OWASP AppSec Europe 2008 - Belgium



Welcome to the European OWASP Application Security Conference! After successful OWASP Conferences in the United States and Europe, we are back in Belgium: 5 tutorials and 2 conference tracks in the historic center of Ghent on May 19-22 2008!

The conference is stuffed with top notch presentations from industry recognised speakers and technical experts on the latest application security risks and trends. New for AppSec Europe: technical vendor demos and a Capture the Flag!

Conference Location


The historic center of Ghent, Belgium May 19th-22nd.

Tutorial Days: May 19th-20th

Main Conference: May 21st-22nd

Registration is available via the OWASP Conference Cvent site at: Cvent link

If you are registering as a Speaker or Sponsor, please use the following link: Cvent link for speakers/sponsors

You may want to print out |usefull this map of OWASP AppSec EU 2008 locations in Ghent.

Agenda and Presentations - May 21-22
The agenda follows the successful OWASP conference two tracks format, with opening keynotes and presentations in the main auditorium, split tracks in the middle of the day, and closing pannel discussions back in the main auditorium both days. As in the previous editions, the OWASP AppSec Europe 2008 conference will feature a refereed papers track.

Venue: Aula, Ghent University, Voldersstraat 9, 9000 Ghent Google Maps Link

Registration is available via the OWASP Conference Cvent site at: Cvent link

Tutorial Days - May 19-20
OWASP arranged for several Application Security tutorials on May 19th-20th, the days prior to the conference. More information about the tutorials are online.

Venue: Monasterium PoortAckere, Oude Houtlei 56, 9000 Gent http://www.monasterium.be/

Cocktail Party - May 20, sponsored by Breach Security
In what is also becoming a tradition, there will be a cocktail party the night before the conference begins, sponsored by Breach Security. The free and open for all conference attendees event will be held at the Vintage Wine Bar at 6:30pm. We would appreciate it if you let us know if you are coming so we can be ready, please mail ofers@breach.com to confirm.

[[Media:AppSec_EU_2008_Breach_Party.pdf|Details and direction map]] (updated May 7th with map and instructions from Monasterium Poortackere, the location of the training classes)

Evening Social Event - May 21
At every conference we have an evening social event the first night. This allows participants to have some unstructured time to mingle with the other attendees. They are always fun and typically attract about half the conference attendees. This year's event will be a Flemish buffet with special Belgian beers at the Monasterium (near the conference location).

Registration is available via the OWASP Conference Cvent site at: Cvent link

OWASP Band - May 21, sponsored by Breach Security
If that is not enough: tune in for the OWASP Band! Check out the vibes of last year online. After the OWASP Dinner you can play, dance or listen to the greatest open-source band: THE OWASP Band. You play an instrument; the neighbours don't complain on your singing talents: contact dinis.cruz  owasp.org!

Venue: The White Cat Time: 23h

Be there, or be ...

Accommodations

 * OWASP arranged for a room block of 20 Executive Deluxe rooms at the NH Gent Belfort at a rate of €199 per night. This room block is being held through April 11!! After that date, there is no guarantee that rooms at this rate will be available at the NH Gent Belfort.
 * OWASP attendees have an option for 20 rooms at € 122 and 10 rooms at € 132 per night at the Hotel Monasterium PoortAckere up until April 30. Use OWASP as reference when booking your room. Please note that there are no more rooms for the night of May 22.
 * OWASP arranged for a room block of 25 rooms at the IBIS hotels. You can already contact them on Hotel Ibis Gent Centrum Opera (€ 89 per night - 10 rooms) and Hotel Ibis Gent Centrum Kathedraal (€ 99 per night - 15 rooms of which 3 still available for the 22nd) - reservations through e-mail: H0961-RE at accor.com or fax: 0032/9 233 10 00 (before April 19 - reference OWASP).

It is difficult getting rooms at reduced prices, as there is a medical congress around the same time in Ghent. You will find it difficult to get a room for the night of May 22. We recommend you then book a room for one night near the airport of Brussels.

