Purpose
This page layouts a Code of Ethics for BSides Joburg which sets out principles for how the conference is conducted with a particular focus on how speakers and sponsors are handled.
NB. This document is a work in progress and will be updated as time progresses
Organization
BSides Joburg is local chapter of the Security BSides global community. We are a conference that serves Johannesburg and the wider Gauteng region. BSides Joburg aims to build and strengthen the local cybersecurity community as send out in our vision and mission statement. We are formed as a Non-profit organization / company and do not intend to make a profit from the event. Any funds that are left over from an event are rolled into the event of the next financial year.
The organizers and volunteers of BSides Joburg participate in the volunteer capacity and do not receive any compensation outside of direct re-imbursement for expenses related to the organizing of the conference.
Ticket prices at BSides Joburg are kept purposely low and are a fraction of the real cost that it takes to run the event. Sponsors help us keep ticket prices where they are, the low ticket prices also enables us to keep the conference accessible to most people. We charge a ticket to force people to make an investment which will mean that they will likely attend the conference and the ticket revenue is used to fund the running of the organization after the conference and the run-up to the next conference (E.g. Services, deposit for the venue, etc).
Speakers / Workshops
Each Call For Papers (CFP) submission goes through a blind review process by a review committee that is appointed by the organizing committee. This review board consists of the organizing team of BSides Joburg, the organizing team of BSides Cape Town, organizing members of other developer / information security conferences and select industry experts whose insights are valued in the community. Some members of the review board may themselves submit talks to the conference, in this case, we recommend that they score themselves as they would any other person. Not submitting a score can skew the data and therefore should be avoided.
Many conferences sell speaking slots to sponsors, this is something that is against the BSides principles. While we value sponsors, we do not sell any talk or workshop slot under any circumstance. All talks and workshops will go through the above review process. The organizing team of BSides Joburg has the final say over the program and reserves the right to bypass the review process where appropriate. This will most likely happen for a keynote talk or where a talk is about a specific topic that is relevant or has significant meaning (E.g. Conference electronic badge talk).
Workshops are a great way for attendees to learn practical hands on skills from industry experts. Any workshop that is related to information security and the greater computer science interest are acceptable submissions. We welcome vendors of products to submit workshops, however these workshops must add value and can’t be a prolonged disguised sales pitch. Acceptable submissions or ideas include using the vendors tool to investigate an incident or to get a deeper understanding of how something works. Any submission from a vendor will be reviewed with additional scrutiny.
Sponsors
BSides Joburg can’t happen without our sponsors. Sponsors allow us to keep ticket costs low and facilitate the funding of all of the infrastructure needed to pull off how conference.
While we value our relationships with sponsors, they must adhere the BSides Joburg Code of Conduct.
No attendee information will be shared with Sponsors from BSides Joburg unless required by law. Any attendee may provide their contact detail to a specific sponsor if they wish to stay in touch.
Many talk submissions may be from sponsors and all talks will go through the CFP review board. No sponsor will receive preferential treatment for a talk or workshop.
