BSidesLV 2025 CFP is CLOSED.

Key Dates:

Thank you for all your submissions. Acceptances will still start to go out the week of May 26th on a rolling basis.

Example Submissions

Below are example submissions for speakers and mentors. You can also watch this talk about CFPs from BSidesLV 2016: CFPs 101

Example Speaker Submission:

Proposal title: Hacking Holograms: How to secure our security blankets
Session type: Proving Ground Talk-25m
Track: Proving Ground

Abstract: (this gets published on the BSidesLV site)

The Galactic Federation estimates that 7.4 million emergency medical holograms will be installed on all space faring vessels by 2345. However, holograms are not only on Federation ships, they also exist in homes and around us as toys, companions, assistants and serve various roles in our daily lives. In this talk we will talk about our journey to secure intelligent holograms on a galactic level. This talk is designed to appeal to a spectrum of different audiences including hackers, developers, testers, consumers, manufacturers to understand the threats to their products and guide enterprises towards building security from the start.

This talk will cover the software stack, operating system, and supply chain security challenges, cyber attacks, as well as our strategy to mitigate threats from ground up. We will walk attendees through (via live demos) Hologram OS attacks, AI JVM decompilation, vulnerability hunting, and an example attack scenario, all using opensource tools developed by us or others in this space.

Description: (only the CFP review board see this section)

This talk has been developed over the past 2 years as a passion project of mine. Holograms aren’t going to go away, once the gates unlocked it was game over. The problem is, most of the companies making holograms aren’t keeping up with security best practices. Through years of research we’ve identified multiple vulnerabilities in commercially available products used by millions of people. This talk will specifically cover reviewing the EMCORP Hologram version 2.781.9 released last year. Using open source tools (listed below) that either I’ve written, or enhanced, or created by others. We’ll step through and explain how the holograms works from the bottom up including reviewing the Operating System (a Linux derivation), mapping the hologram on the network, how to decompile a hologram and what to look for from an attacker standpoint (SQLi, malformed input, etc) then we’ll cover how to write a module to turn a hologram in to an always on listening device that forwards any and all audio to an AWS bucket we browse live during the session to show the sounds our hologram, in our hotel room with the TV on, picked up and sent to our bucket.

Also, the demos will be live, but i’ll pre-record them before coming in in case anything goes wrong.

Tools:
* AI OS Exploit finder: https://github.com/faketool/AIOSEF
* nmap
* AI JVM Decompiler: https://gaggle.com/decompilation
* Python scripts (small and varied): https://gist.github.com/AISUCKS/
* Custom code (attached) – malicious always on listener
research links:
* White paper: https://whitepaper.com/AIOSVULNS.PDF
* Blog/Articles
* Hologram CIS Benchmarks: https://fakesite.com/HOLOCIS
* AppScan Hologram Plugin: https://blog.cybercompany.com/holo_appscan

Outline & Notes: (Use this section for your outline. Talks with detailed outlines have a better chance at getting accepted)

I intend to cover the following in the talk:

Intro – 2 Minutes
* Who we are
* How we got here

Holograms – 5 Minutes
* History of holograms in Starfleet
* Cyber issues in the news
* Evolution to today’s market (breaking trend 1, 2, & 3 that I see happening)

Attacking Holograms – 10 Minutes
* The operating system
* LIVE DEMO – OS level attacks
* The software stack
* DEMO – Decompiling AI JVM using open source
* DEMO – Finding obvious vulnerabilities
* LIVE DEMO – Example attack – Hologram always listens even when off
* Supply Chain attacks, how they work and examples (example 1)
* Examples of JS repo’s being taken over (example 1, example 2)

Protecting Holograms – 5 Minutes
* Mitigating OS level attacks (SE Linux discussion. Specific practice 1 & 2)
* Secure Code development using OWASP-AI (best practice 1/2/3)
* Supply Chain Hardening/Trust (mitigation 1, mitigation 2)

Review/Close/Thank You – 3 Minutes
* Conclusions (enumerated specific list of specific conclusions/takeaways)
* Where people can find more information
* Thanks/Kudos to previous researchers (Kirk, Archer)
* Questions?

