> madison, wi · verified oct 23, 2026
Wisconsin
DC608, Madison's DEF CON group, meets in person on the first Thursday of each month at Aftershock Classic Arcade on East Washington Avenue and runs weekly online coding nights, while Madsec holds an informal talk-and-networking evening downtown every few months. ISACA Madison and the statewide ISC2 Wisconsin chapter mostly meet online, and the IAPP KnowledgeNet chapter holds an in-person privacy and AI governance meeting on November 5, 2026. The one-day WISCON conference returns to the Overture Center on June 17, 2027.
Thu, Nov 5, 2026 · 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Aftershock Classic Arcade, 1444 E Washington Ave, Madison
Talk about the speaker's recent adventures in hacking devices; the Meetup listing says a robot dog may make an appearance.
ConfirmedMeetupFree
Thu, Nov 5, 2026 · Registration 3:00 p.m., presentation 3:30 p.m., networking until 5:00 p.m.
American Family Insurance, Room NHQ A2151, 6000 American Pkwy, Madison
In-person meeting titled From Privacy to AI Governance: Building the Future Together, with networking and a panel of privacy leaders on integrating privacy programs with AI governance; American Family Insurance hosts and donates food and drink. An optional social hour follows at Erin's Pub, pay-your-own-way. Eligible for 1.0 CPE. The page says IAPP sections are a member-only benefit and states no price, so access is listed as members-only; confirm with the chapter whether guests may attend.
ConfirmedChapter meetingMembers only
Thu, Dec 3, 2026 · Starts 8:00 a.m.
Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center, 1 John Nolen Dr, Madison
Adjacent: a state and local government technology summit, not a security-only event; state and university CISOs are among the listed speakers. Run by Government Technology (e.Republic) with vendor sponsors. Registration is free but open to public sector employees only.
ConfirmedSummitFreeVetting requiredVendor-hosted
Wed, Mar 24 to Thu, Mar 25, 2027
Baird Center, Milwaukee · Regional
CFP closes: Sat, Jan 9, 2027
Wisconsin's largest hacker and technology conference, about 80 miles east of Madison. Workshops run March 22 and 23, 2027, and BSidesMKE follows on March 26.
ConfirmedConferencePaid
Fri, Mar 26, 2027
Milwaukee · Regional
Community-run BSides held the day after CypherCon. CypherCon lists tickets starting at $50, with student and first-timer pricing. The 2027 venue is not yet posted; the 2026 edition was at the Baird Center. The ticket banner on the BSidesMKE site also reads 'Sept 2027', which conflicts with the March 26, 2027 date shown on the same page and on CypherCon's call for speakers.
ConfirmedConferencePaid
Tue, Mar 30 to Wed, Mar 31, 2027 · Starts 8:00 a.m. on March 30
Chula Vista Resort, 1000 Chula Vista Pkwy, Wisconsin Dells · Regional
State cybersecurity summit produced with Government Technology (e.Republic), about 55 miles north of Madison. The page says registration is free and open to the public sector only. The 2026 summit was held April 7 and 8, 2026 in Appleton; the host city changes.
ConfirmedSummitFreeVetting requiredVendor-hosted
Fri, Apr 30, 2027 · 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Marquette University, Alumni Memorial Union 3rd Floor Ballroom, 1442 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee · Regional
Call for speakers closes: Fri, Mar 5, 2027
Community-run one-day summit on operational technology and ICS security, hosted by Security For the Folks with Marquette University's Center for Cybersecurity, about 80 miles east of Madison. The summit's own site says student tickets are free and states no price for other attendees; the 2026 edition was a paid Eventbrite registration, so access is listed as paid as a judgement call.
ConfirmedSummitPaid
Thu, May 20, 2027
Milwaukee (venue not yet posted) · Regional
Hybrid one-day vendor-sponsored conference for IT and security leaders, run by FutureCon Events, about 80 miles east of Madison. The page states no price, and the FAQ mentions attendance denial emails, so registration appears to be reviewed; confirm terms when registering.
ConfirmedConferenceVetting requiredVendor-hosted
Wed, Jun 2, 2027 · 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Milwaukee (venue to be announced; the 2026 edition was at the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee) · Regional
One-day executive-oriented summit run by CyberRisk Alliance with vendor sponsors, about 80 miles east of Madison. Standard admission is $275; admission is limited to working security and IT practitioners and every registration is reviewed. ISACA Milwaukee and the WiCyS Wisconsin affiliate took part in 2026.
ConfirmedSummitPaidVetting requiredVendor-hosted
Thu, Jun 17, 2027
Overture Center for the Arts, 201 State St, Madison
CFP closes: Sun, Feb 14, 2027
One-day conference with talks, hands-on villages (including lock picking) and a CTF. The call for papers runs December 1, 2026 to February 14, 2027, and tickets go on sale January 1, 2027. The organizers say the inaugural 2026 conference sold out. The site states no ticket price, so access is listed as paid as a judgement call.
