Recently I was asked the same question both at my workplace and at EuroBSDCon, the conference where I was presenting: where do you talk next? I had no definite answer. Of course, I am looking forward to the FOSDEM CfP, but I am also looking for new conferences to present syslog-ng and sudo. Do you have any recommendations?
A bit of history
I have been presenting syslog-ng at various events for the past almost 15 years, and sudo for 6 years. I gave many talks and held tutorials in Hungary, Europe and some even in the US.
To me, giving a talk is a two-way process: not just sharing information, but also learning from the users how they use our software, what their experiences are and what features they would like to see. You can read more about it in my OpenSource.com article at: https://opensource.com/article/21/1/open-source-evangelist
Over the years some of my favorite events disappeared, like LOADays, a small Linux / DevOps conference in Belgium. Other events have shifted focus, so talking about syslog-ng is not relevant anymore. Instead of going back to an ever-shorter list of events, I want to present syslog-ng at new places.
My talk topics
I can talk about syslog-ng, sudo, and their combinations.
When it comes to sudo, I usually talk about some of the lesser known and / or latest features. Most people only know that sudo is a prefix to run commands as root, but I can show that sudo knows a lot more than simply make you root. You can record sessions, extend it in Python, log sub-commands, and a lot more: https://opensource.com/article/22/2/new-sudo-features-2022
On the syslog-ng side there are also many possibilities, from why central logging is important to deep technical details, or configuring for various use cases: https://www.syslog-ng.com/community/b/blog/posts/developing-a-syslog-ng-configuration
I can also combine these two topics as you can work on sudo logs in syslog-ng. See my blog about the topic on the sudo website at https://www.sudo.ws/posts/2022/05/sudo-for-blue-teams-how-to-control-and-log-better/
Tutorials
I have some short, introductory tutorials for both syslog-ng and sudo, 2.5-3 hours each. The syslog-ng one helps you to get from the absolute beginner level to a good mid-level, allowing you to collect log messages, process them, filter them, and finally to store them to files and to Elasticsearch. The sudo tutorial lets you try some of the latest sudo features, like session recording, extending sudo in Python, or logging sub-commands.
Send me your conference recommendations
So, returning to the original question: do you have any recommendations on where I should present syslog-ng and sudo? There are way too many events, so here are a few pointers that could narrow my preferences down:
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Open source events, as both sudo and syslog-ng are open source software. FOSDEM, All Things Open, and many others belong in this category.
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Security events, as sudo is definitely a security tool, and syslog-ng is also often used by security professionals. Bsides events or Pass the SALT belong in this category.
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Obviously, the combination of the two is the best, like Pass the SALT.
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Small events with a strong focus on networking both for speakers and participants. Some examples are the previously mentioned Pass the SALT, and LOADays. Discussions at these events had huge impact both on sudo and syslog-ng development.
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Large events, like FOSDEM, or All Things Open, as they allow reaching many users at once from all around the world. In-depth personal discussions are often impossible, however I often hear months or even years later that my talks have induced some great changes, like adding syslog-ng to an appliance, creating Python-based drivers, and so on.
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Operating system-specific events, like the openSUSE conference, or EuroBSDCon, which have larger syslog-ng communities and/or use sudo.
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Where? The main focus is the EU simply because that is the easiest to reach for me. Not even a passport is needed. However, I also gave talks at some of the largest US conferences, like All Things Open, or the RSA Conference, and in Croatia before it became an EU member.
Yes, I am aware that some of these points are contradicting. Still, I need some recommendations, as the number of events is huge. Personal experience and recommendations as a participant, speaker or organizer could be really helpful in finding a few new places to present syslog-ng and/or sudo.
You can reach me in many ways:
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterczanik/
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E-mail: peter.czanik at oneidentity.com
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Twitter: https://x.com/PCzanik
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Mastodon: https://fosstodon.org/@PCzanik
Thank you! Your help is highly appreciated!