Kentucky
Louisville, KY cybersecurity events & groups
Louisville's security professionals meet at two free Friday lunch meetings, ISSA Kentuckiana in Jeffersontown and ISACA Kentuckiana at Dean Dorton on N Whittington Parkway, and at a DEF CON group social held every other Thursday downtown. ISSA Kentuckiana ran the Louisville Metro InfoSec Conference on September 11, 2026, and HackRedCon is set for December 4, 2026 at the University of Louisville.
Start here
- DC502 Louisville Computer Social Club: Casual hacker social every other Thursday downtown; the Meetup page invites curious newcomers.
- ISSA Kentuckiana Chapter: Free monthly lunch talks and the organizer of the city's main security conference.
- HackRedCon 2026: One-day technical conference at the University of Louisville on December 4, 2026.
Six months at a glance
Datebook
November 2026
ISSA Kentuckiana November Meeting
Fri, Nov 13, 2026 · 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.; lunch provided
Farm Credit Mid-America, Schoolhouse East and West rooms, 12501 Lakefront Place, Jeffersontown · Metro area
The page lists the topic as an ISSA Kentuckiana chapter update. The page data shows a ticket price of 0 but the page text states no price; free is a judgement call.
ConfirmedChapter meetingFree
Queen City Conference 2026
Fri, Nov 13 to Sun, Nov 15, 2026
151 West Fifth Street, Cincinnati, OH (the organizer's host hotel is the Hyatt) · Regional
Three-day community security conference about 1 hour 45 minutes northeast of Louisville. Discounted student tickets are offered; the page shows a Get Tickets link but states no price, so paid is a judgement call.
ConfirmedConferencePaid
December 2026
HackRedCon 2026
Fri, Dec 4, 2026 · 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Student Activity Center, University of Louisville, 2100 S Floyd St, Louisville
Security conference covering red teaming, CTF, education and mental health, run since 2019 by SEC Conferences, which describes itself as an events producer (vendor_hosted is true on that basis, a judgement call), with sponsors. General admission is listed at $100; the organizer says many tickets go free to students, veterans and underserved communities through a partner.
ConfirmedConferencePaidVendor-hosted
January 2027
February 2027
March 2027
April 2027
On the radar
Announced without a date, or expected from past editions. Not confirmed.
BSides Bloomington 2027
Announced by the organizer; date not yet published.
Bloomington, IN (Bloomington Convention Center in 2026) · Regional
Date TBAConferencePaidFree
Kentuckiana ISACA Secure Digital Conference 2027
The 2026 conference was held March 26 and 27, 2026; 2027 dates not yet announced.
Louisville area; venue not yet announced
ExpectedConferencePaid
KY Blue Team Summit 2027
The 2026 summit was held May 21, 2026; 2027 date not yet announced.
Frankfort, KY (Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Building, 200 Mero St, in 2026) · Regional
ExpectedSummitFree
Louisville Metro InfoSec Conference 2027
Held September 11 in 2026; 2027 date not yet announced.
Louisville (Founders Union Building, 450 N Hurstbourne Pkwy, in 2026)
ExpectedConferencePaid
NKU Cybersecurity Symposium 2027
The 2026 symposium was held Friday, October 16, 2026; 2027 date not yet announced.
Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY · Regional
ExpectedConferencePaid
TALK Cyber Security Summit 2027
Held in mid-June (June 12 in 2026, June 13 in 2025); 2027 date not yet announced.
Sullivan University, 3101 Bardstown Rd, Louisville (2026 edition)
ExpectedSummitPaid
UK_CYBERCON 2027
The 2026 edition was held October 14, 2026; 2027 date not yet announced.
Lexington, KY (Otis A. Singletary Center for the Arts, 405 Rose St, in 2026) · Regional
ExpectedConferenceFree
Groups & associations
Professional associations
ISACA Kentuckiana Chapter
Dean Dorton, 435 N Whittington Pkwy, Suite 400, Louisville · In the city
Monthly lunch meeting on a Friday, 11:30 a.m. or noon; in person in Louisville, with a Lexington viewing room and an online option
Audit, governance and security chapter. The August 21, 2026 meeting, a talk on cloud, SaaS and third-party auditing, was free with lunch. The chapter's own calendar loads by script, and no meeting page after August 21, 2026 was found on October 23, 2026 (the chapter's Engage home page and Eventbrite searches show none). The chapter also runs the Secure Digital Conference (March 26 and 27, 2026).
