Call for Papers

Coming Soon:

Closed:

What are the SecTor Briefings?

Learn the latest information security risks and trends in SecTor Briefings. Researchers share original developments on topics ranging from exploit development, platform security, malware and more.

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Briefings Format

Briefings are presented live and in-person with on-demand recordings of Briefings available after the event. (On-demand recordings will be available to Briefings passholders beginning one week after the live event and will be available for 30 days.)

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Briefings Tracks

List of Tracks

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Resources

Optional resources to help you create your proposal.

• SecTor CFP Selection Process (Brian Bourne, SecTor Co-Founder)
• Becoming a SecTor Speaker: Guide to Crafting a Compelling Topic (Afeerah Waqar, SecTor Review Board Member)

Sample Submissions

View samples of accepted submissions that received positive reviews:

View Samples (PDF)

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White Papers

Submissions that include White Papers are highly encouraged and will also be given priority.

There are no specific white paper templates, rules, or limitations, however the system will only allow .txt files to be uploaded, so please provide a link to your white paper in the section marked “For Review Board Only”. (You are welcome to provide a shareable link for the review board only, if the whitepaper is not yet published.)

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Tools

If you will be releasing a new tool in conjunction with your proposed Briefings talk, please answer the following question within the Briefings Submission Platform: “Will You Be Releasing a New Tool? If Yes, Describe the Tool.” Please briefly describe the tool and how it complements your presentation (including category - open source or commercial, planned release date and license type).

FAQs

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Coordinated Disclosure

SecTor strongly supports and encourages coordinated disclosure. To this end, SecTor has a strong partnership with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) to provide pro-bono legal consultations to security researchers on the legality of any research or data they plan to present at the event.

If you have questions about the legal implications of your security research or presentation, contact Electronic Frontier Foundation at info@eff.org.

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Review Board & Content Selection

The SecTor Review Board is comprised of the industry's most credible and distinguished security professionals and thought leaders throughout various areas of the information security community. The Review Board advises SecTor on reviewing and programming conference content and providing unparalleled insight into the research community.

SecTor strives to deliver one of the most empirical content selection processes in the industry. All submissions are vetted thoroughly by the Review Board. Each submission is reviewed for uniqueness, overall content expertise, and accuracy before any selections are made. Through the course of this dynamic review process, Review Board members will frequently ask researchers for clarity on any areas of question in their submission(s) – whether it be about the uniqueness or audacity of claims made. The best submissions come with academic-grade papers, proof-of-concept code, and/or video demonstrations of the work done. Of note, SecTor does not support pay-for-play Briefings. The Briefings are, and always have been, independently selected based on quality of content and area of expertise rather than sponsorship.

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Speaker Benefits

Student Scholarship Nominations:

• As a way to introduce the next generation of security professionals to the SecTor community, each speaking team may nominate up to 2 students to receive a complimentary Briefings pass.

Conference Registration:

• One complimentary Briefings pass per Speaker(s)/Contributor (max 5)
• Passes are not transferable.

Honorarium:

• $500 CAD for one Speaker per session

Travel Reimbursement:

• Up to $1,250 CAD for one Speaker per session.
• (Economy-class, round-trip airfare. Receipt must be provided. Not available for local speakers.)

Accommodations:

• One Hotel Room for up to 3 Nights for One Speaker per Session.
• (Room will be booked and paid for by SecTor at a designated property. Reimbursement is not available if room is booked outside designated room block. Not available for local speakers.)

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Submission Requirements

1. Submissions may only be entered by researchers/speakers (no submissions from PR firms/marketing representatives).
2. SecTor does not accept product or vendor-related pitches and will disqualify any product or vendor pitch.
3. Submissions must clearly detail the concepts, ideas, findings, and solutions a researcher or speaking team plans to present.
4. Submissions that highlight new research, tools, vulnerabilities, etc. will be given priority.
5. Submissions that include White Papers are highly encouraged and will also be given priority.
6. SecTor will disqualify incomplete submissions; complete your submission in its entirety.
7. Individuals may submit more than one proposal, but each proposal must be submitted via a separate submission form.
8. Each submission must include biographies of the proposed speaking team.
9. Submitters will be contacted directly if Review Board members have any questions about a submission.
10. Submissions that include text generated entirely from a large-scale language model (LLM) such as ChatGPT, Google Bard, etc. are prohibited. Submitters may use LLM tools for editing or polishing author-written text ONLY.
11. Selected speakers are expected to present in-person.

Terms

By submitting a proposal via the SecTor Call for Papers system, submitters selected to speak understand and agree to the Terms as detailed in this section.

• By speaking at SecTor, Speakers grant SecTor permission to record, reproduce, distribute, advertise, and show a Speaker's presentation including but not limited to blackhat.com, conference proceedings and materials, audio, video, printed and/or electronic ads, fliers, mailers, etc.
• The SecTor Review Board will have access to all submissions and materials.
  • Review Board access to submissions is provisioned under MOU with SecTor and Informa. The MOU outlines the rules of confidentiality, conduct, standards, and policies that guide the SecTor review process as well as the expectations and responsibilities required to be on a SecTor Review Board.
  • Prospective Speakers should not directly contact any SecTor Review Board member regarding the status of submission(s) or feedback.
• Reviews, acceptances and/or declines are conducted on a rolling basis.
• All correspondence and queries should be sent to cfp@blackhat.com
• Researchers and research teams should be aware of the following guidelines regarding the number of researchers permitted to present.
  • Up to 2 speakers (Additional contributors who are not able to present due to the speaker limit will still receive recognition on the SecTor website as long as they are listed on the original Call for Papers submission.)
• Conference passes are non-transferable.
• Co-workers, PR representatives, etc. must register and pay the appropriate fees to attend the Briefings.
• If the presentation is deemed to be a work of plagiarism or a blatant vendor pitch, SecTor may revoke the Speaker's honorarium and the Speaker will not be considered for future speaking opportunities.
• SecTor reserves the right to change scheduled speaking times as necessary. While every effort will be made to honor assigned times, Speakers may be called upon to present at any time during the conference.
• SecTor reserves the right to rescind an accepted submission without reason.
• SecTor believes the InfoSec community should be truly open to everyone. As such, SecTor is committed to providing a friendly, safe and welcoming environment for all, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, or religion. Speakers are required to follow the Black Hat Code of Conduct.

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Additional Event Information

Please visit blackhat.com/sector for previous conference archives, information, and talks. Updated announcements about SecTor will be posted to newsgroups, security mailing lists, and the SecTor website when available.

We reserve the right to change or modify our Terms, dates and/or content of this page at any time without prior notice.

Again, feel free to reach out to cfp@blackhat.com if you have any questions.

We look forward to receiving your submission!

Thank you.
The SecTor Team