Black Alps
Black Alps is a Swiss non-profit association, founded 2017 and headquartered at Y-PARC in Yverdon-les-Bains, that organizes twice-yearly cybersecurity conferences and a Capture The Flag competition serving cybersecurity professionals, students, and corporate sponsors in French-speaking Switzerland.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersYverdon-les-bains, Switzerland
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Black Alps does
Black Alps is a Swiss non-profit association (Association Black Alps) founded in 2017 that organizes cybersecurity events for the French-speaking Swiss community. The association is a joint initiative between the University of Applied Sciences in Business and Engineering of the Canton of Vaud (HEIG-VD) and Y-PARC Swiss Technopole, where it is headquartered at Rue Galilée 7, Yverdon-les-Bains. Black Alps evolved from the Application Security Forum - Western Switzerland (#ASFWS, dating back to 2011) and the CyberSec Conference series. The organization is governed by a committee of three - Sylvain Pasini (President), Maude Schneider (Secretary), and Sandy Wetzel (Treasurer) - supported by volunteer organizers affiliated with partner organizations.
The association's product surface consists of two flagship annual events plus several ancillary components. The Black Alps Conference is a two-day November event (the next edition is November 5-6, 2026 at La Marive, Yverdon-les-Bains) featuring 14-26 technical talks, a Capture The Flag (CTF) ethical hacking competition with 300-350 participants, a networking dinner, and a closing 'Black Dinner'. The Black Alps Summer Event, launched in 2021, is a June social gathering (BBQ format) for CISOs, CTOs, and practitioners. Supplementary offerings introduced over time include a Corporate Event track (from 2024, addressing specialized enterprise themes such as medical device and rail cybersecurity) and a Lockpicking village (added in 2025). A searchable Talks Library archives presentations across categories (Attack, Defense, Purple) and languages.
Black Alps monetizes through two revenue streams: paid ticketing via the Weezevent platform and corporate sponsorships across Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze tiers. Conference tickets are priced CHF 199-499 depending on tier and timing (Early Bird through Late Bird), with a CHF 449 Full Package bundling conference and networking dinner, standalone networking dinner at CHF 120, and free-of-charge Black Dinner and CTF participation for registered attendees. Platinum sponsorship for 2026 is held by Swiss Post Cybersecurity, with Compass Security (Gold), Kudelski Security (Silver), and Exoscale (Bronze). Distribution and marketing rely on community word-of-mouth, social channels (X, LinkedIn, YouTube), and a Call for Papers process. Operational partners include HEIG-VD (academic/coordination), Y-PARC (venue/catering), Orange Cyberdefense (CTF organization), CySec (infrastructure), Swiss Post Cybersecurity (sponsoring coordination), and CYD Campus (program committee), with additional community-event partnerships with AREA41, Insomni'hack, DC4131 (DEFCON Switzerland), and Swiss Cyber Storm.
Black Alps firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Black Alps
- Legal name
- Association Black Alps
- Website
- https://blackalps.ch
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Black Alps is a Swiss non-profit association, founded 2017 and headquartered at Y-PARC in Yverdon-les-Bains, that organizes twice-yearly cybersecurity conferences and a Capture The Flag competition serving cybersecurity professionals, students, and corporate sponsors in French-speaking Switzerland.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Black Alps industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cybersecurity Events & Conferences
- NAICS
- Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192), Business Associations (813910)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Corporate Conferences & Sales Kickoffs (MPAGAGAC), Training, Enablement & Talent Development Summits (THAHAMAH)
Keywords
Where Black Alps is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Yverdon-les-bains
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Black Alps business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Conference tickets: Revenue from selling tickets to the annual cybersecurity conference. Regular tickets range from CHF 349-499, one-day tickets at CHF 199, with various tiers including Early Bird, Regular, and Late Bird pricing.
- Networking Dinner: Additional paid event add-on at CHF 120 for networking dinner access.
- Full Package: Bundle ticket including conference access and networking dinner at CHF 449.
- Sponsorship: Corporate sponsors pay to support the event and gain visibility among cybersecurity professionals. Multiple sponsorship tiers available (Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | Regular Conference Ticket |
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | Full Package |
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | Networking Dinner (standalone) |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Black Dinner |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | CTF Ticket |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Black Alps product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Black Alps is a non-profit association that organizes twice-yearly cybersecurity events for the Swiss community. The annual November conference is a two-day program combining technical talks on threats and mitigations, networking sessions, an ethical-hacking Capture The Flag contest, a networking dinner, and a closing Black Dinner; the June Summer Event is a social barbecue for community building. It also runs specialized Corporate Events on themes such as medical device and rail cybersecurity, and maintains an online Talks Library of past presentations.
Product overview
Black Alps is a non-profit association organizing cybersecurity events in Switzerland. Its core offerings include the annual Black Alps Conference in November (a two-day event featuring technical talks, CTF competition, networking dinner, and black dinner) and the Black Alps Summer Event in June (a social networking barbecue). The organization also runs Corporate Events addressing specialized topics (such as medical device security and rail cybersecurity), and maintains a Talks Library archive of presentations from past editions. The events are held at venues in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, with La Marive as the primary conference venue.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Black Alps Conference Annual two-day cybersecurity conference held in November for cybersecurity professionals, featuring talks on the latest threats, mitigations and advances in cybersecurity, networking sessions, a Capture The Flag contest, a Networking Dinner, and a closing Black Dinner.
- Black Alps Summer Event Social networking event held each June bringing together CEOs, CIOs, CISOs, CTOs, developers, and researchers for informal interactions, a barbecue dinner, and community relationship building.