Free
ISSA Kentuckiana Chapter
Farm Credit Mid-America, 12501 Lakefront Place, Jeffersontown (Louisville) · In the city
Monthly lunch meeting on a Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.; dates are posted on Eventbrite
Louisville's ISSA chapter. Meetings include lunch and a technical talk, and registration on Eventbrite is free. The chapter also runs the Louisville Metro InfoSec Conference; the 2026 edition was held September 11, 2026 at the Founders Union Building, 450 N Hurstbourne Pkwy. The October 9, 2026 meeting page shows ticket sales ended but no recap was found, so last_activity stays at the September 11 conference.
Free
Hacker and grassroots groups
DC502 Louisville Computer Social Club
Rooftop Bourre Bonne Bar, Hotel Bourre Bonne, 133 W Market St, Louisville (the October 15, 2026 social was at 1020 Brewery, 1020 East Washington St) · In the city
Every other Thursday, 5:45 p.m. in September and on October 1, 6:00 p.m. since; the venue can change and each date is posted on Meetup
Louisville's DEF CON group (listed by DEF CON as DCG Louisville, legacy name DC502). The Meetup group runs a social for programmers, hackers, radio operators, OSINT fans and newcomers; attendees are invited to bring hardware, locks and other show-and-tell. The Meetup pages state no fee and no ticket price, so free is a judgement call; the October 29 listing mentions low-stakes drinks and skewers. Its Meetup title is "H4cK3Яs ❤️ Computer Social Club + DefCon 502 Louisville".
Free
meetup.com/h4ck3%d1%8fs-%ef%b8%8f-computer-soci… [S21] [S22]
Public-private and government
InfraGard Kentucky Members Alliance
Statewide; meetings rotate between Louisville and other Kentucky cities · In the city
Aims to meet quarterly; meetings are not posted publicly
FBI partnership chapter for critical infrastructure professionals, working with the FBI Louisville Field Office; membership requires an FBI-vetted application. The chapter says it aims to meet quarterly at locations in Louisville and elsewhere in the state and shares much of its information only with members. Its site carries 2026 notices (training and awards) but no dated chapter meeting; the last dated public meeting found was a joint briefing in Lexington on April 30, 2024.
Vetting required
Education and student groups
Speed ACM Cybersecurity SIG and CCDC Team (University of Louisville)
J.B. Speed School of Engineering, University of Louisville (Duthie Center Room 119 and BAB 238) · In the city
During the academic year: Cybersecurity SIG on Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. in BAB 238 and CCDC practice on Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. in Duthie 119 (some sessions online); the campus calendar lists each date
Student interest groups of UofL's ACM chapter, which say anyone may join a SIG (official ACM membership has dues). The Cybersecurity SIG covers security topics, hands-on training and competitions; the CCDC team practices for the Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition. UofL is an NSA/DHS Center of Academic Excellence. The campus calendar, read through its JSON feed because the pages load by script, lists Cybersecurity SIG meetings on October 22, October 29, November 5, November 12, November 19 and December 3, 2026, and CCDC sessions through October 7, 2026 (online). October 22, 2026 is the latest past entry; no attendance record was found.
Free
Adjacent communities
LVL1 Hackerspace
1205 E Washington St (back parking lot, down the ramp), Louisville · In the city
Open Meeting and Making every Tuesday at 8:00 p.m., with a tour and show and tell; Open Code on Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. per Meetup (the club's website says 7 p.m.)
Adjacent: a member-run hacker and maker space with tools and workshops, not a security group; no regular security night was found. Visitors can attend the Tuesday open meeting without joining and must sign a liability waiver on the first visit. The Meetup page states no admission price for visitors, so free is a judgement call. The Tuesday meeting can also be joined online.
