After jumping through countless hoops to get the required set of security clearances and approval by the US Embassy to photograph the President’s visit CSO can see why these steps were justified.

Our photojournalist Neerav Bhatt was less than 5 metres away from the world’s most heavily secured individual - the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama.

Welcome to the Security All-Stars! Here we have assembled our list of top players in information security who year after year demonstrate the specialized skills that make them worth listening to.

After a day of keynotes including insights from Virgin founder, Sir Richard Branson, and break out sessions with McAfee staff, delegates were keen to let their hair down in sunny Las Vegas.

With music and humour from a Rat Pack tribute act (Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Junior and Dean Martin), and the lure of the tables at the Palazzo hotel/ casino, there was plenty to keep staff and customers entertained well into the night.

More budget? Perhaps a little. More attention from senior management? Yes, a bit. Better results? That's not so clear.

Symantec Vision 2011 Sydney in pictures

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has the primary purpose of defending Australia against armed attack such as the Japanese air raids on Darwin and northern Australia during WWII. It also participates in UN peace keeping, operations with allies such as the USA and disaster relief. In essence the ADF is a form of “insurance” against security threats to our nation.

The curtain has fallen on the 50 day performance by hacker group LulzSec. Its campaign of mayhem and destruction, peppered with witty commentary captivated the world. In an alternate universe where Lulzcats reign and anti-security is the norm, it might have even earned a spot on its first target, The X-Factor. But on this earth its members may still be captured by its later targets: the CIA, US law enforcement and the FBI.