Host Unknown, the undisputed leader in information-security based videos made by three random men based out of London is unwavering in supporting the community.
The trio who podcast, act, sing, and dance have delighted and educated the information security scene for the past several years.
Sole Founder Javvad Malik was on the original committee that founded BSides London explained the rationale behind sponsoring the event that takes place on the 8th of June 2016 at the ILEC Conference Centre in London.
“I’m so proud of what BSides has achieved over the last few years. From the humble beginnings in 2011, I’ve seen it grow almost as fast as Andy’s waistline. But simply delivering awesome talks and being a beacon of coolness doesn’t pay the way for conferences and we felt it was time to give back in a more direct way.”
Sole Founder Andrew Agnês elaborated further, “We looked at everything that is important to make a conference happen. Venue, speakers, crew, tickets, catering, after-parties – the works. I made the executive decision to support the conference in the most meaningful way possible – and that was to supply lanyards and badge ribbons. The real measure of how successful a conference is.”
Sole Founded Thom Langford added, “When you have piles of money and Panama is no longer a viable investment option, you can get bored very quickly. Even after my great grandfather contracted Delirium Tremens, he continued to support his community. I’d like to think he’s proud of me continuing his legacy today.”
*About Host Unknown*
Host Unknown is an information security educational / entertainment group from London, England. It was the pioneer and most significant popularisers of Infosec-Rap and is widely considered one of the seminal groups (based in London) in the history of information security. The group has endured controversy owing to their lyrics which many security managers viewed as being disrespectful of their trade, as well as its glorification of certifications and risk management. The group was subsequently banned from many IRC and sub-Reddit channels. In spite of this, the group has amassed 50,000 YouTube views.
Never let it be said that Host Unknown jumps on a bandwagon; they prefer to create their own path in this industry, and do things their way, whatever the personal cost. It explains a lot.
Therefore, Host Unknown is proud to announce the release of their very first “iAudioBlog”, an entirely new way of disseminating their unique viewpoints of the information security industry to even more of the masses discerning listening public. The more cynical of you may see this as simply a Podcast, but Host Unknown think of it as so much, much more than that. Even just getting the three egos into one room was challenging enough, let alone having to restrain Andy from his infosec tourettes, stop Jav from dominating everything by mentioning his new employer at every turn, and stop Thom falling asleep at regular intervals. How they even managed to get special guests to appear on such a show like this is simply just another sign of how committed they are to their craft.
Unfortunately host Unknown have had to conform to the strictures of modern iAudioBlog listening and have submitted their pilot blog to iTunes for review and dissemination through their “Podcast” channel. As soon as it is published we will inform everyone, but if you can wait, you can listen to it right her, right now!
Of course, this now means you can vote for Host Unknown in more than just the Best Security Video Blog, but also the Best Security Podcast. Host Unknown consider this a very reasonable quid pro quo.
An accurate recollection of events by Javvad Malik
When I created Host Unknown, I bought over the annual tradition of collaborating with Twist and Shout to produce an annual film to help spread cheer and security awareness throughout the land.
It started with my critically acclaimed role as the Elf-CISO in Santa got hacked
Followed by the sequel that everyone said was an even better follow up than Terminator 2 was.
Finally, I bought Thom and Andy into the inner circle and gave them supporting roles as two of the wise men in last years film.
So, it was with some excitement I was glad that we got together again to shoot our 2014 Securi-stmas film. Instructions were simple enough to turn up to our location – but as the old saying goes in the movie business, never work with kids, animals, Thom or Andy.
Thom had an 80’s party to get to and thought it would be alright if he just turned up in his retro gear, complete with ‘Frankie says relax” shirt and walkman, whereas Andy came in what appeared to be a bargain burka he picked up at the Black Friday sales.
Needless to say, what was supposed to be an easy two hour shoot was still there four hours late mainly due to the inability of Andy ‘9 takes’ Agnes’ to remember three lines.
My heartfelt sympathies go out to Richard who will be editing this one.
Stay secure my friends, Jav.
