The CSO guide to top security conferences, 2020

Tracking postponements, cancellations, and conferences gone virtual — CSO Online’s calendar of upcoming security conferences makes it easy to find the events that matter the most to you.

There is nothing like attending a face-to-face event for career networking and knowledge gathering, and we don’t have to tell you how helpful it can be to get a hands-on demo of a new tool or to have your questions answered by experts.

Fortunately, plenty of great conferences are coming up in the months ahead.

If keeping abreast of security trends and evolving threats is critical to your job — and we know it is — then attending some top-notch security conferences is on your must-do list for 2021.

From major events to those that are more narrowly focused, this list from the editors of CSO, will help you find the security conferences that matter the most to you.

We’ll keep it updated with registration deadlines and new conferences so check back often. While we don’t expect this calendar to be comprehensive, we do aim to have it be highly relevant. If there’s something we’ve missed, let us know. You can email your additions, corrections and updates to Michael Nadeau ([email protected]).

January 2021

SANS Cloud Defender 2021, Virtual: January 11 - 16

SANS Security East 2021, Virtual: January 11 - 16

Virtual Cybersecurity Summit: Financial Services, Virtual: January 12 - 13

Salt Lake City/Denver Virtual Cybersecurity Summit, Virtual: January 13

SANS Cyber Security Central 2021, Virtual: January 18 - 23

SANS Stay Sharp: Blue Team Operations 2021, Virtual: January 18 - 23

Canada East Virtual Cybersecurity Summit, Virtual: January 20

FutureCon Detroit CyberSecurity Conference, Detroit, Michigan, and Virtual: January 20

Cyber Threat Intelligence Summit & Training 2021, Virtual: January 21 - February 1

Ringzer0: Unlock 2021, Virtual: January 23 - February 7

Cyber Security for Critical Assets MENA, Dubai: January 25 - 26

FutureCon Orange County CyberSecurity Conference, TBD and Virtual: January 27

Indianapolis/Detroit Virtual Cybersecurity Conference, Virtual: January 27

RSAC 365 Virtual Conference, Virtual: January 27

FutureCon San Diego CyberSecurity Conference, San Diego, California, and Virtual: January 28

BSides Panama, Cuidad de Panama: January 28 - 30

February 2021

SANS Stay Sharp: Management & Cloud Feb 2021, Virtual: February 1 - 4

SANS Cyber Security West: Feb 2021, Virtual: February 1 - 6

Virtual Cybersecurity Summit: Zero Trust, Virtual: February 2 - 3

SANS Pen Test & Offensive Training 2021, Virtual: February 8 - 13

Open-Source Intelligence Summit & Training 2021, Virtual: February 8 - 23

Boston CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: February 9

Seattle CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: February 9

FutureCon Seattle CyberSecurity Conference, Seattle, Washington, and Virtual: February 10

Minneapolis/Des Moines Virtual Cybersecurity Summit, Virtual: February 10

Ohio CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: February 10

San Francisco CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: February 10

Sydney CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: February 10

Atlanta 2021 Virtual Cyber Security Summit, Virtual: February 11

Phoenix CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: February 11

Toronto CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: February 11

Atlanta CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: February 16

New Jersey CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: February 16

New York CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: February 16

Virtual Cybersecurity Summit: Identity & Access Management, Virtual: February 16 - 17

Charlotte CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: February 17

Detroit CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: February 17

Ohio Virtual Cybersecurity Summit, Virtual: February 18

SecureWorld New England Virtual Conference, Virtual: February 18

Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit Middle East, Virtual: February 22 - 23

SANS Cyber Security East: Feb 2021, Virtual: February 22 - 27

SANS Scottsdale: Virtual Edition 2021, Virtual: February 22 - 27

Chicago CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: February 23

Florida CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: February 23

Minneapolis CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: February 23

Virtual Cybersecurity Summit: South East Asia, Virtual: February 23 - 24

Dallas CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: February 24

Philadelphia CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: February 24

Washington, DC, CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: February 24

