ToorCon

ToorCon
Name	ToorCon
Status	Active
Genre	Computer security conference
Location	San Diego, California
Country	United States
First	1999
Frequency	Annual

ToorCon ToorCon is an annual computer security conference held in San Diego, California, emphasizing hands‑on demonstrations, vulnerability research, and community engagement. The conference attracts researchers, practitioners, and hobbyists from fields represented by DEF CON, Black Hat (conference), RSA Conference, ShmooCon, and Chaos Communication Congress, and features talks, workshops, contests, and vendor exhibits drawing attendees connected to SANS Institute, Electronic Frontier Foundation, CERT Coordination Center, MITRE Corporation, and National Institute of Standards and Technology. The event has influenced disclosure practices among participants associated with Google Project Zero, Full Disclosure (mailing list), OpenSSL, Mozilla Foundation, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Apple Inc., Facebook, Twitter, and Uber Technologies.

History

ToorCon began in 1999 amid a landscape shaped by events and organizations such as DEF CON, Black Hat (conference), HOPE (conference), USENIX, RSA Conference, and CanSecWest. Early organizers drew on influences from groups including 2600: The Hacker Quarterly, L0pht Heavy Industries, Cult of the Dead Cow, Chaos Computer Club, and EFF activists. Over time the conference intersected with disclosure incidents and projects involving Kevin Mitnick, Adrian Lamo, Mudge (Cansecwest), Dan Kaminsky, Charlie Miller, HD Moore, Ivan Krstic, Tavis Ormandy, and Marcus Ranum. The event adapted to shifts catalyzed by vulnerabilities like those disclosed by Project Zero, Heartbleed, Shellshock, Stuxnet, WannaCry, and Spectre.

Organization and Format

The conference is organized by a volunteer team featuring members with affiliations to institutions such as San Diego State University, University of California, San Diego, Naval Information Warfare Center, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, SANS Institute, and local chapters of groups like ISSA, OWASP, BSides, and HackerDojo. Programming follows a structure common to DEF CON, Black Hat (conference), ShmooCon, and CanSecWest with keynote sessions, technical talks, hands‑on workshops, capture‑the‑flag events, and vendor areas showcasing products from Rapid7, Tenable, Inc., Qualys, CrowdStrike, Symantec Corporation, Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, and Splunk. Logistics include speaker selection influenced by submission systems used at Usenix Security Symposium, IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, ACM CCS, and NDSS Symposium, with code of conduct policies reflecting standards from IETF, OWASP, EFF, and ACM.

Conferences and Notable Events

Notable installments paralleled incidents and research announced at venues like Black Hat (conference), DEF CON, CanSecWest, Hope (conference), and RSA Conference. Sessions have showcased exploits and case studies connected to vulnerabilities affecting products from Microsoft, Apple Inc., Google, Adobe Systems, Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks, Siemens, and Schneider Electric; research topics echoed advances from Project Zero, Metasploit Project, Burp Suite, Wireshark, and Aircrack-ng. The conference has hosted demonstrations related to incidents such as Stuxnet, NotPetya, WannaCry, and research methodologies tied to work by Bruce Schneier, Dan Kaminsky, Charlie Miller, HD Moore, Tavis Ormandy, and Adrian Lamo.

Keynotes, Talks, and Workshops

Keynote and technical presenters have included speakers with connections to SANS Institute, Google Project Zero, Mozilla Foundation, Microsoft, Apple Inc., Cisco Systems, MITRE Corporation, NSA, and DARPA. Workshop themes mirror training offerings from SANS Institute, Offensive Security, Black Hat (conference), and university programs at Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, and University of California, Berkeley. Topics have ranged from vulnerability discovery techniques popularized by Project Zero, exploit development practices associated with Metasploit Project, to incident response methods used by teams at FireEye, CrowdStrike, Mandiant, and Kaspersky Lab.

Community and Culture

The conference culture combines elements of hacker communities exemplified by 2600: The Hacker Quarterly, Chaos Computer Club, Cult of the Dead Cow, and L0pht Heavy Industries with professional practices from organizations like SANS Institute, ISSA, OWASP, ACM, and IEEE. Social activities and informal networking parallel gatherings at DEF CON, ShmooCon, BSides, and HOPE (conference); membership and volunteer networks intersect with HackerDojo, Information Systems Security Association, Open Web Application Security Project, and local meetup groups in San Diego. The ethos emphasizes responsible disclosure practices related to Project Zero, Full Disclosure (mailing list), and standards advocated by IETF and ISO.

Awards and Contests

ToorCon hosts competitive events inspired by contests at DEF CON, CanSecWest, Pwn2Own, BSides, ShmooCon, and Hack In The Box. Contests have included capture‑the‑flag challenges, lock‑picking tournaments reflecting traditions from DEF CON, hardware hacking inspired by work at Chaos Communication Congress, and live exploit competitions akin to Pwn2Own. Prizes and recognition have drawn sponsorship from companies such as Rapid7, Tenable, Inc., CrowdStrike, Splunk, Qualys, Fortinet, and Palo Alto Networks, and awards emphasize research contributions similar to honors given by ACM, IEEE, and industry recognitions at Black Hat (conference).

Category:Computer security conferences