San Francisco's Moscone Center will soon be overrun by cybersecurity's biggest conference of the year. Next week, RSAC 2023 will bring together the best and brightest cybersecurity leaders and innovators from around the world to partake in a packed schedule of introductions, meetings, and cocktail parties — not to mention a laundry list of panel sessions led by the biggest names in the industry covering just about every topic in the field.

It can be difficult to decide which sessions to pick out of RSAC 2023's list of 500-plus options. This is why it's important to plan in advance and select sessions strategically.

My Top Five Picks

As a founder of an early-stage data security company, I've focused my selection on sessions that will be most useful to my company-building journey. This includes those that might help hone my value propositions and product direction as well as any that could keep me ahead of my field's top trends. After careful consideration, here are my top five picks.

Achieving Privacy and Data Protection Through Careful Design

Monday, April 24

Why you should attend: This session promises an interactive discussion about privacy-by-design and other solutions that both prevent privacy harm and deliver business value. This underscores a larger trend in enterprise need for security and protection solutions to offer at least one business-related value proposition beyond ROI for risk aversion. I'm hoping that this session will provide new insight into how enterprise data security postures and business needs converge.

The Perfect Storm: Preparing Today for the Future State of Cloud Security

Monday, April 24

Why you should attend: The CSA Summit is one of RSA's largest events, taking place as a series of sessions over the course of one day. Exploring the themes of resilience, compliance, state of the art, and confidential computing, the summit will cover all angles of the cloud's increasing mission-critical role in keeping businesses productive. Keen on staying ahead of the market, the panel I'm particularly interested in will predict the future threat landscape of cloud security and corresponding enterprise needs. Given that cloud data stores house the majority of today's enterprise data, this is a session data security entrepreneurs can't miss.

Cyber Defense Matrix Learning Lab

Thursday, April 27

Why you should attend: This session will feature an overview of the Cyber Defense Matrix (CDM) by its creators. The CDM was developed to help cybersecurity leaders better contextualize and organize their security programs. Understanding it can provide direct insight into how cybersecurity customers think as well as the decision-making processes they use. I recommend this session to anyone looking to build a product message that will resonate with their target audience.

The Path Forward for the United States' Data Security and Privacy Gap

Wednesday, April 26

Why you should attend: In another interactive discussion, attendees will have the opportunity to explore how data security and privacy converge, as well as discover emerging federal compliance trends. Security and privacy are often conflated, and this can cause confusion when it comes to delegating clear risk owners. In addition to discussing updates in federal policies for each field, this session will provide insight into the latest best practice interpretations of their relationship and boundaries.

Cybersecurity as a Strategic Asset

Wednesday, April 26

Why you should attend: I recommend this session for entrepreneurs who want a look into how cybersecurity actually operates within an organization. This is key to understanding how cybersecurity responsibilities and stakeholders are delegated, as well as how cybersecurity culture forms, to design a seamless integration process for your product.

Final Thoughts

In truth, between all the shoulder-rubbing, I believe the audience chair of these sessions is the perfect place to seek refuge for recharging my social battery. These sessions can also be easy opportunities to meet peers who share my interests. I hope these sessions will prove useful and interesting for you, too!