Verizon bails on RSA cybersecurity conference over coronavirus fears

It would seem that the corporate sponsors of the RSA security conference are no match for IRL viruses. 

Conference organizers announced Friday that Verizon has joined the growing ranks of companies bailing on the annual San Francisco cybersecurity event, which is slated to begin on Feb. 24. Following IBM and AT&T, Verizon is the latest company to pull out at the last minute, and, according to the RSA, the blame lies on the coronavirus — officially dubbed COVID-19. 

“We learned today that Verizon has decided to no longer participate in RSA Conference 2020 as a Gold Sponsor,” reads the statement. “We understand and respect their decision.” 

In case the motivation for Verizon’s decision was unclear, the statement is titled “Novel Coronavirus Update.”

We reached out to both Verizon and RSA in an attempt to determine what exactly that means. Is the company simply no longer dropping down a ton of cash to sponsor the conference? Or, rather, are both Verizon employees and executives — at least one of whom, Verizon chief product officer Alexander Schlager, is still listed as giving a talk on Feb. 26 — sitting this year’s conference out?

Unfortunately, we received no immediate response. However, if IBM’s example is any indication, we don’t expect to see many Verizon folks at the conference. 

“The health of IBMers continues to be our primary concern as we monitor upcoming events and travel relative to Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19),” an IBM spokesperson told Mashable over email last week. “As a result, we are cancelling our participation in this year’s RSA conference taking place February 24 – 28 in San Francisco.”

AT&T Cybersecurity, meanwhile, pulled out “as a Gold Sponsor” back on Feb. 20. 

Organizers for the RSA event, which drew over 42,000 attendees in 2019, are going out of their way to reassure those who are still planning on attending (including this reporter) that it’s taking coronavirus concerns seriously. 

“In addition to following CDC recommendations like frequent hand washing, RSA Conference reminds attendees that other preventive measures have been put in place to help reduce the risk of infection,” reads an RSA press release. “The Moscone Center is following recommendations in the US EPA’s Emerging Pathogen Policy regarding the use of cleaning disinfectants effective against the coronavirus and CDC health screenings for qualified travelers arriving from international destinations at the San Francisco International Airport.”

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San Francisco Mayor London Breed even got in on the action, issuing a statement on Feb. 20 urging conference participants to “set an example to prevent fear, rumors, and misinformation from guiding our actions.”

As of today, RSA organizers say that 14 exhibitors have canceled their involvement. Verizon’s last minute decision to join those ranks suggests we may see even more companies decide to follow suit. Because even the best cybersecurity, after all, won’t protect you from the coronavirus.