An attack on an energy grid doesn’t start in the control room. It usually starts with a phishing email or a compromised supplier, and from there it moves step by step from the IT network toward the OT systems that control physical processes.
Cyber Range Specialist
ICI Bucharest
You do not need a job title, a certification or ten years of experience to belong here. BSides was started by people who were turned away from another conference, and it kept the habit: the room is open, beginner questions are welcome, and the person who wrote the tool is usually standing next to you at the coffee break.
Once a year we bring people who work at the sharp end of security to Chișinău and put them in the same room as the students and engineers who will be running this country's defences in ten years. That is the whole point of the day.
Security BSides is a global movement of independent, non-commercial security conferences. Every one of them is built by local volunteers, and this one is ours.
Real incidents, real research, real failures, including the parts that did not work. Every speaker comes through an open call. Nobody buys a slot on that stage.
Workshops and labs where you run the tools yourself instead of watching a slide about them. Bring a laptop and you will use it.
Half the reason people come is the conversation between sessions. Speakers stay for the whole day, and nobody here minds being asked something basic.
Organised by
Partners
The second edition takes place on October 30, 2026, at CYBERCOR in Chișinău. The programme is in the Agenda section of this page.
Attending is free. We do not sell tickets. Registration is open now: use the Register button at the top of this page, and you will receive your ticket by email with a QR code to show at the entrance.
Sessions are held in English or in Romanian.
BSides is a global series of community-driven cybersecurity events. Unlike commercial conferences, it's non-profit, meaning all proceeds are reinvested into organizing the event. It's volunteer-led and focused on open knowledge-sharing and inclusion. BSides Chisinau brought the format to Moldova for the first time in 2025.
The call for speakers for 2026 is closed, and the programme is being put together now. If you have a talk in mind for the next edition, write to info@bsideschisinau.com: we are glad to hear an idea early. You do not need to be a known name or to have spoken before: research, war stories from the field, tooling, defensive work and first-time talks are all welcome, in English or in Romanian.
Yes. Write to info@bsideschisinau.com and we will talk through how your company can be involved. One thing to know up front: sponsorship does not buy stage time. BSides rules are clear that speaking slots are not for sale, so a sponsor who wants to present goes through the call for speakers like everyone else, and is judged on the same terms.
Not at all. BSides Chisinau is open to everyone: students, early-career professionals, researchers, policymakers and experienced professionals. Whether you're just beginning your cybersecurity journey or you're a seasoned expert, you'll find valuable content and a welcoming community tailored to your level.
If you are interested in cybersecurity, work in technology, education, public policy or critical infrastructure, or if you simply want to better understand today's digital challenges, then this event is for you. It is designed by the community, with a strong focus on openness, inclusion and real-world impact.
A full day of technical talks, live demos, hands-on learning and networking, in a friendly and intellectually stimulating atmosphere. The agenda for this edition will be published on this page as soon as the programme is set. The 2025 edition gives a fair idea of the shape of the day.
Yes. There will be a Capture the Flag at this edition. The format, the difficulty and how to enter will be published here once they are settled.
Definitely. BSides encourages open dialogue. Speakers will be available before and after their sessions, during breaks and at the networking reception. The event is designed to remove barriers between participants and experts.
We recommend it if you want to follow along with hands-on sessions, take part in the CTF or simply take notes. Wi-Fi and power will be available throughout the venue. Once the agenda is published it will say which sessions are hands-on.
Yes, on request. Ask one of the organisers at the event, or write to info@bsideschisinau.com afterwards, and we will issue one.
The inaugural edition ran on October 31, 2025, with nine speakers, ten sessions and ten partners. The whole thing stays online: agenda, speakers and partners, exactly as published. See the 2025 edition.
Yes, and it applies to everyone: participants, speakers, sponsors and organisers alike. We are committed to a respectful, inclusive and harassment-free event, and we act on reports. Please read the Code of Conduct before attending.
The first edition brought 9 speakers to Cybercor from 3 countries. In the room: CYBERCOR, Agenția pentru Securitate Cibernetică, Moldova's e-Governance Agency, Bitdefender, CrowdStrike and InfoGuard.
Stephan Berger
Cristian Cornea
Vitalie Eșanu
Artur Reaboi
Cătălina Iosub
Alexandru-Bogdan Miron
Ionuț Baltariu
Mihai Tutulan
Alexey Shulenkov
