Conference Description
Key Takeaways
- International conference addressing safety, reliability and security in critical computing systems
- Focus on engineering safe and sustainable computing systems within increasingly complex digital infrastructures
- Keynote sessions covering quantum computing security, AI safety frameworks and high-assurance hardware and software
- Designed for researchers, engineers, safety professionals and academics working with safety-critical systems
- Single-track format with workshops, keynotes and networking opportunities
Introduction
SafeComp 2026, the 45th International Conference on Computer Safety, Reliability, and Security, convenes in Valencia, Spain from 22–25 September 2026. The conference serves researchers, engineers and industry practitioners working on the assurance of safety-critical computing systems. This year’s programme centres on engineering safe and sustainable computing systems, a theme that reflects growing concerns about the dependability of interconnected digital infrastructures and their long-term environmental and societal impact.
The timing is significant. As organisations deploy increasingly complex systems of systems—where multiple independent platforms interact to deliver critical services—the challenge of maintaining safety, security and reliability across these architectures has intensified. Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing introduce both opportunities and novel risk vectors that traditional assurance methods were not designed to address.
About SafeComp 2026
SafeComp has established itself over more than four decades as a leading forum for advancing the science and practice of computer safety. The conference brings together academic researchers and industry professionals to examine methods, architectures and tools for ensuring the dependability and cybersecurity of critical computer systems and infrastructures.
The 2026 edition adopts a single-track format, ensuring all attendees can participate in every session. This structure encourages deeper engagement with presented material and facilitates meaningful discussion between participants from different sectors and disciplines. The programme includes workshops, keynote presentations and social activities designed to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange.
Core Technical Themes
The conference programme addresses several interconnected technical domains. Computer safety and dependability remain foundational concerns, encompassing fault-tolerant system design and the verification of high-assurance software and hardware. These disciplines provide the theoretical and practical basis for building systems that continue to operate correctly even when components fail.
Cybersecurity for critical infrastructure represents another major thread, recognising that safety and security have become inseparable in modern connected systems. A security breach in industrial control systems or transportation networks can have immediate safety consequences, making integrated approaches essential.
The programme also examines AI safety and assurance, addressing the challenges of deploying machine learning systems in safety-critical contexts where decisions must be explainable, predictable and verifiable. As AI components become embedded in autonomous vehicles, medical devices and industrial automation, the need for robust assurance frameworks has become acute.
Quantum computing security features prominently in the keynote programme, reflecting industry concern about the implications of quantum capabilities for current cryptographic protections. Organisations responsible for long-lived critical infrastructure must begin planning for post-quantum security even as the technology remains in development.
Sustainability in Safety-Critical Systems
The conference theme explicitly incorporates sustainability alongside traditional safety concerns. This reflects a broader recognition within the engineering community that critical systems must be designed not only for immediate reliability but also for energy efficiency and reduced environmental impact over their operational lifetime. For systems expected to remain in service for decades—common in transportation, energy and industrial sectors—sustainable design choices made today will have lasting consequences.
Who Should Attend
SafeComp 2026 is designed for professionals engaged in the design, development and assurance of safety-critical systems. This includes safety engineers responsible for hazard analysis and risk assessment, cybersecurity specialists protecting critical infrastructure, system architects designing fault-tolerant platforms, and R&D managers overseeing dependability programmes. Academic researchers and technical leads from sectors including transportation, industrial automation, robotics and critical infrastructure will find relevant content throughout the programme.
Supporting Organisations
The conference is hosted by Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) in collaboration with research institutes ITACA and DISCA. Supporting organisations include EWICS (the European Workshop on Industrial Computer Systems), ERCIM, KTH, and industry partners such as Hitachi Rail. Proceedings are published through Springer’s Lecture Notes in Computer Science series, ensuring peer-reviewed contributions reach the broader research community.
Conclusion
As digital systems become more deeply embedded in critical infrastructure and daily life, the disciplines represented at SafeComp grow increasingly consequential. The 2026 conference offers practitioners and researchers an opportunity to engage with current challenges in safety, security and sustainability while contributing to the development of methods that will shape how critical systems are engineered in the years ahead.