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List:       ntbugtraq
Subject:    Administrivia #30714 - Announcing the 5th Annual NTBugtraq Retreat
From:       Russ <Russ.Cooper () RC ! ON ! CA>
Date:       2003-03-13 2:56:29
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<note: URLs may be wrapped to more than one line, you'll have to unwrap
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View this email on the NTBugtraq website at;

<http://www.ntbugtraq.com/party.asp>

Comments from 2002 Retreat Attendees;

"The most down to earth, informative gathering on the planet"
  Curtis Woods, Director of IT Business Relations, Regal Entertainment
Group

"NTBugtraq Retreats offer an unparalleled opportunity to listen to, and
interact with, widely diverse people involved in IT security: some of
the brightest creative minds; senior vendor representatives -- instead
of the typical helpdesk contact -- someone who can actually foster
change within their company; administrators and IT staff from all sizes
of small businesses, enterprises, educational facilities. A pristine
setting, far from the noise of cities, overlooking a picturesque lake,
with night skies made-to-order. (Thanks for the Northern Lights this
year, Russ!) All this, and great hospitality to boot!"
  Darren W. MacDonald, Technical Analyst, Canadian Tire Corporation

"This is the only security retreat or conference I make an attempt to
regularly attend.  Very little of the 'how to' seminars, which can
change significantly from month to month, and more of the general theory
of how infosec is approached, which changes much less often.  A good
value! Nifty!"
  Greg Riedesel, IS Information/Technical Analyst IV, Chair ? IS Virus
Attack Team, City of St. Paul, Minnesota

"Good party, dude. ;)"
  Marcus Ranum

"I would describe myself as an, 'in the trenches sys/network admin grunt
and a 3 year old cyber security neophyte at best.' So, to sit at the
same table, or be in the same room with folks that helped create/shape
the cyber security industry was very inspirational, part humbling, and
VERY entertaining. Just as importantly, I met folks literally from
around the world facing the same cyber security scenarios I do on a
daily basis. Being at NTBugtraq, meeting these individuals.....I do not
feel quite as isolated anymore even though I am a member of several
security email list serve sites. IMHO, meeting people face to face is
always best and that was the biggest benefit of NTBugtraq. Well...that
and the view and the food!!"
  Pete Coleman, AHRQ-Network Operations Center, Booz | Allen | Hamilton

"From an Industry in which we are inexorably tied to machines, this
retreat afforded us the opportunity to take a 'working vacation' amid
the natural splendor of one of Ontario's many lakes.  Even though you
may wind up talking to people who are at the top of the Internet
security field, it is easy to forget when you're wearing shorts in the
sun and sharing thoughts over a cold, Canadian beer.  Kudos to Russ
Cooper for making this happen, it is an experience I am eager to enjoy
in the years to come."
  Tom Moske, Pelikan Technologies

"Bruce McCorkendale, a product developer at antivirus giant Symantec
Corp. (SYMC), said it's the best 'conference' he has ever attended.
Usually, the most worthwhile conversations and networking happen in the
hotel hallways. 'This is all hallway,' he said. Moreover, it's on the
sun deck and lunch is steak off the grill."
  Riva Richmond, of the Dow Jones News Service, in one of her 3 stories
about the 2002 Retreat which she attended

"I would have to completely agree with Bruce's Statement.  This was the
first conference in which 'great' debate and discussion concerning
security lasted the entire length of the conference, without the fluff
and 'feel' good talk you hear at other conferences...or in one
word...Awesome!...or...Never Boring"
  David K. Watts, Desktop Computing Platforms, American Family Insurance

Reuters story from 2001 Retreat -- Code Red II crashes dinner for
Internet experts;
<http://iwsun4.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/01/08/07/010807hncrashes.xm
l?0809thsm>

What is the NTBugtraq Retreat?

Goal #1 is to get subscribers together for a talk. I'd like to think
that some of you, like me, don't get enough opportunity to just relax
and discuss issues about MS Security in a setting that is designed to be
conducive to discussion. Imagine sitting on a porch, by a pool and a
lake, sipping some nice wine or a coke, and just gabbing away for a
couple of days with others like you. That's what I had in mind.

To those of you who think you're not expert enough, I can honestly tell
you that I need to talk to you. Others, like me, also need to talk to
you more often. Getting a sense of how you do things, what you can't
seem to do easily enough, what doesn't work, and why...these are
questions that I talk about all the time, but without a huge network to
manage, I can get out of touch. I know others who are in the same boat.

