Something is missing in the swirl of glitter around blockchain and cryptocurrency: a hard, gristly conversation about security risks. Hosho Group Inc. wants to strike up this conversation without spoiling the party. In Nevada last week, the cryptosecurity provider brought together a group of technical and nontechnical people to exchange ideas and learn substantive skills to make blockchain more secure.

Gabriel Shepherd (pictured), vice president of global strategy at Hosho Group, has attended dozens of crytpo conferences. While many are worthwhile, none are putting security front and center where it belongs, according to Shepherd. HoshoCon is the first conference to focus on cryptosecurity.

Shepherd spoke with John Furrier (@furrier), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the recent HoshoCon event in Las Vegas. They discussed Shepherd’s experiences on the conference circuit and the bleeding need for more talk and action in the realm of cryptosecurity.

Market thirsts for security knowledge

“What we wanted to do was bring together thought leadership with respect to security, technical leadership with respect to developers and security engineers, and we wanted to bridge those two,” Shepherd said.

Specifically, getting nontechnical people like business executives versed in practical security measures is a major goal of the conference. That is why there are not just keynote speeches and panels at HoshoCon. “We also have the ability to teach nontechnical people how to enable two-factor authentication; how to set up [Pretty Good Privacy] for your email; how to set up your hardware wallet.”

With reports of crypto hacking hitting the news recently, those investing in blockchain and digital tokens are getting jittery about security. That is why HoshCon was quite well attended by industry experts and business people alike.

“My takeaway is that there is a yearning for this type of event,” Shepherd said.

A one-time SXSW LLC employee, Shepherd believes that working in the trenches of cryptosecurity makes Hosho Group uniquely able to deliver a relevant conference on the topic. “It holds my feet to the fire much closer than an event organizer who doesn’t have a company, reputation and brand to protect,” Shepherd concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of HoshoCon 2018.

Photo: SiliconANGLE