You read it right: DefCamp is bringing a spin-off event to Cluj-Napoca on May 16-17, 2024! But fret not, DefCamp Bucharest is still happening in November, as usual 🙂

And just like in the past years, we would like to give a chance to other IT community people out there (from both Romania and abroad) to attend our conference as speakers. So, if you want to have your own session and speak to a highly experienced IT audience, this is your chance!

Submission Deadline(s)

Our Call for Papers will include two evaluation phases, meaning you have more chances of being selected if you submit sooner rather than later.

Deadline for wave #1: February 29th, 2024

Deadline for wave #2: March 31st, 2024

Submission Topics

We accept sessions on any of the following topics (the list is not exhaustive):

Web, Software, and Infrastructure Security

• Web Application Security
• Secure Software Development Lifecycle (SSDLC)
• Cloud & Infrastructure Security
• Critical Infrastructure Security – SCADA, routing, satellite, Cloud and GSM, automotive
• Android/iPhone security research

Governance, Compliance, and Business Strategy

• Security Governance & Compliance
• Legal Issues & related topics (e.g., NIS directive, GDPR, EU & international regulations, etc.)
• Business, Management & Innovation
• Digital Transformation & Security Awareness

Cyber-Operations, AI & Emerging Technologies

• SecDevOps & Security Automation
• Case studies of Cybersecurity incidents/breaches
• Applications of Cryptographic Techniques, including PQC
• AI in Cybersecurity
• Next-gen Exploits and Mitigation Techniques

Hardware, Forensics, and Reverse Engineering

• Hardware application bypass, hardware hacking basics, defeating “secure” hardware
• Forensics applications, physical memory forensics, solid-state disk forensics, network forensics
• Reverse Engineering Malware and Malware Analysis

Wireless, Communication, and Physical Security

• NFC, WLAN, GPS, HAM Radio, Satellite, RFID, and Bluetooth Security Development
• Badging applications, lock-picking, physical access control, physical lock forensics

Evaluation Process

All submitted sessions will be filtered and rated by our content committee. Selected speakers will be invited to attend this year’s DefCamp event on May 16th-17th. Travel and accommodations will be covered for all selected speakers not based in Cluj-Napoca (Romania).

Evaluation Criteria

• Technical or management expertise
• Past experience as a speaker
• Presentation skills
• Session content
• Session level

Tips for a winning submission

Before submitting your session, you might want to consider the target audience you’ll be talking to and some of the other tips we have put together for you. You can submit more than one session.

We are marking all sessions on the agenda according to their technical depth level. We will use something similar to the TechEd conference session levels (ranked 100-400), so you will be asked to evaluate or plan your target session level before submitting it.

Check out an overview of the SESSION LEVELS we use here.

Beyond the suggested category for topics, we’re open to pretty much any technical (development, Cloud, infrastructure, security, etc.) or IT management/business topic, as long as it is a good overall fit for the conference. Feel free to check the sessions from past years if you need some inspiration.

Also, please keep the following recommendations in mind:

• Write a descriptive, fun, and enticing title – this should “sell” your session to the audience
• Target 300-400 level technical content; 100 and 200 level content is in low demand – if you say your talk is level 400, then make sure it is, or be prepared for a barrage of feedback in your evaluations!
• Describe content that is new, unique, or significantly refreshed from a previous presentation
• Take a solution-oriented approach
• Ensure there is minimal marketing talk in your content
• Showcase your speaking experience (past events/sessions you’ve had, ideally sessions which were also recorded)
• If targeting levels 100-200, focus on currently released or upcoming technologies
• Look into an advanced/expert approach to existing technologies and solutions (levels 300-400)
• Include one or more live demos for technical sessions; historically, sessions with strong demos receive higher audience scores
• Include personal experience; this goes down well with an audience of your peers, as everyone prefers to learn from someone else’s mistake instead of having to go through it themselves

Please note that sessions focusing on proprietary technologies or solutions and selling/advertising those technologies will be ignored from the start. Also, the DefCamp organizers reserve the right to select specific sessions based on other criteria or preferences as needed.

Thank you, and good luck! 🙂