- Black Alps CTF (Capture The Flag)
Quantifiable outcome
- 850+ attendees in 2025, 850+ in 2024, 700+ in 2023, demonstrating consistent growth
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Black Alps
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Black Alps technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Black Alps partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, support, flagship, major, community and facility.
- HEIG-VD (University of Applied Sciences in Business and Engineering of the Canton of Vaud)coreJoint initiative partner responsible for General Chair and coordination of the conference. The university provides academic credibility and access to research community. Black Alps originated as a joint initiative between HEIG-VD and Y-PARC.
- Y-PARC Swiss TechnopolecoreJoint initiative partner responsible for catering, evenings and hotels. Provides the headquarters location and venue coordination. The technology park is the largest in Switzerland and hosts the Black Alps association office.
- Finca los 4 vientossupportService provider handling communication, moderation, and accounting for Black Alps events.
- Swiss Post Cyber SecurityflagshipPlatinum sponsor for Black Alps 2026. Major cybersecurity provider in Switzerland supporting the event as a flagship sponsor.
- Compass SecuritymajorGold sponsor for Black Alps 2026. Cybersecurity company providing sponsorship support.
- Kudelski SecuritymajorSilver sponsor for Black Alps 2026. Cybersecurity services company.
- ExoscalesupportBronze sponsor for Black Alps 2026. Cloud hosting provider.
- Orange CyberdefensecoreStaff coordinator and CTF organizer. Key operational partner for event execution.
- CySecsupportCTF and infrastructure support provider.
- seal InnovationsupportTicketing coordination partner.
- CYD CampuscoreCFP and program committee member. Government cybersecurity campus.
- Swiss Post CybersecuritycoreSponsoring coordinator. Major Swiss cybersecurity provider.
- AREA41communityCommunity partner - Swiss cybersecurity conference.
- Insomni'hackcommunityCommunity partner - Swiss cybersecurity conference.
- DC4131 (DEFCON Switzerland)communityCommunity partner - Swiss DEFCON group.
- Swiss Cyber StormcommunityCommunity partner - Swiss cybersecurity organization.
- InfomaniakfacilityFacility partner - cloud infrastructure provider.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Black Alps competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- AREA41: Zurich-based cybersecurity conference focused on technical security talks and hacking contests. Listed as a community partner of Black Alps and competes for the same pool of Swiss cybersecurity speakers and attendees.
- Swiss Cyber Storm: Swiss cybersecurity organization hosting security competitions and events. Listed as a community partner of Black Alps and operates in the same Swiss cybersecurity community space.
- DEFCON Switzerland (DC4131): Swiss DEFCON chapter listed as a community partner of Black Alps. Operates local meetups and events for the Swiss hacker community, directly overlapping with Black Alps' target audience.
- Insomni'hack: Swiss cybersecurity conference organized in Geneva, also featuring talks, workshops, and CTF competitions. Listed as a community partner of Black Alps and serves a similar French-speaking Swiss cybersecurity audience.
Regional players
- Hack.lu: Luxembourg-based cybersecurity conference featuring technical talks and CTF. Referenced in Black Alps' Code of Conduct as a structural model and serves the broader European French/English-speaking security community.
- BruCON: Belgian cybersecurity conference with talks and CTF competitions. Comparable in scale and format to Black Alps and serves as a regional European peer for community-driven security conferences.
- GreHack: Grenoble-based cybersecurity conference with similar format of technical talks and CTF competitions. Referenced in Black Alps' Code of Conduct and serves the adjacent French cybersecurity community.
Broad incumbents
- DEF CON: The largest global hacker conference held annually in Las Vegas. Represents the upper bound on community-driven cybersecurity conferences and competes for the same speaker pool as Black Alps.
- Black Hat: Premier global information security conference series with corporate and government cybersecurity audiences. Competes with Black Alps for the same high-level CISOs and security professionals, especially for sponsorship dollars.
- RSA Conference: Largest global cybersecurity conference, with strong enterprise CISO attendance. Represents the dominant incumbent that Black Alps' corporate-focused programming and Corporate Events compete against for audience attention.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Black Alps social profiles
Digital presenceBlack Alps financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Black Alps leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Black Alps funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Black Alps M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Black Alps
What does Black Alps do?
Black Alps is a non-profit association that organizes twice-yearly cybersecurity events for the Swiss community. The annual November conference is a two-day program combining technical talks on threats and mitigations, networking sessions, an ethical-hacking Capture The Flag contest, a networking dinner, and a closing Black Dinner; the June Summer Event is a social barbecue for community building. It also runs specialized Corporate Events on themes such as medical device and rail cybersecurity, and maintains an online Talks Library of past presentations.
Is Black Alps a public or private company?
Black Alps is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Black Alps founded?
Black Alps was founded in 2017. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Black Alps based?
Black Alps is headquartered in Yverdon-les-bains, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does Black Alps make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Conference tickets are the primary driver. The others are networking Dinner, full Package and sponsorship.
Who are Black Alps's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are AREA41, Swiss Cyber Storm, DEFCON Switzerland (DC4131) and Insomni'hack. Regional players are Hack.lu, BruCON and GreHack. Broad incumbents are DEF CON, Black Hat and RSA Conference.
Does Black Alps have an API?
No public API is recorded for Black Alps.
What industry is Black Alps in?
Black Alps's product category is Cybersecurity Events & Conferences. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAHACAA, Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies), with a secondary code of MPAGAGAC, Corporate Conferences & Sales Kickoffs. Its NAICS code is 56192 and its SIC code is 7900.