome. Every turn is a scenic view of a famous historic wonder. You have to see Rome to believe it.
Thursday night was a very fun dinner with the friendly folks from atsec. Thank you, Sal La Pietra. I really enjoyed spending my final night in Rome with you and your team.
Next year’s ICCC will be in Stockholm, Sweden: mark your calendars for Sept 13-16, 2027. I hope to meet you there!
Spaghetti Carbonara
Posing in front of the Trevi Fountain