Conference Description
Key Takeaways
- Chile’s longest-running dedicated information security conference, now in its sixteenth year
- Exclusively technical content with no commercial presentations or vendor pitches
- Peer-reviewed research selected through a formal call for papers process
- Designed for security practitioners, engineers, auditors and technical leadership including CISOs, CTOs and CIOs
- International speaker programme drawing researchers from across the global security community
Introduction
Information security professionals in Latin America have relatively few opportunities to engage with deeply technical research outside of vendor-driven trade shows. This Chilean conference addresses that gap directly, offering a programme built entirely around peer-reviewed technical presentations rather than product demonstrations or sales-oriented content. Now entering its sixteenth consecutive year, the event has established itself as one of South America’s most respected gatherings for security practitioners seeking substantive knowledge exchange.
About This Event
The conference distinguishes itself through an uncompromising focus on technical depth. Where many industry events blend educational sessions with commercial exhibitions and sponsored presentations, this programme maintains strict separation from vendor influence. Every presentation slot is filled through a competitive call for papers process, ensuring that content is selected on merit rather than sponsorship.
Over its sixteen-year history, the conference has hosted more than 550 speakers from around the world and welcomed over 27,000 attendees. These figures reflect sustained growth and consistent quality that has earned the event recognition well beyond Chile’s borders. The international speaker roster brings diverse perspectives on emerging threats, novel attack techniques and defensive strategies that might otherwise take years to reach the South American security community through secondary channels.
Academic Rigour and Research Selection
The call for papers process forms the backbone of the conference’s reputation. Submissions undergo review by an Academic Committee comprising recognised security researchers and academics holding doctoral qualifications. This peer-review approach mirrors the standards found at leading international security conferences, where technical accuracy and original contribution take precedence over presentation polish or speaker profile.
For researchers, acceptance represents meaningful validation of their work. For attendees, it provides assurance that presentations will deliver genuine technical insight rather than recycled material or thinly veiled marketing. The rigorous selection process also encourages submissions of original vulnerability research, novel exploitation techniques and defensive innovations that might not find a platform at commercially oriented events.
Who Should Attend
The conference targets professionals who work directly with security technologies and those responsible for directing security strategy within their organisations. Security engineers and system administrators benefit from exposure to cutting-edge attack research that informs defensive architecture decisions. Penetration testers and red team operators gain insight into emerging techniques and tooling from peers working on similar challenges worldwide.
Technical leadership roles including Chief Information Security Officers, Chief Technology Officers and Chief Information Officers find value in understanding the threat landscape at a granular level, even when their day-to-day responsibilities have shifted toward governance and strategy. Consultants and auditors similarly benefit from maintaining current technical knowledge that underpins credible advisory work.
The common thread among attendees is a genuine interest in technical substance. Those seeking high-level trend summaries or vendor comparisons will find the content more detailed than they require, while practitioners hungry for implementation-level knowledge will find themselves well served.
Regional Significance for Latin American Security Professionals
Latin America’s information security community has matured considerably over the past decade, with growing demand for skilled practitioners across financial services, telecommunications, government and critical infrastructure sectors. Yet access to world-class technical training and research dissemination remains uneven across the region. Conferences of this calibre play an important role in professional development, allowing local practitioners to engage with international research without the expense and complexity of travelling to events in North America or Europe.
The community-building aspect carries particular weight in a field where knowledge sharing directly improves collective defence. Relationships formed at technical conferences often translate into ongoing collaboration, whether through informal information sharing about emerging threats or more structured cooperation on incident response. For Chilean and broader South American security teams, this network effect compounds the value of attendance over time.
A Distinctive Conference Culture
Beyond its technical programme, the conference has developed a distinctive identity that incorporates pop culture references and visual creativity into its presentation. This approach reflects the broader hacker conference tradition of combining serious technical work with irreverent style, creating an atmosphere that encourages open exchange and challenges the corporate formality typical of industry trade shows.
The cultural dimension serves a practical purpose as well. Technical conferences that feel welcoming and energetic tend to foster more productive hallway conversations and networking than those with rigid professional atmospheres. For many attendees, the informal exchanges between sessions prove as valuable as the presentations themselves.
Conclusion
For security professionals seeking technical depth without commercial distraction, this conference represents one of South America’s most valuable annual gatherings. Its sixteen-year track record, rigorous paper selection process and international speaker programme have earned it a reputation that extends well beyond Chile. Practitioners at any career stage who prioritise substantive learning over vendor exhibitions will find the event well aligned with their professional development goals.