2026 is almost upon us, and with it comes a slate of must-attend cybersecurity conferences. Security experts from across sectors will come together to hear about the latest risk management strategies, novel hacking techniques, changes to cyber governance and what technologies enterprises can use to defend their networks.
Some events, like RSA Conference, draws CISOs and other cybersecurity business decision makers, but if you’re a security practitioner looking for a conference, early August brings what is colloquially known as Hacker Summer Camp in Las Vegas. Lasting more than a week, security specialists can attend Black Hat USA, Def Con and BSides Las Vegas.
These events are also a great time to network and learn how peers in the cybersecurity sector are navigating the same issues you are up against. While this list is not exhaustive, it is curated to those events that make the biggest splash and lure the top companies. We’ll see you there.
IAAP Global Privacy Summit
March 30-31
Washington, D.C.
The summit, touted as the largest event in the privacy industry, will feature keynote speakers and breakout sessions on the most important issues related to governance, management and privacy law.
RSA Conference
March 23-26
San Francisco
Geared toward cybersecurity decision makers, RSA Conference drew nearly 44,000 attendees in 2025, and the theme for 2026 is Power of Community.
Google Cloud Next
April 22-24
Las Vegas
Google Cloud Next features discussions about threat intelligence and opportunities for high-profile customers to discuss their experience and lessons learned.
Palo Alto Networks Ignite
May 20
New York City
Palo Alto Networks will again offer a series of events across major cities, designed to help security professionals manage a series of disruptive events across the globe. The conferences will offer threat insights from Unit 42, explore the potential for AI and provide hands-on learning opportunities.
Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit
June 1-3
National Harbor, Maryland
Industry leading keynote speakers and experts from Gartner will help security professionals navigate a complex set of challenges, ranging from business resilience to risk management. Roughly 4,500 professionals attended the 2025 conference.
Black Hat USA
Aug. 1-6
Las Vegas
Kicking off the week colloquially known as Hacker Summer Camp, Black Hat starts with technical trainings before a two-day conference intended for practitioners and security leaders.
BSides Las Vegas
Aug. 3-5
Las Vegas
The two-day event features technical and academic presentations for peer review among security practitioners. It coincides with the annual Hacker Summer Camp in Las Vegas.
DEF CON
Aug. 6-9
Las Vegas
Overlapping with Black Hat, this conference is geared toward hacking enthusiasts.
Fal.Con
Aug. 31-Sept. 3
Las Vegas
CrowdStrike’s annual conference brings together top executives from the company and some of its customers to explore intelligence and tools.
Billington Cybersecurity Summit
Sept. 8-10
Washington, D.C.
The annual conference features senior technology and cybersecurity leaders from across the U.S. government and the private sector. 2025’s event featured National Security Council senior director for cyber Alexei Bulazel, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine, acting Federal CISO Michael Duffy and other senior leaders.
LABScon
Sept. 16-19
Scottsdale, Ariz.
SentinelOne’s annual invite-only conference gathers cybersecurity experts to share cutting-edge research and push the envelope of threat landscape understanding.
Forrester Security & Risk Forum
Nov. 9-10
Washington, D.C.
The annual conference features carefully selected keynote speakers, insights from Forrester analysts and a wide variety of workshops, case studies and specialized learning opportunities.
Aspen Cyber Summit
Nov. 18
Washington, D.C.
The annual conference features some of the world’s top cybersecurity policy experts, security leaders from the private sector and insight from academia. Previous conferences have featured discussions on the role of law enforcement, the growing importance of artificial intelligence and the enduring threat from rogue nation states.
Disclosure: Black Hat and Cybersecurity Dive are owned by Informa. The event has no influence over Cybersecurity Dive’s coverage.
