His participation underscores ithe mportance of security for company Microsoft Corp. Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates will address the RSA Conference 2004 in February.Gates will be a featured keynote speaker on the first day of the trade show in San Francisco. The show will focus on information security issues such as identity theft, hacking and computer network defenses, said Sandra Toms LaPedis, area vice president and general manager of RSA Conferences, which is part of RSA Security Inc.This is the first time Gates has spoken at the RSA show, which Microsoft sponsors. “Microsoft is a sponsor for the RSA Conference this year, as they have been for the past several years. They decided that they would like to have Bill Gates be a keynote speaker. It was totally their choice, and we’re thrilled to have him,” LaPedis said.RSA could not say what subjects Gates will address in his speech, but his decision to speak at RSA underscores the growing importance of security to Microsoft, she said.Also speaking at the show will be RSA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Art Coviello, VeriSign Inc. Chairman and CEO Stratton Sclavos and Cokie Roberts, chief congressional analyst for ABC News. “I think that’s extremely brave,” said Pete Lindstrom, research director of Spire Security. “Clearly, Microsoft is stepping up to the plate. It shows intestinal fortitude for Bill Gates to stand in front of an audience of academics and security experts and tell his story. But I’m more interested in the reaction of the crowd and whether they will be receptive than that he’s giving the keynote.” Security