About BSidesLV

BSides Las Vegas is a nonprofit organization formed to stimulate the Information Security industry and community by providing an annual, two-day conference for security practitioners and those interested in entering or looking to enter the field.

Our event is a source of education, communication, and collaboration

Two people enjoying lobbycon

The technical and academic presentations at BSidesLV are given in the spirit of peer review and for the dissemination of knowledge among all specialties. This allows the field of Information Security to grow and continue its pursuit of a world where privacy and security are attainable.

“…I learned about a new security product of which I’d never heard [of] at BSidesLV 2014, met the development team, and have since recommended it to customers on the strength of meeting its engineers…”

“…I don’t go to BSidesLV for yet another sales pitch; I want to meet the engineers and know they actually work in the community.”

“BSidesLV was great! It’s an event with top notch talks, yet it’s small enough that you won’t get stuck in an endless line or swallowed up in the crowd like DEF CON. I really enjoyed the central chillout room with presentation rooms around it. It was easier to find people and start up conversations.”

What is BSides Global?

Person talking

Each BSides is a community-driven framework for building events for and by information security community members. The goal is to expand the spectrum of conversation beyond the traditional confines of space and time. 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.

“Security BSides is what security cons SHOULD be - non-pretentious, enlightening, community-driven.” - Dave Shackleford

“The magic of BSides is that the events provide a venue for great talks which otherwise might not get heard, talks which may appeal to a small group of passionate people, and talks which may not fit into a category other conferences want to tackle. Also, due to the smaller size, the presentations are much more of a conversation than a proclamation as many presentations are at large events.” - Jack Daniel

BSides Las Vegas

EFF donation table

What started in 2009 as several conversations on Twitter about the politics of InfoSec conferences and the disappointing CFP rejections turned into a plan to host a small alternative event to create a friendlier space and really put the focus on the conversations that make our community great. What started in a vacation rental grew into larger and larger spaces before making our home at Tuscany Suites and Casino.

In 2019, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the global BSides movement, we honored several of the people who were instrumental in establishing the momentum that spread BSides events to 194 countries around the world.

The honorees were Jack Daniel, Genevieve Southwick, David Mortman, Michelle Klinger, Josh Marpet, Mike Dahn, Amber Wolf, Chris Nickerson and Reed Loden.