| CFP closes at | September 15, 2026 09:22 UTC |
| (Local) |
Insert Coin to Opt Out
BSides Bloomington returns Friday, October 2nd and Saturday, October 3rd at the Bloomington Convention Center for two days of community-driven cybersecurity talks, workshops, and villages.
This year’s theme — Insert Coin to Opt Out — explores what it means to reclaim agency in a world where convenience often comes at the cost of privacy, autonomy, and control. Modern platforms monetize attention, collect behavioral data, and shape user experience in ways that are difficult to see and even harder to escape. Security isn’t just about protecting systems — it’s about empowering people to make intentional choices about the technology they use.
We’re looking for talks that help attendees level up their understanding, reclaim control, and build alternatives. Whether through deep technical research, practical guidance, or thoughtful exploration of emerging trends, BSides Bloomington is a space for sharing ideas that challenge default assumptions about how technology should work.
Our arcade-inspired aesthetic celebrates the roots of hacker culture — curiosity, experimentation, and play — while confronting the realities of modern computing: AI everywhere, always-on platforms, opaque ecosystems, and shrinking user autonomy. Opting out shouldn’t require extraordinary effort. We want to explore how security, privacy, and open technology can make autonomy accessible.
We welcome submissions across a wide range of topics, including: • Privacy-preserving technologies and architectures • AI security, safety, and resistance to unwanted automation • Self-hosting, decentralization, and alternative platforms • Offensive and defensive security research • Supply chain transparency and trust • Digital rights, surveillance, and data ownership • Hardware hacking, firmware, and device control • Open-source security and community resilience • Human-centered security and usable privacy • Threat modeling for real people and real risks • Breaking walled gardens and platform lock-in • Practical “how to opt out” guides and case studies
BSides Bloomington is a community-first conference. We encourage submissions from first-time speakers, students, independent researchers, industry professionals, and anyone with a perspective to share. Talks can be deeply technical, strategic, experimental, or experiential — if it helps our community better understand and control the systems around them, we want to hear it.
Join us to explore how we can insert coin, take control, and opt out — without giving up the ability to participate in the digital world.
Because autonomy shouldn’t be a premium feature.
CFP Description
BSides Bloomington is seeking talks that explore how we reclaim control in an increasingly mediated, monetized, and automated digital world. This year’s theme, Insert Coin to Opt Out, focuses on autonomy, transparency, and building systems that empower users instead of exploiting them.
We’re looking for presentations that help our community understand the risks of default technology choices — and more importantly, how to change them. This can include deep technical research, practical guidance, strategic perspectives, or real-world case studies.
Our audience includes security professionals, hackers, students, developers, IT practitioners, privacy advocates, and curious newcomers. Talks should be accessible to a broad technical audience, but we welcome both beginner-friendly content and highly technical deep dives. Strong submissions clearly communicate who the talk is for and what attendees will learn.
Topics we’re interested in include (but are not limited to):
Opting Out & Reclaiming Control • Self-hosting and alternative infrastructure • Escaping platform lock-in and walled gardens • Decentralized identity and trust models • Open-source replacements for commercial ecosystems • Privacy-first architectures and design
AI, Automation, and Algorithmic Control • Security implications of AI everywhere • Defensive uses of AI for individuals and small teams • Risks of automated decision systems • Data poisoning, prompt injection, and model abuse • Strategies for limiting unwanted AI interaction
Privacy, Surveillance, and Data Ownership • Tracking ecosystems and how to defeat them • Data minimization strategies • Threat modeling for individuals and communities • Mobile privacy and device hardening • Network-level privacy protections
Offensive & Defensive Security • Vulnerability research and exploitation • Blue team detection and response • Red team tradecraft • Hardware and firmware security • Supply chain attacks and defenses
Human-Centered Security • Usable security and privacy • Security as empowerment, not restriction • Social engineering and manipulation resistance • Security for non-traditional users • Building inclusive security communities
Practical & Hands-On • Live demos and tooling walkthroughs • “How I opted out” case studies • Building privacy-respecting home labs • Open-source security tooling • Breaking proprietary ecosystems
What makes a strong submission
We especially value: • Practical takeaways attendees can apply immediately • Original research or novel perspectives • Real-world experiences (successes or failures) • Live demonstrations or technical walkthroughs • Clear audience targeting (beginner, intermediate, advanced) • Talks that challenge assumptions about modern technology
Formats we welcome • 45-minute talks • Panels • Workshops (hands-on or guided) • Villages / interactive spaces (if applicable)
Whether you’re presenting deep technical research, showing how to escape a closed ecosystem, or sharing lessons learned while building something privacy-first, we want to hear from you.
Insert coin. Take control. Opt out.
Attendees (1)
