SecureWV 2026

A regional cybersecurity conference focused on practical knowledge, real-world threats, and community collaboration for professionals and businesses.

SecureWV 2026

SecureWV runs October 22–23, 2026 at the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center in Charleston, West Virginia. The 2026 conference, numbered SecureWV 17, has the theme "What Happens After Closing Time?"

What it is

SecureWV is an annual information security conference run by 304 Geeks, a West Virginia 501(c)(3) nonprofit that promotes infosec awareness and education. The organizer describes it as one of the larger regional conferences, drawing nationally known infosec speakers to teach advanced security topics. Attendees are security practitioners, IT staff, students and newcomers from across West Virginia's organizations.

The program mixes keynotes, hands-on sessions and community networking. The conference works with regional universities and colleges including Marshall University, West Virginia University, the University of Charleston and Bethany College, and several attend as education sponsors.

Villages

New for 2026, hands-on villages staffed by volunteers and open to beginners:

• Lockpick Village: a supervised look at how everyday locks work and where their weak points are, using practice locks and training tools only.
• RF & Drone Village: live spectrum views, wireless signal types, drone communications and Remote ID, and a guided "fox hunt" activity. All activity is receive-only or on approved spectrum.
• CTF Village: the 2026 capture-the-flag, "Directive Zero," is loosely based on the tabletop RPG Paranoia. It has red- and blue-team challenges in web, forensics, pivoting and more, for all skill levels.

Practical details

• The CTF runs from 9am EDT on Thursday, October 22 to 3pm EDT on Friday, October 23. The organizer recommends setting up a Kali Linux virtual machine before you arrive.
• A standard ticket covers both days and includes a badge, lanyard and conference T-shirt. A student ticket needs an active .edu email address.
• The site offers CPE credit applications for attendees, and a call for speakers is open for the 2026 conference.