The following is a list of nearby accommodations that may have availability:


 * List of hotels in Ghent
 * Hotel Vandervalken Nazareth - on Highway 5 minutes from Ghent
 * A list of bed and breakfasts in Ghent
 * Youth hostels in Ghent

Transportation to the Conference
If you are flying in you'll come through Brussels Airport. From there it is 65 km to Ghent. The airport train station is located below the terminal (basement level-1). Up to 4 trains an hour connect the airport to Brussels North, Brussels Central and Brussels Midi stations. The easiest way is then to take the train to Ghent Sint-Pieters (directly or through Brussels).

To travel by train to the conferene come through Gent Sint-Pieters, see the Belgian Railways Website.

Next Tuesday May 20th, the Belgian railway is on strike! If you are flying in towards Brussels Airport, There will be long queues for the taxis. I advise to contact airport transport beforehand to reserve a place upfront. Possible services to and from Ghent are: If you are travelling with HST like Eurostar or Thalys: check with them it they will ride.
 * http://www.taxi2airport.be/
 * http://www.palitax.be/
 * http://www.taxi-eurojet.be/

From Ghent Sint-Pieters station tram nr 1 (direction Evergem Brielken) is the quickest and most comfortable way to travel to the city centre (stop KORTE MEER: from there it is a 150m walk to the Ghent Aula). The transport system is Ghent is excellent and always on time. A single ticket costs € 1.50 if bought in the bus/tram or € 1.20 if bought from ticket machine of small kiosk called lijnwinkel, such ticket is valid for an hour's travel on all trams and buses.

If you are coming by car, Ghent can be reached through the E40 and the E17. There are 2 parkings nearby: Parking Korte Meer and Parking Kouter.

Registration and Conference Fees
Registration is available via the OWASP Conference Cvent site at: Cvent link

The conference fee for this conference is :


 * Standard: 350 Euros, OWASP Members: 300 Euros, Students: 225 Euros.
 * Conference Dinner (Evening of May 21st): 50 Euros
 * Conference Tutorials: 825 Euros, Student Fee: 430 Euros
 * CONFidence Poland 2008 members get a € 35 reduction on OWASP (see OWASP On a Plane below).
 * ISSA, ISACA and L-SEC Members get a € 35 reduction.

Note: To save on processing expenses, all fees paid for the OWASP conference are non-refundable. OWASP can accomodate transfers of registrations from one person to another, if such an adjustment becomes necessary.

OWASP on a Plane - CONFidence 2008
This year's CONFidence 2008 will take place on 16-17.05.2008 in Cracow (Poland). They have decided to spend Saturday morning talking about OWASP-related projects. No more excuses: you can attend 2 OWASP events in a row in Europe!

Conference Committee
OWASP Conferences Chair: Dave Wichers - Aspect Security - dave.wichers 'at' owasp.org

2008 EU Planning Committee Chair: Sebastien Deleersnyder - Telindus - seba 'at' owasp.org

Vendor Exhibition Chair: Pravir Chandra - Cigital - chandra 'at' cigital.com

Capture the Flag Chair: Pieter Danhieux - Ernst & Young - pieter.danhieux 'at' be.ey.com

Refereed Papers Chair: Lieven Desmet - KU Leuven - Lieven.Desmet 'at' cs.kuleuven.ac.be

Affiliated Partners
We are glad to have the local support of:
 * ISACA
 * ISSA
 * L-SEC
 * Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Conference Sponsors
The following organizations are sponsors for this conference. If you are interested in sponsoring an OWASP conference, please contact OWASP at: conferences 'at' owasp.org.

https://www.owasp.org/images/d/d1/Aspect_logo.gif https://www.owasp.org/images/b/b3/Telindus.jpg https://www.owasp.org/images/d/de/Imperva_2color_RGB.jpg https://www.owasp.org/images/a/ac/Fortify.jpg https://www.owasp.org/images/2/2a/IBM_logo_black.jpg

More information about conference sponsorship is available here.