Session image: (insert fun image of holograms)
Additional Speaker: Leave blank. PG does not allow additional speakers.

If you’ve never created a pretalx.com account before you’ll need to create a speaker bio

Name: Jean-Luc Picardo
Email: JLP@fakestemailhologram.com
Profile picture (optional): (picture of Jean-Luc)

Biography:
Jean-Luc (aka Nacho Man Tandy SVG) is jack of many trades and master of none, well maybe just one: Hologram hacking. Jean has been doing security related things for nearly 10 years focusing on all things enterprise, from writing custom Nmap scripts, metasploit modules, BURP plugins, you name it he's done it. In the past 2 years he's taken a keen interest in the hologram security space and is aghast at what he's found. As is typical this over-looked consumer (and military) space is rife with vulnerabilities and poorly understood threat models. Ever since Jean has taken it upon himself to raise awareness of the lack of security when it comes to holograms. In his spare time he enjoys 90's dubstep and home made beer.
Link to other talks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzcOqUXXywo
https://slides.com/bsidesto_hologramslol

Availability: (using the calendar select the time that works best for you and BSidesLV speaker ops will try to accommodate)
Any other outrageous requests? Tea, Earl Grey, Hot
What size T-Shirt would you prefer? Men’s M
Social (X/BS/Masto/LI/FB) handle? EMH2-FAKESUBMISSION
Social Platform https://x.com/ (pick from the drop-down of supported platforms)
Do you have any example of a talk you’ve given at any other/previous conferences? (it’s okay to leave this blank)
What is your mobile number? 212-555-4240

Example Mentor Submission:

Proposal Title: Proving Ground Mentor
Session type: Proving Ground Mentor Application
Track: Proving Ground
Abstract:
(blank)

Description: (Please use this section for your mentor bio. You can copy your pretalx bio if you like):

As a seasoned public speaker and public speaking coach, I'm qualified to assist the next round of speakers in preparing for B-Sides Las Vegas' Proving Ground. I have extensive experience in helping speakers develop their presentations, and a proven track record of ensuring that potentially controversial talks are delivered in a content-filled manner without unnecessary offense. I previously served as a mentor for the SANS Women's Cyber Talent Immersion Academy, helping students to learn about security and improve their presentation skills.

I'm passionate about helping others to effectively communicate and share their knowledge. I have a strong interest in teaching and have received positive feedback for the engaging and enjoyable nature of my presentations. I'm eager to serve as a mentor again for Proving Ground, and hope to share my passion for speaking and my knowledge of presentation techniques with someone breaking into the information security industry. I'm happy to work with anyone and I'm looking forward to learning something new in the process.

Outline & Notes: (Mentors, please use this section for your speaking history/experience):

• "Phishing 101: Understanding the Threat Landscape" - BSidesLV 2011
• "Phishing Attack Simulation: Assessing Your Organization's Defenses" - BSides San Francisco 2012
• "Human Hacking: The Weakest Link in Information Security" - DEFCON 21
• "Phishing in the Cloud: Understanding and Defending Against New Threats" - RSA Conference 2016
• "Social Engineering in Cyber Espionage: State-Sponsored Attacks" - Black Hat Asia 2016
• "Phishing in the Digital Age: How to Protect Your Organization" - Infosecurity Europe 2017
• "Social Engineering for IT Security Professionals: Best Practices and Case Studies" - RSA Conference 2018
• "Phishing in the Financial Services Industry: A Growing Threat" - Infosecurity Europe 2018
• "Social Engineering for Cybersecurity Researchers: Advanced Techniques and Tools" - Black Hat Europe 2019
• "Social Engineering in the Remote Work Era: Addressing the Risks" - BSidesLV 2021
• "Phishing in the Post-Pandemic World: New Threats and Vulnerabilities" - ShmooCon 2023

Session image: (blank)
Additional Speaker: (blank)

Mentors: please make sure you also fill out all the bio, t-shirt size, etc. fields in your Pretalx speaker profile!

This Call for Papers closed on 2025-05-10 02:00 (US/Pacific).