SecurityWeek Acquires Suits and Spooks Security Events

BOSTON – Wired Business Media, a leading provider of business-to-business (B2B) information to technology professionals around the world, announced today that it has acquired the Suits and Spooks event series from Taia Global, Inc.

Designed to serve as a forum for innovative problem solving on national security issues, Suits and Spooks will complement Wired Business Media’s flagship publication, SecurityWeek.

“The significant cybersecurity events of today demand greater collaboration, discussion, and information sharing within the security community at large,” said Mike Lennon, Managing Director of SecurityWeek. “In order for real progress to be achieved in combating network-based threats, industry professionals must be granted access to interactive, cutting edge events which examine the tactics and techniques being utilized by today’s sophisticated attackers.”

The acquisition combines the marketing power of SecurityWeek’s high traffic publishing platform with Taia Global’s unique multidisciplinary and highly interactive security event series. This combination brings tremendous value to the attendees, speakers and sponsors involved. 

Suits and Spooks was created by Taia Global CEO Jeffrey Carr in 2011 as a limited attendance, information-sharing and problem-solving forum where intelligence veterans can meet with technologists, academics, hackers, and business executives in a private setting.

Carr will remain heavily involved as a key member of the Suits and Spooks management team.

“Suits and Spooks has always been a forum for innovative problem solving on national security issues, but after running nine events over three years, I realized that I had taken this concept as far as I could by myself,” said Carr. “If I wanted it to continue to grow, I needed to find an organization with the talent and experience to make that happen. I believe that SecurityWeek is such an organization.”

The following testimonials from influential leaders in the security space show the value and influence associated with Suits and Spooks events:

“Suits and Spooks provides a first-class forum to openly and professionally debate cyber security policy issues.” – Robert Bigman, former CISO, Central Intelligence Agency.

“One of those rare conferences where even the speakers learn something new.” – Stewart A. Baker, former General Counsel at the NSA, and former Assistant Secretary for Policy at the US Department of Homeland Security. 

“The most interesting, provocative, lively discussion of cyber conflict issues I’ve seen. And that’s my layman’s view.” – Tom Gjelton, National Public Radio (NPR).

The next Suits and Spooks event will be the Security Start-up Lunch held in New York City on May 19, 2014.

On June 20-21, 2014, Suits and Spooks New York will mark the first SecurityWeek-branded “Collision Event,” which will include special operations forces personnel, security researchers, financial intelligence experts, and members of academia.

Watch Securityweek.com and SuitsandSpooks.com for more information about upcoming SecurityWeek Suits and Spooks events.

The acquisition of Suits and Spooks is the second significant acquisition made by Boston-based Wired Business Media in the past week. On April 24, the company announced its acquisition of the ICS Cybersecurity Conference series, the leading cybersecurity-focused event series for the industrial control systems and critical infrastructure sectors.