Boston Virtual Cybersecurity Summit, Virtual: February 25

Houston CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: February 25

Southern California CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: February 25

March 2021

SANS Cyber Security East: March 2021, Virtual: March 1 - 6

St. Louis CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: March 2

Virtual Cybersecurity Summit: EMEA, Virtual: March 2 - 3

Calgary CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: March 3

Carolinas Virtual Cybersecurity Summit, Virutal: March 4

ICS Security Summit & Training 2021, Virtual: March 4 - 13

SANS Stay Sharp: Pen Test March 2021, Virtual: March 8 - 11

FutureCon Minneapolis Cybersecurity Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Virtual: March 10

Global CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: March 10

Melbourne CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: March 10

Southern California Virtual Cybersecurity Summit, Virtual: March 10

Denver CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: March 11

Black Hat Spring Trainings 2021, Virtual: March 15 - 18

SANS Cyber Security West: March 2021, Virtual: March 15 - 20

Virtual Cybersecurity Summit: Healthcare, Virtual: March 16 - 17

*The Cybersecurity Summit, Virtual: March 16 - 18

Milwaukee CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: March 17

Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit India, Virtual: March 17 - 18

Indianapolis CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: March 18

SecureWorld Upper Midwest Virtual Conference, Virtual: March 18

Tampa 2021 Virtual Cyber Security Summit, Virtual: March 18

SANS 2021, Virtual: March 22 - 27

Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit APAC, Virtual: March 23 - 24

New York City Virtual Cybersecurity Conference, Virtual: March 23 - 24

Virtual Cybersecurity Summit: India & SAARC, Virtual: March 23 - 24

FutureCon Boston CyberSecurity Conference, Boston, Massachusetts, and Virtual: March 24

Pittsburgh CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: March 24

Vancouver CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: March 24

Cloud & Cyber Security Expo, London, UK: March 24 - 25

BSides Tampa, Virtual: March 26 - 27

BSides Dublin, Virtual: March 27

SANS Leadership & Cloud Security Training 2021, Virtual: March 29 - April 2

Virtual Cybersecurity Summit: Connected Devices Security, Virtual: March 30 - 31

Seattle/Portland Virtual Cybersecurity Summit, Virtual: March 31

April 2021

SANS Cyber Security Mountain: April 2021, Virtual: April 5 - April 10

Texas Virtual Cybersecurity Summit, Virtual: April 7 - 8

Virtual Cybersecurity Summit: Middle East, Virtual: April 7 - 8

San Diego 2021 Virtual Cyber Security Summit, Virtual: April 8

SecureWorld Mid-Atlantic Virtual Conference, Virtual: April 8

BSides Canberra, Canberra, Australia: April 9 - 10

SANS Cyber Security East: April 2021, Virtual: April 12 - 17

FutureCon San Antonio CyberSecurity Conference, San Antonio, Texas, and Virtual: April 14

BSides Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany: April 15 - 18

BSides Cape Girardeau, Virtual: April 17

BSides Munich, Munich, Germany: April 18 - 19

SANS Pen Test Austin: Virtual Edition 2021, Virtual: April 19 - 24

Chicago Virtual Cybersecurity Summit, Virtual: April 20 - 21

FutureCon Omaha CyberSecurity Conference, Omaha, Nebraska, and Virtual: April 21

SecureWorld Southeast Virtual Conference, Virtual: April 22

OffZone 2021, Moscow, Russia: April 22 - 23

SANS Baltimore Spring: Virtual Edition 2021, Virtual: April 26 - May 1

SANS Rocky Mountain Spring: Virtual Edition 2021, Virtual: April 26 - May 1

Virtual Cybersecurity & Fraud Summit: Midwest, Virtual: April 27 - 28

Phoenix Portland Virtual Cybersecurity Conference, Virtual: April 29

May 2021

BSidesCharm, Towson, Maryland: May 1- 2

SANS Cyber Security Central: May 2021, Virtual: May 3 - 8

SANS DFIRCON Spring 2021, Virtual: May 3 - 8

Virtual Cybersecurity & Fraud Summit: Pacific Northwest, Virtual: May 4 - 5

Black Hat Asia, TBD: May 4 - 7

FutureCon Washington DC/Baltimore CyberSecurity Conference, TBD and Virtual: May 5

