The FTC has a history of offering practical advice to organizations and consumers to protect against security threats and related concerns, and is continuing this practice with the upcoming – and very first – “Start with Security” conference, taking place at the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law on September 9, 2015.

The conference will begin at 10:00 a.m., and will be held at Hastings’ Alumni Reception Center, 200 McAllister Street in San Francisco. While all are encouraged to attend, the conference is specifically focused on providing guidance to start-ups and developers. The conference will present panels that provide real-world advice, and will combine FTC personnel with experts on information security from market and industry leaders in the commercial and security fields.

The Start with Security conference is firmly focused on providing an exploration of what it means to build a “culture of security,” and each subsequent panel incorporates that theme. The panels focus on the lifecycle of modern organizations, building off of the concept of a security culture and introducing the audience to additional and related concepts throughout the day, which include:

• The means to define and consider core and related concepts, including “security by design,” common security vulnerabilities, strategies for secure development, and vulnerability response
• How to scale security practices as the organization grows
• The importance of treating security practices as investments rather than costs
• Why security is much more than reacting to or troubleshooting issues as they arise

In case the topics are not incentive enough, the Start with Security conference is free and open to the public. No preregistration is necessary, and lunch is provided. Finally, the FTC will webcast the conference;