About BSidesKC

Our annual conference fosters peer-reviewed technical and academic presentations, supporting the growth and depth of the field. We aim to be a platform for innovation, community building, and advanced knowledge sharing in Information Security.

Mission Statement

BSidesKC is a non-profit educational organization designed to advance the body of Information Security knowledge, by providing an annual, open forum for discussion and debate for security engineers and their affiliates. We produce a conference that is a source of education, collaboration, and continued conversation for information technologists and those associated with this field. The technical and academic presentations at BSidesKC are given in the spirit of peer review and advanced knowledge dissemination. This allows the field of Information Security to grow in breadth and depth, and continue in its pursuit of highly advanced scientifically based knowledge.

History

Security BSides is a framework of events that enables individuals to expand the spectrum of conversation beyond the confines of traditional media. Frameworks such as BSides enable individuals to drive the event, shape the media, and encourage participation.

BSides are free or low cost, community organized events put on by local individuals with the expressed goal of enabling a platform for information dissemination. BSides is an ‘unconference’ that follows the ‘open spaces’ format. It creates opportunities for individuals to both present and participate in an intimate atmosphere that encourages collaboration. It is an intense event with discussions, demos, and interaction from participants. It is where conversations for the Next Big Thing are happening.

The following is a brief outline about previous events:

2009: Launched in Las Vegas, NV with ~200 participants in a rented house
2010: First European event
2011: Over 20 events planned in US, Europe, India, Hong Kong, & Australia
2012: Continued interest in BSides events – 38 cities, 10 countries, 5 continents
2014: More than 160 BSides events, in 74 cities, in 16 countries, on 6 continents
2015: BSides celebrates its 6th Anniversary, with over 200 global events
2017: BSidesKC came back as a 1-day conference to carry on the community-driven, grassroots tradition
2018: BSidesKC added low-cost workshops the Friday before the main conference. We had over 700 attendees between the 2 days!
2025: Even more awesomeness is expected! Don't miss it!!!

You’ll be able to find pictures, published video, archived sites, information and Twitter activity on the BSidesKC links above

We have ZERO TOLERANCE for physical, verbal, sexual harassment at BSidesKC.

Our general “Code of Conduct” is “Be Excellent to Each Other” AKA the Golden Rule. Failing that, it is “Do not be an Ass or we will kick your ass out!“.

Asking questions of a speaker during their talk, to get clarity or debate a point is NOT being an ass – heckling or haranguing the speaker IS. If you are not sure, ask, or err on the side of basic decency and common courtesy. If what they are doing would not be acceptable to have done to you, your best friend, your worst enemy, your sister, niece, daughter, brother, nephew, son, mother, father, or any human being, do not let them treat anyone else that way – whether you know them or not. If someone asks you to stop – STOP.

Everyone should feel welcome at the event and we take safety concerns very seriously. If you are having an issue with a BSidesKC participant of ANY badge type, please find a member of our team in the orange BSidesKC safety vests. They will assist you in determining the next steps for you to feel safe and address your concerns. Alternatively, you can send an email to safety@bsideskc.org during the event to notify the organizers of any issues. Please include your name and phone number where you can be reached. If you have not heard back within 15 minutes, please assume the email was not received and instead ask a volunteer to find an organizer immediately.