The F5 Guy

I was going through the database of articles on AskF5 today and found an awesome feature that I wanted to highlight.  My interest was first sparked because of an article that Lori MacVittie about cookie encryption.  That article can be found here.

So that got me to thinking… how can someone do this in an iRule?  I have to admit I haven’t really looked into it that much previously because we utilize an ASM module running on a 4100 unit.  The 4100 can do a lot of different things regarding cookies such as checking if a cookie has been modified and if the cookie was obtained in a previous session.  I figured I would hit the AskF5 database to see what I could turn up and I uncovered this little gem:

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This just in and hot off the press.  F5 Networks has created an MVP Program as a way to “to honor those who, without incentive, contribute to the greater good of our community.”  Check out the link for all the details or go over and listen to Podcast #117, which was dedicated to highlight the seven people who were chosen to be the first of F5 Networks MVP’s.

I am also very excited to say that I have been selected to be a F5 Networks MVP!

That’s right, TheF5Guy is now an F5 Networks MVP!  I consider it a great honor and am very excited to say the least!  I go by the alias “naladar” in the DevCentral Forums and you can check out my profile here:  http://devcentral.f5.com/Default.aspx?tabid=2242.  You have to be a member of DevCentral in order to view the page, but it is free to join!

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What is the value of attending the SecureWorld Expo?  I have been thinking about that a bit lately and have come to a few conclusions.  I will preface my arguement by saying that the SecureWorld Expo experience is invaluable to everyone.  No, I am not limiting it to I.T. folks.  As more and more people become educated about how important it is to have a positive security posture, the better things will be for everyone involved.  Well everyone except for the hackers of course!

I am stating the obvious here I know, but how many of you out there have worked at places where people guard their security knowledge like it’s KFC’s secret recipe for chicken?  Have you ever had to work with a security expert that can tell you every law of governance, but never truly explain WHY those laws are in place?  Ever talk to a business partner not in I.T. that just didn’t get why the web applications needed to be protected by a web application firewall or why ALL the ports on the firewall couldn’t be opened up?  I talked to a large number of people that worked at well known companies and each said that is the case where they work.  Of the group I talked to it was about 50% from the business arena and 50% from the IT side of the house, but they were all there for a common goal….

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On the first day of the SecureWorld Expo I was fortunate enough to attend a FREE LTM Workshop being hosted by a company called Nexum.  For those who are not familiar with the company, Nexum is an information security company which is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.  They offer a wide array of services, all of which are explained in detail on their website @ www.nexuminc.com.

So what was covered in this “Nexum LTM Workshop”?  Quite a bit actually and it was all very well planned out.  The workshop was lead by a gentlemen named Peter Maag, who is a Senior Security Expert with Nexum.  I believe that part of what made this event so much fun for me was that it was obvious that Mr. Maag knew his stuff and (of course) I like talking about the capabilities of the BIG-IP line. 

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It is amazing how many things in IT Industry can be summed up using classic movie quotes.  More often than not a one liner from “The Princess Bride” will suffice.  However after attending the SecureWorld Expo as a member of the press only one dialogue exchange was lodged in my brain.  It’s when Luke is on the planet Dagoba and he turns to Yoda and says “I won’t fail you.  I am not afraid.”  Yoda simply turns to him and says “You will be.  You will be.”

What a great way to segway into my first SecureWorld Expo blog entry!  Be afraid, be very afraid…  I am just kidding of course.  The Expo was excellent and I walked away from the event a wiser person.  It definitely helped me look at things differently and as Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Fear always springs from ignorance.” 

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