The Westin Peachtree Plaza will anchor a week of hands-on training, offensive security research, and closed-door executive dialogue as EC-Council’s flagship events return to Georgia this October.
Atlanta will once again become a gathering point for the global cybersecurity community this fall, as EC-Council brings Hacker Halted and the Global CISO Forum back to the city for 2026. Running alongside each other at The Westin Peachtree Plaza in downtown Atlanta, the two events pair a practitioner-focused technical conference with an invitation-only executive summit, giving the industry both the hands-on depth and the strategic dialogue it needs heading into 2027.
Hacker Halted’s pre-conference training runs October 4 through 7, with the main two-day conference following on October 8 and 9. This year’s theme, “Cyber Carnival: Where Illusion Meets Intrusion,” leans into the growing role deception plays on both sides of the security fence — from adversaries weaponizing phishing kits and deepfakes to defenders learning to spot the sleight of hand before it costs them. It’s a theme that shows up directly in the speaker lineup: Perry Carpenter, KnowBe4’s Chief Deception Strategist, is among more than two dozen confirmed speakers, alongside Gary Hayslip (CISO in Residence, Halcyon.ai), Alex Holden (CISO and Founder, Hold Security), and practitioners from Amazon, Microsoft, Citi, KPMG, and Coupa Software. The agenda promises more than 20 sessions spanning offensive security, threat intelligence, AI and LLM security, incident response, and enterprise cyber risk, along with the hacking villages and breakout tracks Hacker Halted has built its reputation on.
Running on the same October 8–9 dates, the Global CISO Forum enters its fourteenth year as EC-Council’s closed-door venue for senior security leadership. Attendance is deliberately narrow: CCISO certification holders and students, EC-Council-invited practitioners, and director-level or above information security executives, with marketing and business-development attendees excluded by design. That restriction is the point. The Forum is built around closed-door sessions, curated roundtables, and off-the-record peer exchange, creating space for CISOs to talk candidly about failures and lessons learned in a way that’s harder to do on a conference main stage. For executives who qualify, it functions as the strategic counterpart to Hacker Halted’s technical program — same week, same city, different altitude of conversation.
EC-Council is also widening the door to both events this year. The organization announced complimentary conference admission to Hacker Halted and the Global CISO Forum for U.S. military and government cybersecurity professionals, covering entry to the main events while pre-conference training and optional programs remain separately priced. “Cybersecurity professionals serving government and national defense operate in environments where trust, judgment and clarity are essential,” said Jay Bavisi, EC-Council’s Founder and Group President. Phil Lopez, EC-Council’s Director of DoD/Military Affairs, framed the initiative as a matter of access: “This is about removing barriers and connecting them with practical education, trusted peers and the broader cybersecurity community.”
Taken together, the two events reflect a deliberate structure EC-Council has refined over more than a decade: a public, practitioner-driven conference that surfaces the latest offensive and defensive research, running in parallel with a private executive forum where that research gets translated into strategy. For CISOs, the pairing means a single trip to Atlanta can cover both ends of the job — staying current on how attackers are actually operating, and comparing notes with peers who are wrestling with the same board-level pressures.
Registration for Hacker Halted 2026 is open now through the event’s official site, with military and government professionals encouraged to inquire about complimentary admission directly. Global CISO Forum attendance remains by invitation, extended through EC-Council and its CCISO community.
CISO MAG members get a $49 pass to Hacker Halted and the Global CISO Forum, plus 20% off training at Hacker Halted Academy before the conference.
Use code CISOMAG49 at checkout for the $49 conference pass – Register Here
Use code CISOMAG20 at checkout for 20% off Hacker Halted Academy training – Register Here
