Calendar
*These are ordered by month of occurrence.
January
SHMOOCON - January in DC - $160 for Regular Admission
Never been to this but I has been highly recommended by co-workers.
March
Bsides Tampa - March in Tampa, Florida - ?
I have been several years. Each time it has grown significantly in size with more vendors, speakers, and activities. I enjoy the variety of talks and meeting old friends.
April
Carolina Con - April - Unknown Pricing
Never been to this but I has been highly recommended by co-workers.
May
HackMIAMI - May - $125 according to a Reddit Post
I went one year with a bunch of co-workers. I can't speak on how good the talks were but the CTF was a blast. One thing to note is that there are initially not many vendors. From what I have been told, they would rather focus on the trading of knowledge and tradecraft then the vendor craziness.
June
Wild West Hackin' Fest (Way West) - June in Sparks, NV - $325
Haven't been to this one but looks fun.
Splunk's Boss of the SOC - June
A fun IR CTF that is really fast paced. It focuses on using Splunk for investigations.
US Cyber Challenge's Cyber Quest Eastern Qualifier (June)
Hosts challenges throughout the year by season. It Seems that they focus on Blue Team more than anything. Have not participated myself because I just found it (1/6/22) but I plan to on the next iteration.
July
Google (CTF) - (July)
Hosted by Google and offers cash prizes for winners.
US Cyber Challenge's Cyber Quest Western Qualifer (July)
Hosts challenges throughout the year by season. It Seems that they focus on Blue Team more than anything. Have not participated myself because I just found it (1/6/22) but I plan to on the next iteration.
August
BSides Vegas - August in Vegas - Free
Never been but heard its a good time. It is during the same week as Defcon and BlackHat.
DEFCON - August in Vegas - $300 for all four days
One of my favorite conferences on in Las Vegas. It is very much a circus but fun for everyone in cyber security.
BlackHat - August in Vegas - $2,295 for 2021
I have personally never been to this one. It is oriented more towards those going for business purposes or training.
September
GrrCON - September in Grand Rapids, Michigan - $160 for Regular Admission
This was the first conference I ever attended and it will always have that special place in my infosec heart. Definitely a great conference for all skill levels.
Wild West Hackin' Fest (Deadwood) - September in Deadwood, South Dakota - $275
Haven't been to this one but looks fun.
October
Bsides Orlando - October in Orlando, Florida - ?
I went one year and had a blast. It was one of my first conferences. It has probably blown up since I attended.
Hacktober (CTF) - October
Jeopardy style with categories such as OSINT, Stego, Crpyto, Database, Programming, Web Traffic, Binary Analysis
December
Bsides Charleston - December in Charleston, SC -$30ish?
Not bad for a small conference. If you are in the area it is a good time. They have good speakers and a CTF.
SANS Holiday Hack Challenge (CTF)
I usually play this every year and learn a few new things. It is always different, the talks are great, and the music is fun. I want to say they keep all of the challenges up from the previous year. Dive in and get lost in a winter wonder land.
All Year
picoCTF
Created from the brilliant minds at Carnegie Mellon University. I am just now listing this because I honestly thought this was for kids but turns out it is for everyone. College students frequently add new challenges and it is open all year round.
Bsides - All the time (just different locations) - http://www.securitybsides.com/w/page/12194156/FrontPage
January
SHMOOCON - January in DC - $160 for Regular Admission
Never been to this but I has been highly recommended by co-workers.
March
Bsides Tampa - March in Tampa, Florida - ?
I have been several years. Each time it has grown significantly in size with more vendors, speakers, and activities. I enjoy the variety of talks and meeting old friends.
April
Carolina Con - April - Unknown Pricing
Never been to this but I has been highly recommended by co-workers.
May
HackMIAMI - May - $125 according to a Reddit Post
I went one year with a bunch of co-workers. I can't speak on how good the talks were but the CTF was a blast. One thing to note is that there are initially not many vendors. From what I have been told, they would rather focus on the trading of knowledge and tradecraft then the vendor craziness.
June
Wild West Hackin' Fest (Way West) - June in Sparks, NV - $325
Haven't been to this one but looks fun.
Splunk's Boss of the SOC - June
A fun IR CTF that is really fast paced. It focuses on using Splunk for investigations.
US Cyber Challenge's Cyber Quest Eastern Qualifier (June)
Hosts challenges throughout the year by season. It Seems that they focus on Blue Team more than anything. Have not participated myself because I just found it (1/6/22) but I plan to on the next iteration.
July
Google (CTF) - (July)
Hosted by Google and offers cash prizes for winners.
US Cyber Challenge's Cyber Quest Western Qualifer (July)
Hosts challenges throughout the year by season. It Seems that they focus on Blue Team more than anything. Have not participated myself because I just found it (1/6/22) but I plan to on the next iteration.
August
BSides Vegas - August in Vegas - Free
Never been but heard its a good time. It is during the same week as Defcon and BlackHat.
DEFCON - August in Vegas - $300 for all four days
One of my favorite conferences on in Las Vegas. It is very much a circus but fun for everyone in cyber security.
BlackHat - August in Vegas - $2,295 for 2021
I have personally never been to this one. It is oriented more towards those going for business purposes or training.
September
GrrCON - September in Grand Rapids, Michigan - $160 for Regular Admission
This was the first conference I ever attended and it will always have that special place in my infosec heart. Definitely a great conference for all skill levels.
Wild West Hackin' Fest (Deadwood) - September in Deadwood, South Dakota - $275
Haven't been to this one but looks fun.
October
Bsides Orlando - October in Orlando, Florida - ?
I went one year and had a blast. It was one of my first conferences. It has probably blown up since I attended.
Hacktober (CTF) - October
Jeopardy style with categories such as OSINT, Stego, Crpyto, Database, Programming, Web Traffic, Binary Analysis
December
Bsides Charleston - December in Charleston, SC -$30ish?
Not bad for a small conference. If you are in the area it is a good time. They have good speakers and a CTF.
SANS Holiday Hack Challenge (CTF)
I usually play this every year and learn a few new things. It is always different, the talks are great, and the music is fun. I want to say they keep all of the challenges up from the previous year. Dive in and get lost in a winter wonder land.
All Year
picoCTF
Created from the brilliant minds at Carnegie Mellon University. I am just now listing this because I honestly thought this was for kids but turns out it is for everyone. College students frequently add new challenges and it is open all year round.
Bsides - All the time (just different locations) - http://www.securitybsides.com/w/page/12194156/FrontPage