Asturcon, the north gets offensive

There’s plenty of hacking in Asturias too, and good hacking at that. With that idea I head north in this episode to sit down with Jorge, founder of Asturcon, one of the youngest cybersecurity congresses in Spain. What today fills 400 seats started as a day trip. A group of classmates from the specialisation course in Aviles went to have a look at a congress in Vigo without even knowing what a call for papers was, caught the bug and decided to build something similar back home. They planned a talk for a hundred people and ended up with four hundred attendees. They are already on their fourth edition.

We talk about how it all grows out of the Olicos association, why the north needed its own event (beyond Euskalhack there was barely a precedent), and that truth anyone who has organised a con knows well: for the first two weeks afterwards you never want to hear about it again, and by the third you are already booking the venue for next year. Jorge is clear about it, the more congresses the better, because each one spreads visibility and knowledge. Asturcon prides itself on being affordable, with talks for every level, a free track with the University of Oviedo and a friendly atmosphere the attendees value as much as the talks. Ransomware, industrial security, social engineering, a bit of everything depending on the year. Just as well it never leaned too hard into the metaverse. It takes place every November in Aviles. If you’re after a con where you also eat well, now you know where to go.