OFFZONE 2024 attracts record attendance
In the two days of the conference, 124 experts
spoke to a crowd of 4,000 people. The event was supported by 50 partners,
including 9 media outlets and 17 community groups
The 5th conference on practical cybersecurity
OFFZONE 2024 took place in Moscow’s ZIL cultural center on August 22–23,
bringing together industry professionals, developers, researchers, and members of the academia.
OFFZONE is growing year to year without compromising on its essentials—the highest
quality of technical content. This year, we broke the attendance record
with 4,000 people visiting the event. It is both a platform for sharing
practical insights and a networking venue for the cybersecurity
community. This is the reason why OFFZONE remains one of the key
annual events in the industry. The feedback we receive reaffirms
this and inspires us to try new ideas.
Partners
Sber became the general partner of OFFZONE 2024
while the Xakep magazine was the general information partner. Positive
Technologies and T‑Bank acted as strategic partners. The event was also
supported by Kaspersky, HeadHunter, F.A.C.C.T., and others.
Speakers
The two-day event featured 124 experts with a total
of 98 presentations. Sergey Golovanov, the Chief Security Expert of Kaspersky,
was the keynote speaker. In his address r00+ 0f 3/\@ (Root
of evil), he talked about the evolution of cyber incidents over
the past 20 years. He analyzed the root causes and motivation
behind cyberattacks, focused on the aspects that typically escape the public
eye, and suggested ways to minimize risks.
Thematic zones
Main track and Fast track covered a wide range
of issues, including parser vulnerabilities, Wi‑Fi pentests, AI and ML
in cybersecurity, key trends and practices of incident investigation.
The event featured several parallel sessions:
- Threat.Zone, where experts shared their research on current cyber threats
and attendees could test their knowledge of the cyber landscape in Russia
and other CIS countries.
- AppSec.Zone, dedicated to everything related to application security.
Here, the speakers explored secure application architecture; SDLC processes,
mechanisms, and tools; and other issues.
- AntiFraud.Zone, where leading professionals from the financial, retail, and cybersecurity
sectors discussed how to combat fraud. The guests took part in case
studies, brainstorming sessions, and simulations of real‑world events
involving fraud in the fintech sector. Those who proposed unconventional
solutions were awarded offcoins.
- AI.Zone, focused on best practices in the application of AI
and ML inside and outside the corporate environment. This session
featured a quiz where the attendees could earn offcoins or get prizes for interesting
questions to the speakers.
- CTF track, dedicated to ethical hacking contests. The participants
tried their hand at tackling advanced tasks from the CTFZone authors.
- Community track, celebrating the cybersecurity community at large. The first
day was allocated to talks, while the second day, to solving the tasks
offered by various community groups on the first day.
In the CUB_3 zone, the guests
could try to uncover the mystery of a peculiar technological artifact of unknown
origin. According to the legend, it was found in 2019 and now has
three companions. Conference participants learned how the cube evolves, what happens
behind the doors of the research laboratory, and why traces of the cube
could be detected at OFFZONE 2024.
BI.ZONE Bug Bounty
BI.ZONE Bug Bounty results for the past year
were also presented at the conference. Over the year, the number of companies
on the platform grew by 112% and the number of programs by 58%.
Experts noted that more and more ecosystems and groups of companies opt for bug
bounty. Among them are Sber (three public programs) and Astra Group (two
programs).
There was also a BI.ZONE Bug Bounty booth at the conference,
where the guests won merch for solving tasks.
Activities
Attendees participated in a variety of activities.
Some took the OFFZONE quest to see what the organizers and partners had
prepared for them. Others rode a bull at the rodeo while answering
cybersecurity questions. Still others tested their hacking skills at HACK
in 15 min or assembled and customized a badge at Craft.Zone.
At Tattoo.Zone, 57 attendees got tattoos, including 25 people who had the conference
logo inked. As always, OFFZONE merch was in great demand: guests bought more than
3,500 items.
Activities were also organized by Sber, T‑Bank,
Positive Technologies, and other partners. For example, conference guests could
turn on their hacker mindset and take part in a Hamster Kombat‑style
game, test their skills in bug hunting, create a unique badge with their own
hands, compete in a tournament on PS5 and Retro Genesis, attend
workshops, take quizzes, and much more. As part of the conference,
BI.ZONE held its annual One Day Offer program to scout for talent.