13th International Conference on Cyber Conflict: Going Viral

The annual International Conference on Cyber Conflict, CyCon, hosted by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence addresses the most relevant issues concerning the cyber defence community. Entering its second decade, CyCon has established itself as a prominent multidisciplinary conference and community-building event for cyber security professionals from around the world, while at the same time adhering to the highest standards of academic research.

Throughout the years, CyCon has presented keynotes and panels focusing on the technical, legal, policy, strategy and military perspectives of cyber defence and security. Each year, around 600 decision-makers, opinion-leaders, law and technology experts from the governments, military, academia and industry of nearly 50 countries meet at CyCon to address current cyber security challenges in an interdisciplinary manner.

CyCon 2021’s central theme is Going Viral. It alludes to the implications of human crises (such as the 2020 pandemic) for cybersecurity and cyberspace. At a more abstract level, it aims to encourage discussions on the impact of fast proliferation and high unpredictability in cyberspace. Whether they concern old threats such as malware or new trends affecting cyberspace such as information campaigns, these phenomena have major real-life implications. We need to acknowledge those, study them and strive to use them for our common benefit.