Meanwhile, while I learn from you, you can learn from others. As they
say, there's many ways to tackle a problem. We all do it differently,
and each of us has some method to our madness. So let's get together,
focus on a few key issues, and work on them.

Goal #2 is to give folks a chance to be geeks while doing something
else. I moved up here with the intent of becoming somewhat less of a
workaholic. To some extent, its worked. You may have noticed my
penchant/obsession with fishing. Yes, I'll admit it...;-] Fact is, this
is one of the best places in the world to do freshwater fishing. We've
got Bass, Walleye/Pickerel, and the famous Muskie/Muskelunge. I have a
Muskie on my wall that's 44" long and weighed in at 17lbs. That's a
baby...the Ontario record is 65lbs, and lunkers as big as 45lbs have
been pulled from waters not more than 10 minutes from my home. Bass as
big as 9lbs live just around the corner from my dock, and I've caught
5lb'ers underneath my dock. As for the Walleye, they're the most
delicious tasting fish you'll ever have, and they're around here in the
hundreds.

Couple that with the wildlife I have around here, Blue Heron, Osprey,
and at least 47 other species of birds that I've counted. For the past
two years we have had Trumpeter Swans, extremely rare for the Eastern
side of North America. They're part of an attempt to reintroduce them to
the area. The first year there were two pairs, one of which stayed. They
came back the second year and had 3 babies, they'll likely return
forever now. The protected wetland preserve I live beside has trails
through it that you can bike or hike for hours. A creek runs up through
the area and affords some of the best views of the nesting Osprey and
their eaglets, not to mention some of the best Bass fishing around.

So what can I expect to happen?

I should premise this by telling you that the event is held here at my
home in Lindsay, Ontario, Canada. Lindsay is approximately 2 hours north
of Toronto's International Airport (YYZ - Pearson International).
Accommodations are either at the Admiral Inn, a full service hotel 10
minutes from my home, or at Lungehaven Cottages, housekeeping cabins
across the lake about 20 minutes from the house. Cabins are supplied
with everything you need, but have no phones.

Inside the House (Quicktime .MOV)
<http://www.ntbugtraq.com/images/house/house.mov>
Outside Facing the Houses (before the pool)
<http://www.ntbugtraq.com/images/house/roadward.jpg>
Outside Facing Sturgeon Lake
<http://www.ntbugtraq.com/images/house/lakeward.jpg>

Day 0 - Registration the evening of Saturday, August 16th, 2003

Attendance is not mandatory for this evening party. Its intended to
accommodate people who need to have a Saturday in their stay to afford
cheaper tickets, and to start the Retreat off with an evening mixer.
Arrive at the house any time after 5:00pm. Dinner will be a light BBQ
serve yourself affair that will be available till midnight for those
late arrivals.

Days 1-3 - Sunday/Monday/Tuesday, August 17th-19th

Breakfast from 8:00am until 10:00am then we get into the group
discussions. The topics of the discussions will be arranged closer to
the event, based largely on your feedback.

At 1:00pm we break for an hour for a lite lunch. Snacks and sandwiches
just enough to kill a craving but not enough to make you sleep (better
come for the big breakfast!).

At 2:00pm we get back to the group discussions and continue until
5:00pm.

Dinner is at 6:00pm. I'm working out the menus now. Suffice it to say
we'll have quite a feast. Two years ago Reuters thought it was so
special that they decided to write it up and publish it world-wide. Ok,
the fact that during dinner Code Red II was discovered had something to
do with it... Every meal is intended to be a 5-star chef's delight, so
be prepared for something interesting and definitely filling.

After that, the rest of the evening is available for further
discussions, fishing, bird-watching, whatever you prefer.

At any time there's lots to do.

Outdoor Activities:

-You can go for a walk in the conservation area
-Fish off the dock/shore, or rental boats can be arranged
-Bird watch
-Croquet
-Boulles
-Horse-shoes
-Swim in the pool

Indoor Activities:

-Do your email via the Wireless LAN with T1 Internet Access (spare WLAN
cards available)
-Catch up on the news, or watch a ball game, via the Echostar and
Expressvu Digital Satellite feeds
-Play some 9-ball on the 5x10 regulation table
-Be like Marcus Ranum and take a dip in the hot tub or swimming pool

This year the Gala Dinner, a 5-7 course affair, will be held on the
Sunday Evening. In this way those who want to leave on the evening of
the 19th can do so. Otherwise, dinner will be served the evening of the
19th and people can schedule to leave during the day on the 20th. No
meals are provided on the 20th, and Kim and I hope to stay quietly alone
on that day...;-]

Who might I expect to meet?

