Hero guide: First-Time Attendee Guide
AWS re:Inforce 2025 offers more than 200 sessions focused on cloud security, with content spanning foundational topics and advanced technical deep-dives. For first-time attendees, it’s important to balance foundational learning with exposure to AWS culture and networking opportunities.
DevRel Mgr
HashiCorp
As a 1st time attendee, you might be overwhelmed by all of the options. In this guide I'm going to (1) make some recommendations on what you should attend, and (2) give you some general tips for surviving the conference!
How to survive re:Inforce:
- Prioritize Comfort and Health:
- Wear the most comfortable shoes you can get away with. You’ll walk far more than you expect.
- Stay hydrated! Bring a large refillable water bottle and drink more water than you think you need.
- Layer your clothing - conference rooms can be cold due to strong air conditioning.
- Manage Your Schedule & Energy
- Plan your days, but be flexible. Review the conference schedule daily and be ready for last-minute changes.
- Limit alcohol, especially at evening events.
- Prioritize sleep.
- Optimize Your Experience
- Make your bag modular. Use a crossbody purse or small backpack so you can carry only what you need.
- Bring a battery bank for your phone. You (or someone with you) WILL run out.
- Network! The "Hallway Track" is the best way to make new connections
"Must Attend" Essentials
These are the sessions that will set the tone for your re:Inforce experience. Paying attention at these will tell you which additional breakouts, coding sessions, labs, and workshops you'll want to dive further into (p.s. use the filter mechanism in the catalog to help!).
The keynote sets the tone for the entire conference & tells you where AWS is focusing it's efforts (i.e. what sessions to pay close attention to).
How AWS is going to be treating AI Security is going to be of paramount importance
How AWS is going to be treating AI Security is going to be of paramount importance
Master advanced IAM policy evaluation to troubleshoot access issues, secure resources, and confidently manage permissions—essential for every AWS security journey.
Everyone should do at least 1 workshop to see what they are all about. This looks like a fun one. If it's not your cup of tea pick another!
AI
It's 2025 - AI is being implemented *everywhere*. If you aren't learning how to properly secure your environments, LLMs, Agents, Agent permissions, etc...
Learn to secure AI agents with real AWS code examples—vital for anyone building or managing AI apps that need robust identity, consent, and fine-grained access.
Learn how to build AI solutions that meet new regulations, protect data, and ensure responsible, compliant innovation—crucial for anyone deploying AI on AWS.
This one just sounds fun!! Get hands-on with AI security by attacking and defending GenAI apps. Learn real-world LLM vulnerabilities and risk mitigation skills.
I love the Well Architected Framework. This is a good way to learn it and the GenAI Lens security best practices.
DevSecOps
This persona is near and dear to me Knowing how the infrastructure, code, platform, and security are all interconnected is vital to the stability of any service. Now that we're adding AI into the mix we'll need to understand how THAT interacts with the other aspects.
See how to automate compliance checks in your infrastructure code, ensuring security and speed—perfect for anyone building or securing regulated AWS environments.
Gain hands-on skills automating IAM policy checks in CI/CD pipelines—essential for building secure apps and catching permission issues before deployment.
Learn to boost security by centralizing logs, building custom dashboards, and enabling real-time alerts—key skills for effective AWS threat detection and compliance.
Discover how to build a modern, secure cloud network by integrating Zero Trust principles and AWS services—essential for evolving your security strategy.
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