SANS Community Nights provide a great way to stay in touch with your local InfoSec community and to hear the latest thought leadership from SANS world-leading instructors.
Join us at the DoubleTree by Hilton Bristol City Centre, Redcliffe Way, Redcliffe, Bristol , BS1 6NJ.
View the agenda below:
Thursday 16th October 2025
17:30 – 18:00 Registration and Drinks
18:00 - 19:00 CSI: Common Sense Investigations with Adam Harrison
19:00 – 20:00 The Curse of the Missing Playbook with Steve Armstrong-Godwin
Please bring ID for registration.
Abstracts:
CSI: Common Sense Investigations with Adam Harrison
This talk unpacks the academic principles of investigation, blending real-world insights with pop culture references and iconic film quotes. It tackles common mistakes amateur investigators make and challenges the notion that investigation is "just common sense." By exploring themes like Occam’s Razor and Hickam’s Dictum, it highlights the rigorous methodology required for professional investigations.
The Curse of the Missing Playbook with Steve Armstrong-Godwin
Every organisation thinks it has a major incident plan for black swan incidents. Bound neatly in a binder, tucked away in a SharePoint site, or perhaps buried somewhere in a compliance audit. But when the cannons fire and the storm rolls in, that “playbook” too often proves as cursed as Aztec gold — missing, outdated, or unreadable when you need it most.
In this light-hearted Pirates of the Caribbean-themed session, Steve Armstrong-Godwin will take you on a voyage through the chaotic seas of crisis management. Drawing on real incident lessons and 29 years in the field, he’ll show how untrained crews (teams) descend into mutiny, why improvised patchwork fixes rarely hold the sails, and how proper drills and rehearsals can turn a rag-tag crew into a resilient fighting force.
Expect movie references, practical takeaways, and perhaps a few rum-flavoured truths. By the end, you’ll see why the real treasure isn’t a shiny IR plan on the shelf — it’s a crew who’ve sailed through the storm before.