Free
Directory checklist
5 of 19 national directories list a local chapter
| Directory | Result |
|---|---|
| 2600 Meetings | No chapter found |
| CISA Regional Offices | Nearest: CISA Region 4 (covers Kentucky); no public Louisville events posted |
| Cloud Security Alliance | Nearest: CSA Ohio River Valley Chapter (covers Kentucky; meets in Columbus and on Zoom) |
| Cyversity (formerly ICMCP) Chapters | No chapter found |
| DEF CON Groups | Local chapter: DC502 Louisville Computer Social Club |
| HTCIA | Nearest: HTCIA Ohio Chapter |
| IAPP KnowledgeNet | Nearest: IAPP KnowledgeNet Louisville (chapter page lists no scheduled or past meetings) |
| InfraGard Members Alliances | Local chapter: InfraGard Kentucky Members Alliance |
| ISACA | Local chapter: ISACA Kentuckiana Chapter |
| ISC2 | Nearest: ISC2 Kentucky Triangle Chapter (Louisville and Fort Knox area; its site loads by script and no meeting dates could be read) |
| ISSA | Local chapter: ISSA Kentuckiana Chapter |
| NSA National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) | Local chapter: Speed ACM Cybersecurity SIG and CCDC Team (University of Louisville) |
| OWASP | Nearest: OWASP Indianapolis (Louisville has no OWASP chapter) |
| SANS Institute | No chapter found |
| SecureWorld | No chapter found |
| Security BSides | Nearest: BSides Bloomington (Bloomington, IN) |
| TOOOL (The Open Organisation Of Lockpickers) | No chapter found |
| WiCyS (Women in CyberSecurity) Professional Affiliates | Nearest: WiCyS Indianapolis Affiliate |
| Women's Society of Cyberjutsu (WSC) Chapters | No chapter found |
Field notes
- ISSA Kentuckiana meets at Farm Credit Mid-America in Jeffersontown, east of downtown, and ISACA Kentuckiana meets at Dean Dorton on N Whittington Pkwy; both ask for Eventbrite registration so they can order lunch.
- DC502's socials are posted one at a time on Meetup and the venue can change (October 15, 2026 was at a brewery in NuLu); the DEF CON group listing gives no website, and a separate June 13, 2026 meetup at Hauck's Corner was announced only on the DEF CON forum.
- InfraGard Kentucky meetings are for vetted members and are not posted publicly.
- Speed ACM's Cybersecurity SIG meets Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. in BAB 238 and CCDC practice Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. per both the club site and the campus calendar; some sessions move online, so check the campus calendar or the club's Discord before going.
- Louisville has no OWASP chapter, BSides or 2600 meeting; a 2600 listing for Barnes and Noble on S Hurstbourne Pkwy comes from a 1999 archive page, and the current 2600 meeting list has no Kentucky meeting.
- LVL1 is a general hacker and maker space rather than a security group, but its Tuesday open night is the easiest place to find hardware and electronics tinkerers. LVL1's website lists Open Code on Thursdays at 7 p.m. while its Meetup page says 8 p.m.
Sources
Numbered references for the listings on this page.
- S1https://www.meetup.com/lvl1hackerspace/
- S2https://www.lvl1.org/
- S3https://www.eventbrite.com/e/issa-kentuckiana-2026-november-tickets-1964513967159
- S4https://queencitycon.org/
- S5https://www.hackredcon.com/
- S6https://www.secconferences.com/
- S7https://bsidesbloomington.org/
- S8https://engage.isaca.org/kentuckianachapter/events/eventdescription?CalendarEventKey=e74fa0cb-17af-40a1-be63-019bfcb5b25c&CommunityKey=8f27209d-ae4a-4300-8aae-5ddd136a2faa&Home=/kentuckianachapter/events/calendar
- S9https://homelandsecurity.ky.gov/Training/Pages/Blue-Team-Summit.aspx
- S10https://www.louisvilleinfosec.com/
- S11https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2026-louisville-metro-infosec-conference-tickets-1754127535679
- S12https://www.nku.edu/informatics/events/cyber19/index.html
- S13https://talklou.com/
- S14https://talklou.com/?p=3436
- S15https://www.eventbrite.com/e/10th-annual-talk-cyber-security-summit-tickets-1987707878773
- S16https://www.eventbrite.com/e/uk-cybercon-2026-tickets-1996814727603
- S17https://www.eventbrite.com/e/isaca-kentuckiana-chapter-august-2026-tickets-1995105426036
- S18https://engage.isaca.org/kentuckianachapter/home
- S19https://www.issa-kentuckiana.org/
- S20https://www.eventbrite.com/e/issa-kentuckiana-2026-october-tickets-1964513150717
- S21https://www.meetup.com/h4ck3%d1%8fs-%ef%b8%8f-computer-social-club-defcon-502-louisville/
- S22https://forum.defcon.org/node/231666
- S23https://infragardky.org/
- S24https://13layers.com/event/kycftf-infragard-joint-meeting/
- S25https://speedacm.org/
- S26https://louisville.campuslabs.com/engage/event/12802448