An accurate recollection of events by Thom Langford
When I created Host Unknown, it became immediately apparent to me that in order to get the two novices of the team, Javvad and Andy, some better exposure and to practise their “skills” in front of the camera, such as they were, they needed to learn quite a few tricks from this old dog.
My unique style and approach that I wanted to bring to HostUnknown was already getting recognised even in something as simple as my blog writing, winning the Best personal security Blog of 2013.
This was followed just 12 months later by my winning the 2014 award. Both Javvad and Andy were starting to see the influence that hanging around with me could bring
Last year I thought they were both ready for something a bit more special, and was able to bring them into the cast of last years Christmas film in supporting, if minor roles, as two of the wise men. I was of course cast as the lead wise man (why else put me in the front?!)
This year I thought we could repeat the success of last years films. It was with some trepidation though that I organised the shoot, coordinated the script, paid for the director and cameraman and arranged for some serious actors to appear. After all, Javvad and Andy would need all the help they could to look good on film.
I thought that even they couldn’t get simple costumes wrong, so I allowed them to arrange their own. I pulled out my best party clothes and looked, I have to say, rather suave and debonair throughout the shoot. Unfortunately I think Jav came straight from another court appearance and Andy from a Star Wars convention. I was disappointed once again, but really, what else could I expect from either of them. Will I never learn?
We had scheduled three hours for the shoot, but with Jav and his cries of “line? LINE? LINE!” throughout the day, and Andy’s “takes to performances” ratio dramatically increasing again, we were there until very late, making me late to my club once again. I was able to speed things along by completing all of my shots in one take of course.
I hope you like the film; I know the editor will have a very tough time with Javvad and Andy’s sections, but I understand much of what they say, and in fact do, can be covered up in post production. My thanks and apologies go to the real professionals in the shoot; I know we all did a sterling job in the face of true, amateur hour, adversity.
Best wishes to all of you lovely people,
Thom
An accurate recollection of events by Andy Agnês
When I first created Host Unknown, I had no idea what I was letting myself in for and to be honest, the rewards do not come anywhere near the charitable effort which I put into it. First up, fading Infosec “Rock Star” Javvad Malik; he comes with a heap of baggage you wouldn’t believe. The founder of Twist & Shout came to me begging to help him get rid of Javvad – or as he put “that guy who suffers from delusions of grandeur”. I’m someone who believes in fixing a problem rather than burying it and I asked how I could make the situation easier for Twist & Shout. Identifying my ever-charitable mood, T&S begged for me to be part of future productions in order to keep a close eye on the “deluded ego-maniac”.
I explained that my hands were already tied after I committed to take elderly-statesman-breaking-into-security Langford under my wing. T&S were so desperate for my services, when I said the only way I could be on set with them was if Thom was hanging on my coat tails, they knew that my presence, regardless of how small, would immediately make up for poor performances from Malik. On that first day, I felt bad looking at Thom chewing crayons at the edge of the set that I declared the only way I could continue was if he had a speaking part too. And thus a new tradition was born.
Directors and those in the know have affectionately referred to me as “The Water Carrier”. In the same mold as footballing greats Didier Deschamps and Claude Makalele have earned the same descriptor. I don’t know which characteristics of mine specifically people liken to the aforementioned legends but I would guess it was likely my high work-rate, tenacity, stamina, efficacy at lateral thinking while also being known for tactical intelligence, versatility, and leadership probably contributes to my understated reputation – But I very much prefer to remain in the background.
A Christmas video this year nearly didn’t happen owing to short notice. Twist & Shout didn’t have faith in Javvad “Spoon feed me my lines” Malik and Thom “What year is it?” Langford being able to follow instructions but once I had taken responsibility for them, Jim was happy to proceed. We focused on getting the lines right for them and agreed that we could script my part on the day with no worries whatsoever about me being able to deliver.
Thus what we have is the end result of me playing the part of 3 people (much like the running of Host Unknown). A special thanks to the pro’s at Twist & Shout who put up with Thom and Jav as a favour to me.
