2026 Cybersecurity Conference Strategy
My 2026 strategy focuses on attending major hacker and security conferences to either secure accepted training sessions or market a unique workshop combining method acting, improv, clowning, hypnotism, and seduction as part of a comprehensive social engineering class. This approach rounds out technical skills with essential social ones, creating a distinctive offering in the cybersecurity education space. Conference Schedule & Strategy Nullcon - Goa, India Website: https://nullcon.net/goa-2026 Dates: February 27 - March 3, 2026 - Training: Feb 25-27 and March 2-4 - Day Zero (CISOs/CTOs): Feb 27 - Conference: Feb 28 - March 1 About: Nullcon is India's premier cybersecurity conference and one of Asia's largest information security events, bringing together over 3,000 security researchers, hackers, defenders, and technology leaders from across the globe. The event features deep-dive trainings, cutting-edge research talks, panel discussions, live hacking demos, and CTF challenges. My Strategy: - Offer a free workshop in exchange for complimentary conference pass and room - Requires fundraising or self-funding for travel costs - I'm traveling to Amsterdam to meet with the conference organizer to negotiate this arrangement - Since this is run by the same organizer as Hardware.io, there may be opportunities to leverage this relationship for both events BSides San Francisco Website: https://bsidessf.org Dates: March 21-22, 2026 About: BSidesSF is a non-profit, community-driven information security conference that advances the body of knowledge by providing an open forum for discussion and debate for security practitioners. The conference features diverse presentations, workshops, and villages, drawing practitioners and security leaders from across the industry. My Strategy: - Guerrilla marketing opportunity with low travel costs from my location - Book a separate venue for a daytime workshop during the conference - Advertise our workshop directly to conference attendees - Consider running the workshop on repeat the week after BSidesSF - Use the event as a marketing platform even without an official speaking slot