ConfirmedConferencePaid
Announced without a date, or expected from past editions. Not confirmed.
Announced by the organizer; date not yet published.
Fox Valley Technical College, D.J. Bordini Center, Appleton (2026 venue) · Regional
Date TBAConferencePaid
Usually held in April or May; the 10th edition was April 8, 2026 at Monona Terrace. 2027 dates not yet announced
Monona Terrace Convention Center, Madison (2026 venue)
ExpectedSummitFreeVendor-hosted
Usually held in May; the 2026 symposium was May 14, 2026. 2027 date not yet announced
Potawatomi Casino Hotel, Milwaukee (2026 venue) · Regional
ExpectedConferencePaid
Madison and southern Wisconsin · In the city
Occasional meetings and happy hours; a meeting is scheduled for November 5, 2026
Privacy and data protection chapter. The IAPP chapter page listed an in-person Summer Kickoff Happy Hour in Madison on June 30, 2026; the chapter page now lists an in-person meeting on November 5, 2026. The June 30 happy hour was seen only in a search-result snippet and could not be reconfirmed from the live page. The IAPP page says its sections are a member-only benefit.
Members only
Madison; 2026 sessions held online (Zoom) · In the city
Occasional webinars and meetings; an annual meeting is listed for December 9, 2026
The chapter held an online webinar, Effective AI Auditing, on July 28, 2026, announced on its LinkedIn page with Zoom registration. Its ISACA Engage calendar lists only a save-the-date for the annual meeting on December 9, 2026, which the chapter administrator has placed on hold. Covers audit, cybersecurity, governance, risk, privacy and AI.
Free
Statewide chapter; meetings online · Metro area
Online chapter meetings with a presentation; RSVP through the chapter site; no meeting announced
A newly chartered statewide chapter. Its placeholder site lists a virtual chapter meeting on Tuesday, July 28, at 2:00 p.m. Central with a talk on zero trust for agentic AI, but does not print the year; July 28 falls on a Tuesday in 2026, the chapter's first year. It does not appear in the public ISC2 chapters portal, so there is no events feed to check.
Free
Aftershock Classic Arcade, 1444 E Washington Ave, Madison; weeknight sessions online on Discord · In the city
Monthly meeting on the first Thursday, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at Aftershock Classic Arcade; online coding nights most Mondays at 7:30 p.m.; online red team and blue team nights about once a month
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The group's site lists a monthly Thursday meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Aftershock Classic Arcade, and its Meetup calendar shows the in-person meetings on first Thursdays (October 1 and November 5, 2026). Monday coding nights are online and scheduled on Meetup through April 19, 2027, and Red Team Night, an online team Hack The Box session on Discord, is listed at 7:00 p.m. on October 28 and November 25, 2026 and January 27, 2027. Talks are also streamed on YouTube.
Free
The Great Dane Pub, 123 E Doty St, Madison (most recent meetings) · In the city
Irregular, every few months on a weeknight evening; networking from 5:30 p.m. and a talk at 6:00 p.m.; no meeting announced
Describes itself as a monthly-ish meeting of infosec practitioners and anyone interested. The April 23, 2026 meeting was a talk on cross-functional incident response in the Great Dane's Rathskeller Room. Individual meetings are often sponsored by local security firms or law firms, which cover drinks and appetizers. The group also runs a Slack workspace.
Free
Statewide; 2025 and 2026 meetups at the Milwaukee Official Cybersecurity Summit · Regional
Occasional meetups, often alongside Milwaukee conferences; no meeting announced
Women in CyberSecurity state affiliate. Its most recent listed gathering was at the Milwaukee Official Cybersecurity Summit on June 2, 2026 (Hyatt Regency Milwaukee), about 80 miles east of Madison; the summit itself requires a ticket. No Madison meetings were found.
Free
Statewide; October 1, 2026 meeting at Madison College Truax Campus; other 2026 meetings online (GoToWebinar) or in Milwaukee · In the city
Member meetings a few times a year; no meeting announced
FBI public-private partnership chapter; membership requires FBI vetting. The member meetings page lists a meeting on October 1, 2026 from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at Madison College Truax Campus (agenda: the FBI's domestic terrorism program and the Wisconsin DOJ Cyber Crimes Unit), an online meeting on August 7, 2026, a June 5, 2026 meeting at VJS Construction Services and a February 25, 2026 online meeting; no later meeting is posted. Past meetings were also hosted at UW Health and Alliant Energy in Madison.
Members onlyVetting required
University of Wisconsin-Madison campus · In the city
Meetings during the academic year (workshops, speakers, CTFs); schedule shared by email and Discord
Student club open to any enrolled UW-Madison undergraduate or graduate student. Its public meeting log runs through a lockpicking meeting on December 3, 2025 and shows no spring or fall 2026 entries; the club says current plans go out by email and Discord. UW-Madison is an NSA Center of Academic Excellence.
Quiet: last activity Dec 2025Students only
Numbered references for the listings on this page.