OWASP Frankfurt Chapter Meetup #75 - From Tech Leadership to API Security

Hello everyone, we're excited to invite you to the OWASP Frankfurt Chapter Meetup #75!

Our OWASP Chapter serves central Germany, particularly within the Rhine-Main (Hesse) region, as a platform to discuss and share information on application security topics.
Anyone interested and enthusiastic about application security or security in general is welcome. All meetings are free and open. You do not have to be an OWASP member to attend our event.

What are we going to talk about?

• From Code to Leadership: Navigating the Tech Landscape as a Woman by Shannon C. Ryan, Marketing and Business Executive: Drawing from her experience launching 12+ products across Technology, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotechnology, this session tackles the realities of advancing from technical roles to leadership positions as a woman in tech. We'll explore proven pathways for career growth, the essential leadership skills that set executives apart, and how diversity fuels innovation in technical organizations. Through real success stories and practical strategies, Shannon will demonstrate approaches to building a strong personal brand, leveraging mentorship effectively, and turning networking into career acceleration. You'll leave with actionable tactics for your own leadership journey, techniques for developing executive presence, and insights on creating inclusive environments that drive both innovation and business results.
• Preemptive Web App & API Security Using Contextual Machine Learning Technology with open-appsec WAF by Christopher Lutat, Product Manager at Check Point, IT Security Expert: Drawing from 20+ years in security and his role leading the open-source open-appsec project, this session exposes the critical weakness of traditional signature-based WAFs and introduces a machine learning approach that delivers true zero-day protection without signature updates. We'll examine the vulnerability window between exploit discovery and signature deployment, then demonstrate how contextual ML technology prevents both emerging and known threats proactively. Through a live case study of a recent major vulnerability, Christopher will show how open-appsec integrates with reverse proxies to stop attacks before signatures exist. You'll gain practical insights on deploying ML-based protection, reducing false positives compared to conventional WAFs, and cutting operational overhead while strengthening your security posture against the threats traditional approaches cannot anticipate.

Socializing Opportunities: There will be plenty of time to socialize before and after the event.

Afterwards? We will begin and conclude the evening with the opportunity to socialize at the venue with free food and both cold & hot drinks.

When? Our Meetup takes place on 25.02.2025 from 18.00 to 22.00 o'clock CEST.

Where? To be announced soon!

Interested in giving a talk yourself? Submit your talk here: https://www.papercall.io/owasp-chapter-frankfurt

And now? Save the date, spread the word, and bring your friends and colleagues along to our event.

Follow Us! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and refer to our OWASP Frankfurt site for information, including slides and recordings of previous presentations. We're looking forward to seeing you at our event!