-Robert (Bob) P. Abbott
-Scott Culp (MS)
-Nick Fitzgerald (CA)
-Jason Garms (MS)
-Jesper Johansson (MS)
-Jimmy Kuo (NAI)
-David LeBlanc (MS)
-Steve Lipner (MS)
-William (Bill) H. Murray
-Marcus Ranum
-Eric Schultze (Shavlik)
-Bill Sobel (Symantec)
-Peter Tippet
-and many more...

What will it cost?

US$1250.00

Make checks payable to Russ Cooper. See "How do I register?" below for
address information.

Sorry, no credit cards or purchase orders, but you can use PayPal.
Receipts will be provided upon request.

What does that get me?

From the time you arrive in Lindsay, Ontario to the time you leave
Lindsay, your payment covers everything you might need. Call it a
"Super-inclusive". Included in the retreat fee is;

-All food and beverages (including hard and soft ware) for 4 nights and
3 days (breakfast, lunch, and dinner, late night snacks). The Retreat
has a reputation for having the best food, catering is done by our
finest restaurant. 

-Accommodations - A limited number of rooms in lakeside cottages are
available on a first come first serve basis. Everyone else will stay in
the Admiral Inn, a short distance from the NTBugtraq HQ. Smoking and
Non-smoking rooms are available and all bookings are to be done with me
directly (no need to call any hotels). State your preference (cottage,
hotel, smoking, non-smoking) when registering.

-Taxis between accommodation and NTBugtraq Headquarters. Ride-sharing
will be arranged to/from Airport, state whether you'll need a ride when
you register.

-Internet Access via WLAN/T1 (bring your wireless NICs) 

-Annual NTBugtraq Retreat hat and shirt (theme to be determined)

Where is NTBugtraq Headquarters?

74 Butternut Drive,
Lindsay, Ontario
Canada K9V 4R1

Voice: 1-705-878-3405
Fax: 1-705-878-1804

NTBugtraq Headquarters is in beautiful Lindsay, Ontario, Canada. Located
approximately 100 miles north east of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Lindsay
is a small town of 17,000 on the Trent/Severn water system. NTBugtraq HQ
is situated directly on Sturgeon Lake, one of the numerous Kawartha
Lakes in Ontario.

GPS coordinates are approximately 44.24.42N, 78.45.39W Mapquest
directions from Toronto International Airport almost to my house;
<http://www.mapquest.com/directions/main.adp?1g=1vwgjqJ0dnY%3d&1y=CA&2a=
%5b2%2d24%5d%20Butternut%20Dr&2s=ON&2c=Kenrei%20Park&1l=44IM2Nvowyk%3d&2
g=h69s8BCQLTY%3d&1a=%5b0%2d0%5d%20Airport%20Rd&2y=CA&2z=K9V4R%2d1&1s=ON&
1c=Malton&2l=zvcHGNQBF7A%3d&go=1&ct=NA>
Those directions end at the beginning of my street, just follow
Butternut to the end to find my house.

Great, so how do I register?

The retreat is restricted to 34 paying attendees. Together with people I
sponsor, that will make a total of 40 people this year. To secure
yourself a spot I must receive your payment, just asking for a spot will
not reserve it. Click on the link below to send an email registration
request, include the following;

-Name
-Title
-Company representing (if any)
-Room Preference (cottage/hotel)
-Smoking Preference (non/smoking)
-Flight schedule (needed for ride-sharing)
-Whether you'll be renting a car
-Hat and Shirt size
-Any food allergies/requirements
-Make a suggestion about a discussion that you personally could lead for
1 hour. Your discussion could be a question, wherein you ask for
everyone's response to an issue or idea, or it could be something you've
been working on and want to share with others for their comments. This
is not a "White Paper" talk necessarily (although feel free to suggest
one if you want). If you had 40 people assembled with varied expertise,
what would you want to hear them discuss for an hour?

Send an email to Russ.Cooper@rc.on.ca with "Retreat 2003 Registration
Request" in the subject line.

Then arrange your payment. I can accept checks (personal or corporate),
money orders, wire transfers (ask for banking details), or PayPal. Send
checks and/or money order to the address above.

I still have a question!

Well, then, call me directly at 1-705-878-3405 or via email at
Russ.Cooper@rc.on.ca

There you have it. I hope to see you then.

Cheers,
Russ - NTBugtraq Editor

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