Complete with swords and golden goblets and suited knights, this year's SecureWorld conference in Boston decided to turn back time—to fortified castles in medieval times—in order to highlight the strategies of defense in depth that have transcended time and generation.
In his presentation, "Surviving the Siege: Medieval Lessons in Modern Security", John O'Leary, president of O'Leary Management Education, talked about protecting castles then and now.
Asking participants to adopt a medieval mindset, O'Leary had the audience place themselves in the position of a defender sitting high above the hilltop entrenched in the defensive fortifications of their castles.
The vantage point allowed them to see what the peasants were up to and afforded them the chance to, "Crush dissent before it was problematic."
As it does now, security of old demanded agility. O'Leary said we saw the evolution of materials go from building with wood to constructing with stone, a reassurance of safety because it couldn't be burned to the ground. Stone, said O'Leary, allowed them to withstand long sieges, dissuaded potential invaders, augmented the natural terrain defenses.
