What Was Hackron 2022 Like?

Hackron isn’t held in Madrid or Barcelona, but in the Canary Islands, and that’s a big part of its charm. Everyone who steps up to the microphone says the same thing: the archipelago doesn’t have the same opportunities as the mainland, so a congress of this level out on the islands is something to enjoy and to look after. Many are regulars who come back every year, pretty much the same faces, because it’s a family affair.

To set the scene, Hackron was born in 2014 thanks to Igor Lukić and Cecilio, and it has become a cybersecurity reference in the archipelago. In 2022 it reaches its ninth edition. What its organizers are proudest of is the dynamic content, which doesn’t stop at technical talks: there are interviews, debate and demos that stay with you. This year they played with a Bitcoin ATM and showed how cybercrime finances itself, always with the warning not to try it at home.

The essence, they say, is to leave you with the itch of a piece of research so that you then build your own setup, challenge it and improve it. There’s one word that comes up again and again, tinkering. They’re already looking ahead to 2023 hoping to fully recover the in-person format, taking nothing for granted, and certain that incidents will keep growing. A good reason not to miss it.