Atlanta Virtual Cybersecurity Summit, Virtual: May 5 - 6

SecureWorld Central Virtual Conference, Virtual: May 6

SANS Security West 2021, Virtual: May 10 - 15

Gartner Identity & Access Management Summit Americas, Virtual: May 11-12

Secure360, Prior Lake, Minnesota: May 11 - 12

Virtual Cybersecurity Summit ANZ, Virtual: May 11 - 12

BSides Oslo, Oslo, Norway: May 12

FutureCon Toronto CyberSecurity Conference, Toronto, Canada, and Virtual: May 12

Canada West Virtual Cybersecurity Summit, Virtual: May 12 - 13

THOTCON, TBD: May 14 - 15

BSides Roanoke, Roanoke, Virginia: May 22

Northern California Virtual Cybersecurity Summit, Virtual: May 25

June 2021

ManuSec Europe, Munich, Germany: June 1 - 2

BSides SATX, Virtual: June 5

Virtual Cybersecurity Summit: North East, Virtual: June 8 - 9

Rocky Mountain Information Security Conference (RMISC), Virtual: June 8 - 10

SecureWorld Gov-Ed Virtual Conference, Virtual: June 10

Calgary CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: June 16

Florida Caribbean Virtual Cybersecurity Conference, Virtual: June 16

BSidesATH, Athens, Greece and Virtual: June 19

Identiverse, Denver, Colorado: June 21 - 23

Capital Region Virtual Cybersecurity Summit, Virtual: June 22

Global CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: June 22

Virtual Cybersecurity & Fraud Summit: Canada, Virtual: June 22 - 23

Milwaukee CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: June 23

Pittsburgh CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: June 23

Vancouver, BC, CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: June 23

Indianapolis CISO Virtual Town Hall, Virtual: June 23

BSides Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio: June 26

July 2021

Cloud & Cyber Security Expo, London, UK: July 7 - 8

Virtual Cybersecurity Summit: Government, Virtual: July 13 - 14

*The Cybersecurity Summit, Virtual: July 20 - 22

Black Hat USA, Las Vegas, Nevada: July 31 - August 5

August 2021

BSidesLV, Las Vegas, Nevada: August 3 - 4

Virtual Cybersecurity Summit Brazil, Virtual: August 10 - 11

Virtual Cybersecurity Summit: Fraud & Payments Security, Virtual: August 17

September 2021

Cyber Security & Cloud Expo North America 2021, Santa Clara, California: September 22 - 23

SecureWorld Great Lakes Virtual Conference, Virtual: September 23

BSidesRDU, Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina: September 24

BSidesKC, Kansas City, Missouri: September 24 - 25

BSides Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio: September 25

October 2021

Student360, Mounds View, Minnesota: October 1

BSides Augusta, Augusta, Georgia: October 2

BSides Austin, Austin, Texas: October 7 - 8

SecureWorld Texas Virtual Conference, Virtual: October 14

BSidesPDX, Portland, Oregon: October 15 - 16

BSidesDC, Washington, DC: October 15 - 17

November 2021

*CSO50 Conference + Awards, Virtual: November 16 - 18

SecureWorld Rockies Virtual Conference, Virtual: November 17

BSides Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal: November 18 - 19

December 2021

SecureWorld West Coast Virtual Conference, Virtual: December 2

FutureCon South Florida, FL CyberSecurity Conference, TBD and Virtual: December 9

August 2022

BSidesLV, Las Vegas, Nevada: August 9 - 10

* This event is presented by IDG Communications, the parent company of CSO.