I hope you like the fruits of our labour – be kind to the others when reviewing.
Host Unknown is willing to help everyone in this community they call Info Sec, and that includes contributing to other blogs and ensuring our unique point of view and brand are spread as far and wide as possible.
Previously posted on Information Security Buzz last week, our hosts discuss which conference is the best one to attend and why, as well as other very important factors that affect our decision to attend one conference or another. Indeed, our hosts will be representing Host Unknown at a conference just next week!
What is the Best Security Conference to Attend and Why?
Andrew Agnes: THE best event to attend was DefconRANT Conference 9 in 2001. It had everything; fancy new badges never before seen (funky badges have since become a feature at some cons), technical content I understood, female attendees (not so common before that), new friends and lots of alcohol. Plus I recall the pound being fairly strong against the dollar at the time so that helped too.
Javvad Malik: Yeah, I could list the usual suspects and say if you want a view on all the latest technology then something like RSARANT Conference is the place to be, if you want the latest exploits Defcon / blackhatRANT Conference are great venues – and if you just want to ‘keep it real’ like the NWA and chill with the do-ers and practitioners in the hood, I’ll take a local BsidesRANT Conference event over anything else each and every time.
Thom Langford: Any conference that allows you to get a complimentary cup of tea throughout the day. Too many conferences (I’m looking at you RSARANT Conference) define when I am in need of the elixir of life leaving me dehydrated and close to the edge. It sounds small, but when you take advantage of the hallway track as much as me only having tea available during formal breaks is no use.
Unfortunately, based on that criteria that leaves the list quite short, so I have had to resort to attending under the guise of the Press to get access to a lounge, or tough it out for a few years until I get access to the VIP lounge. Still, at least it got me participating.
JM: Wow Thom, way to set the bar – your enjoyment of a conference is directly proportional to the amount of free caffeine they provide. Nice, then people wonder why the quality of conference attendees is so poor – it’s freeloaders like you who give the rest of us a bad name! I mean, don’t worry about things like – you know, actual content or networking with talented peers.
AA: Don’t “tea’s” him Javvad, I actually agree with Thom for the most part (don’t mocca me)! I don’t know if the quality of conference attendees is getting poorer or if that is just some unsubstantiated statement which others continue sharing. Very few conferences have a continuous schedule that holds the interest of everyone. Attendees will go with the intention of seeing a select few talks (or speakers) and then whatever else looks interesting to them. A lot of the time that “whatever else” is the hallway trackRANT Conference, either one-to-one or with a small group.
If an attendee wants a drink, let them have it! It’s actually law that a British citizen should never be denied a cup of tea when requested. It’s our equivalent of the First Amendment in the US [someone should check this fact before we go to print] <we checked, it’s true. HU.>. Let attendees decide when they’re ready to sit and concentrate and when they need a different type of interaction – we don’t all learn from presentations. Most conferenceRANT Conference venues are in easy to reach, metro locations. People will walk out to a local cafe to enjoy the ambience of the “cafe track”RANT Conference in favour of the hallway trackRANT Conference if you don’t give them what they need and those are networking opportunities the thirsty people who remained behind will miss out on. If the affordable and reasonably priced conferencesRANT Conference can do it, the bigger commercial ones should be able to as well.
So have we talked enough without actually specifying a single, current, upcoming conference which we recommend as the best? Or shall we just hide behind our love for community driven events like BSidesRANT Conference, SteelConRANT Conference, et al and those we know supply a healthy selection of beverages with great content like RANT Conference and 44conRANT Conference?
TL: Yes, the best conferences are the ones that give you a great environment to chat with your peers, colleagues and friends, as well do a bit of career networking too. Different conferences are better for different people depending upon the subject matter and your areas of interest, so it is going to be the mandatory tea that makes the difference.
That said, I really like 44CONRANT Conference; I can’t understand a word of most of the presentations (pretty sure they are given in Japanese or maybe even Greek) but the people you meet are fascinating and well educated and I always learn something. The mandatory tea, beer and gin o’clock obviously help too.
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