The world-class cybersecurity international conference, “CODE BLUE 2024" closed with great success!

CODE BLUE 2024, an international cyber security conference held in Takadanobaba, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo (Training: November 9-13, Conference: November 14-15), has completed its full schedule. Many industry professionals, including domestic and international cyber security researchers, gathered to share the latest knowledge and deepen exchanges through lectures, trainings, workshops, and networking parties.

A scene from CODE BLUE 2024

[Talks by world-class experts]

CODE BLUE 2024" was held for the 12th time this year. The conference featured outstanding talks which passed the difficult hurdle of less than 10% acceptance rate, as well as sessions such as "U25" to encourage research by students and young engineers, "Bluebox" to introduce open source tools and projects, and "Open Talks" by the sponsor companies. 

The opening keynote was given by David A. Dalrymple, who researches the safety of AI systems at the UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), and he talked about the current status and future trends in software verification support through rapidly developing AI technologies. In his talk, he looked ahead to a future in which cooperation between humans and AI will greatly reduce the number of exploitable bugs in software. At this time, it is humans who will be the biggest attack surface, suggesting that the direction of cyber attacks will inevitably change. He also emphasized the need for verification of the system itself, in the sense of preventing AI from running amok.

Keynote speech by David A. Dalrymple (Recorded Session)

Stefan Friedli, who leads Google's Global Red Team, presented concrete examples of challenges and solutions in building, managing, and growing Red Teams in organizations, based on actual cases at Google. Jun Kokatsu also explained a case study of a new XSS vulnerability that occurred when integrating Copilot (AI function) into the Microsoft Edge browser, and these talks were well received by the attendees. The talk by Aapo Oksman, who pointed out vulnerabilities in the TLS implementation in Play Station consoles, also received a lot of attention.

Talk at the main track (Photo: Stefan Friedli)

In the closing panel discussion, representatives from Japan, the U.K., the U.S., and the EU, who are making efforts to nurture young security personnel, gathered and introduced their countries' efforts and exchanged opinions on topics such as the importance of international exchange and the promotion of diversity in human resources.

Panel discussion on cybersecurity talent development in each country

[Expansion of Contests and Workshops]

This year, 11 events were held in conjunction with the conference, a significant increase compared to last year. In particular, the “Biohacking Village,” held for the first time in Japan, was a workshop on cybersecurity of medical devices, and actively exchanged opinions with Japanese medical professionals. "Car Hacking Village," which has expanded in scale since last year, and "Cyber TAMAGO," where tools and ideas related to cybersecurity were shared, were also attracting crowds.

Contests and Workshops

In addition, Kunoichi Cyber Game, an international CTF for young women, was also held this time. Members under 30 years old, selected from Japan, the U.K., the U.S., and the EU through preliminary competitions in each country, participated in this event. They improved each other’s skills and deepened exchanges across borders.

Kunoichi Cyber Game Award Ceremony

  [The first training in 6 years]

Prior to the conference, training sessions were held from November 9 to 13. Three certification courses offered by the U.S. “OffSec” were held: "PEN-200" for learning the basics of penetration testing, "WEB-300" for specializing in web application penetration testing, and "EXP-401" for learning advanced Windows exploitation. 

In addition, "Windows Forensics Masterclass with Malware Analysis Essentials" by Surya Teja Masanam and Saksham Tushar in which participants could learn disk and memory analysis through hands-on case studies was also well received.

Training -Windows Forensics Masterclass with Malware Analysis Essentials-

[Community building involving international participants and student staff].

The conference attracted a diverse range of visitors from 35 countries and regions around the world. This year, participants were seen not only from Asia, Europe and the U.S., but also from regions such as the Middle East, Latin America and Africa, indicating the growing interest in cybersecurity in the international community.

Participants commented*, “Gained a wide range of knowledge from technical issues to trends of threat actors,” “Learned about the latest trends and products of companies,” “Interacted with people from various security-related fields,” and “Very useful to get a lot of information across industries, domestic and international, on the theme of security,” and many expressed their expectations for next year's event.

Every year, student staff members are involved in the conference management, and approximately 40 students were selected from a large number of applicants to join the management team this year as well. 

These activities provide opportunities for staff members to interact with each other and with professionals at the forefront of the industry, and we believe it also helps to foster a security community. CODE BLUE will continue its activities to promote opportunities for international information exchange and cross-regional communication  in the field of cyber security.

*From the results of the feedback survey

CCODE BLUE aims to become a broad networking forum for the industry

■Outline of CODE BLUE 2024

Date: November 9th (Saturday) to November 15th (Friday), 2024

Organizer: CODE BLUE Executive Committee

Operation: CODE BLUE Secretariat (BLUE Co., Ltd.)

【Training】

Date: November 9th (Saturday) to November 13th(Wednesday), 2024  

Venue: Waim Rental Room Takadanobaba (TD Building 3F)

(Japanese) https://codeblue.jp/2024/training/

(English) https://codeblue.jp/2024/en/training/

【Conference】 

Date: November 14th (Thursday) to November 15th (Friday), 2024

Venue: Bellesalle Takadanobaba

　    　(Sumitomo Fudosan Shinjuku Garden Tower B2/1F)

Official Site: https://codeblue.jp/2024/en/

SNS:［X(formerly Twitter)］ https://x.com/codeblue_jp

　　 ［Facebook］ https://facebook.com/codeblue.jp

■About CODE BLUE

CODE BLUE is an international cyber security conference that brings together top-class experts from Japan and abroad. This year marks the 12th CODE BLUE conference, which provides cutting-edge lectures by cyber security experts and opportunities for information exchange and interaction across national and language borders. By bringing together the world's top experts in a variety of fields, the conference aims to revitalize and strengthen cooperation in security in Asia, including Japan, and to discover talented young researchers from Japan and other Asian countries and encourage them to enter the international arena.