I just got back from BSides Oslo and had a great time. Figured I’d write something for anyone in Norway wondering where to connect with the security community.

Conferences #

BSides Oslo #

BSides Oslo is the one I keep coming back to. It’s a community-organized security conference that runs annually, with technical talks, workshops, a lockpicking village, and CTF challenges. I’ve attended three times now, and each year I’ve walked away with new connections and new ideas. The lockpicking booth is always fun to stop by. If you attend one security event, make it this one.

Sikkerhetsfestivalen #

Held in Lillehammer every year, it’s Norway’s largest information security conference. It leans more enterprise and governance than BSides. Not really my cup of tea, but if you’re heading toward GRC, consulting, or security leadership, this is where those people are. You’ll find CISOs, consultants, and government security folks here, and the networking alone is worth the trip.

NDC Security #

NDC Security is a standalone security conference for software developers, run by the people behind NDC Oslo. It’s held early in the year at the Radisson Blu Scandinavia in Oslo (the next one is 15–18 February 2027). Expect good talks on application security, DevSecOps, and secure coding. It’s more developer-oriented, but very relevant if you work in appsec. Earlier this year Jason Haddix gave a talk there on attacking AI.

Outside Norway #

Disobey in Helsinki (February) is the Nordic underground favorite. CCC (Chaos Communication Congress) in Hamburg (late December) is Europe’s largest hacker gathering. Tickets for both Disobey and CCC are gone within seconds of release, so be ready the moment sales open. SEC-T in Stockholm (September) is another one.

Community Spaces #

Hackeriet #

Oslo’s hackerspace, located in the Hausmania culture house at Hausmanns gate 34. People show up to work on projects, tinker with hardware, discuss vulnerabilities, or just hang out. It’s open to everyone on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and you don’t need a membership to drop by. Two practical tips: there’s no physical doorbell, so use the digital one at door.hackeriet.no and someone will come let you in. If it’s your first visit, say hi on their IRC channel beforehand and they’ll make sure someone is there to meet you.

CTFs #

Cyberlandslaget #

Norway’s pipeline for the national CTF team, which competes in the European Cyber Security Challenge. It’s open to anyone between 16 and 25. The community around it is genuinely welcoming, and the organizers care about helping people improve, not just finding the top performers.

TG Hack #

TG Hack runs during The Gathering at Vikingskipet in Hamar over Easter. Picture five thousand people in a massive arena, rows of screens glowing in the dark, and you’re trying to solve challenges after 60 hours without sleep.

Equinor CTF #

A CTF organized by Equinor, open to external participants. Large venue, lots of lights and loud music in the big hotel hall where it’s held. Unfortunately it’s not running this year, but I really hope they bring it back. It was a great event. In the meantime, the challenge writeups from every edition since 2021 are linked from their previous events page, and they make great practice.

CTFtime #

CTFtime lists every upcoming CTF worldwide. Filter by date or difficulty and there’s always something running. It’s the best way to find online competitions between the Norwegian events.

Wrapping Up #

When I started out, I didn’t know anyone in the field and had never been to a conference or CTF. I just started signing up for things and showing up. Just show up and have fun. That’s what it’s all about.

If you want more on how I keep up to date in the field, check out Staying Current in Cybersecurity.