Disobey

What Disobey does

Disobey (legally Disobey Ry) is a Finnish nonprofit association that has organized an annual cybersecurity and hacker culture conference in Helsinki since 2015. The two-day event is held each February at the Kaapelitehdas venue and targets security researchers, hackers, makers, and information-security professionals. Programming centers on technical talks, hands-on workshops, capture-the-flag competitions, hardware badge hacking, and a community village that hosts partner communities such as Women4Cyber, Lockpicking Village, and Hacklab. Disobey serves both individual enthusiasts and corporate attendees, with a recurring annual format that emphasizes community continuity over single-event monetization.

The organization's technical surface is intentionally narrow: a custom electronic conference badge designed to be hacked, CTF infrastructure, and a web ticketing stack built on Holvi payments, UpCloud hosting, and Techaro's Anubis anti-bot protection. Business model is event-driven: standard individual tickets priced at €49, corporate tickets at €350, optional electronic badge add-on, and corporate sponsorship underwriting event production. As a registered Finnish nonprofit association (yhdistys), Disobey Ry does not raise venture capital and operates without equity-financing growth pressure. Operational headcount is small at approximately seven people, consistent with the lean staffing profile typical of community-organized conferences. Revenue is intrinsically capped by venue capacity at Kaapelitehdas, which makes the 2024 sell-out a meaningful demand-side signal but also a constraint on growth without venue expansion or geographic extension.

Name

Disobey

Legal name

Disobey Ry

Website

https://disobey.fi

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Disobey is a Finnish nonprofit association running an annual cybersecurity and hacker culture conference in Helsinki since 2015, serving security researchers, makers, and corporate attendees through technical talks, CTFs, badge hacking, and a community village at the Kaapelitehdas venue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cybersecurity Conferences / Events

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Cybersecurity Training & Awareness Programs (BPAEANAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cybersecurity (Digital Safety, Ethical Hacking Basics) (EDAMACAH), Incident Reporting, Response & Cyber Hygiene Drills (EDABAGAI)

Keywords

• Cybersecurity conference
• Capture the flag
• Hardware badges
• Security workshops
• Hacker community

Headquarters

HQ city

Helsinki

HQ country

Finland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Standard Ticket Sales: Individual tickets granting two-day entrance to the annual event. Sold via raffle system at 49€ per ticket.
2. Corporate Tickets: Premium tickets aimed at corporations and organizations to support the event while receiving two-day entrance. Priced at 350€ per ticket.
3. Electronic Badge Add-on: Optional add-on purchase for electronic badge used for badge challenge and games at the event.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Disobey organizes an annual cybersecurity conference held in Helsinki, Finland since 2015, featuring keynote speakers, hands-on workshops, Capture The Flag (CTF) competitions, hardware badge hacking challenges, and a community village. The event is operated by the nonprofit Disobey Ry and is sold primarily through individual tickets with optional corporate tickets and electronic badge add-ons.

Product overview

Disobey is a cybersecurity conference organized annually in Helsinki, Finland since 2015. The event features multiple ticket tiers (standard at 49€ and corporate at 350€), optional electronic badge add-ons with built-in challenges, Capture The Flag (CTF) competitions, Hacker Puzzle challenges, and a Community Village with interactive workshops and activities from various cybersecurity communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Disobey Conference Ticket Entry ticket to the annual Disobey cybersecurity conference in Helsinki, available in standard (49€) and corporate (350€) tiers for individuals and corporate attendees, respectively.
• Electronic Badge Custom electronic badge hardware sold as an add-on to conferente tickets. It functions as both a wearable credential and a hardware hacking challenge, intended for conference attendees interested in embedded hardware security.

Quantifiable outcome

• 13 consecutive years of organizing hacker culture events despite COVID cancellations

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UpCloud OycoreTechnology or IntegrationCloud infrastructure provider powering Disobey's digital presence. Business ID 2431560-5.
• Holvi OycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTicketing and payment processing service for ticket sales. Business ID 2193756-4.
• Robot Uprising ryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVolunteer-led robotics community organizing RoboTeaHouse activity in Community Village.
• TurkuSec RyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMother of CitySecs. Nonprofit of security professionals organizing AI hacking challenges and Security Impress Karaoke at Community Village.
• HelSec RyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHelsinki-based cybersecurity community founded in 2018. Organizing Black Market Souvenirs and Cyber Range activities.
• Women4Cyber FinlandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit advancing women's careers in cybersecurity. Hosting brain training games and temporary tattoos at booth.
• Lockpicking VillageminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional lockpickers teaching physical security and lockpicking techniques.
• Hacklab.fiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOpen community providing electronics workbenches, 3D printing, and badge hacking tools at Community Village.
• KuoSec ryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKuopio-based infosec community organizing Cyber Viking Battleship and Cyberstuff activities.
• H-T8 Hacking ClubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudent-driven hacking club organizing CTF challenges with prizes including professional gear.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• DEF CON: The world's largest annual hacker and cybersecurity conference, featuring CTFs, badge hacking, workshops, and hacker culture. Directly comparable to Disobey as a community-driven cybersecurity event with similar hands-on programming, though at significantly larger scale.
• Security BSides: Community-driven cybersecurity conference series held in cities worldwide, organized by local volunteers. Directly comparable to Disobey in its community-driven, volunteer-led model and grassroots hacker culture ethos, with similar emphasis on smaller, intimate events.
• TROOPERS: European cybersecurity conference held in Heidelberg, Germany, featuring technical talks and hands-on training. Comparable to Disobey as a regional cybersecurity event with similar technical focus on offensive security topics, though larger in international footprint.
• Chaos Communication Congress (CCC): Annual European hacker conference organized by the Chaos Computer Club, featuring workshops, talks, and hacker culture content. Directly comparable to Disobey as a community-organized hacker/security conference with a European footprint and similar technical programming.
• Hack.lu: Annual cybersecurity conference held in Luxembourg organized by the HackerSpace Luxembourg community. Comparable to Disobey as a community-organized European hacker/security conference with similar focus on technical content and hacker culture.

Emerging players

• OWASP Global AppSec: Application security conferences organized globally by the OWASP Foundation, focusing on web and software security. Comparable to Disobey as a community-organized security conference, but specialized in application security rather than broad hacker culture.
• The Circle Conference: Emerging Nordic/European cybersecurity events targeting information security professionals. Comparable to Disobey as a regional cybersecurity event, though typically more commercially organized than Disobey's grassroots community model.

Broad incumbents

• RSA Conference: Largest commercial cybersecurity conference in the world, featuring keynotes, training, and a massive expo. Comparable as a major cybersecurity conference serving security professionals, but operates at much larger commercial scale than Disobey's community-focused event.
• Black Hat: Premier information security event series featuring technical briefings, training, and an industry expo. Comparable as a cybersecurity conference serving security professionals, but operates as a larger commercial incumbent with broader industry focus than Disobey's community-driven hacker culture.

Regional players

• NorthSec: Annual cybersecurity conference held in Montreal, Canada, featuring CTF competitions and applied security training. Comparable to Disobey in its applied security focus and CTF competition format, but serves a North American audience rather than Nordic.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Disobey_fi
• Facebookfacebook.com/disobeyfi
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/disobey-fi
• Instagraminstagram.com/disobey_fi

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Disobey