Hacks In Taiwan Conference (HITCON)

What Hacks In Taiwan Conference (HITCON) does

HITCON (Hacks In Taiwan Conference) is a Taiwan-based non-profit organization founded in 2005 by the CHROOT Security Group that operates one of the country's longest-running and most established cybersecurity conference series. Organized under the Association of Hackers In Taiwan (HIT, 社團法人台灣駭客協會), the organization runs a portfolio of annual event tracks targeting distinct audience segments: HITCON CMT for security researchers and the hacker community, HITCON Enterprise for corporate security teams, the invitation-only HITCON CISO Summit for senior security decision-makers, HITCON Cyber Range for blue-team defensive competition, HITCON CTF for offensive security competition, HITCON HackDoor for IoT security education, HITCON ZeroDay for vulnerability reporting, and combined formats including HITCON Carnival and HITCON PEACE. The organization operates with approximately 23 employees from Taipei and has grown the CISO Summit from 120 attendees (2023) to 200 attendees across 12 countries (2025).

HITCON does not develop proprietary software products; its core capabilities center on conference curation, original cybersecurity scenario design (such as Cyber Range scenarios modeled on MITRE ATT&CK APT41 attack patterns), and community coordination across offensive (CTF) and defensive (Cyber Range) competition formats. Programming covers AI security, supply chain security, OT/ICS security, critical infrastructure protection, and incident response, with the 2025 theme 'Perimeter Security is Dead, Long Live Resilience.' The organization maintains a deep speaker network drawing CISOs and security leaders from TSMC, NEC, Cisco, Google Cloud, Microsoft, CrowdStrike, Booz Allen Hamilton, Binance, Mercari, Mercedes-Benz, Rakuten, and government agencies including CISA.

HITCON's revenue model relies on three primary streams: individual ticket sales for public conferences handled through the KKTIX platform, corporate sponsorship packages at tiered levels (Diamond, Gold, Silver, Special), and premium invitation-only CISO Summit sponsorship packages targeting cybersecurity vendors seeking access to senior decision-makers. Ticket prices have remained accessible (historical 2010 pricing of NT$2,400-2,700 general admission and NT$1,200-1,500 for students). The organization has institutionalized public-private partnerships, with the Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) Administration for Digital Industries and Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) serving as advisors and co-organizers, alongside government research partners NICS and III. The organization is governed by a board led by Chairman Allen Own (CEO of DEVCORE) and CISO Summit Convener Mars Cheng.

Name

Hacks In Taiwan Conference (HITCON)

Legal name

社團法人台灣駭客協會 (Association of Hackers In Taiwan, HIT)

Website

https://hitcon.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

HITCON is a Taiwan-based non-profit founded in 2005 that operates an annual cybersecurity conference series. It serves security researchers, enterprise CISOs, government officials, and the hacker community through conferences, CTF competitions, blue-team exercises, and an invitation-only CISO Summit.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Taipei

HQ country

Taiwan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Conference Ticket Sales: HITCON generates revenue through ticket sales for its annual conferences (HITCON CMT, HITCON Enterprise, HITCON Carnival), training sessions, and workshops. Ticket types include early-bird, regular, and student pricing. Historical pricing from 2010 ranged from NT$2,400-2,700 for general admission and NT$1,200-1,500 for students.
2. Corporate Sponsorship: HITCON receives financial and in-kind sponsorship from cybersecurity companies, enterprise technology vendors, government bodies, and industry associations. Sponsors are offered various tiers (e.g., Diamond, Gold, Silver) with branding and networking benefits at events. Sponsors include major firms such as TXOne Networks, Deloitte, CrowdStrike, DEVCORE, Panasonic, Google Cloud, Microsoft, TSMC, and others across annual events.
3. CISO Summit Invitation-Only Corporate Participation: The CISO Summit operates as an invitation-only executive forum. While the core summit is by invitation, sponsorship packages are offered to enterprises seeking to participate and connect with senior cybersecurity decision-makers from Taiwan, APAC, and globally. This is a premium GTM channel for cybersecurity vendors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

HITCON organizes annual cybersecurity conferences and competitions in Taiwan, including the main HITCON conference, the invitation-only HITCON CISO Summit for executive security leaders, HITCON CTF (Capture the Flag) offensive security competitions, HITCON Cyber Range blue-team defensive competitions, HITCON Enterprise and Community tracks, HITCON HackDoor escape-room challenges, and the HITCON ZeroDay vulnerability reporting platform. The events serve security researchers, enterprise defenders, CISOs, and government stakeholders through in-person events held in Taipei.

Product overview

HITCON is Taiwan's premier annual cybersecurity conference organized by the Association of Hackers In Taiwan (HIT). The organization offers a portfolio of cybersecurity events including the main HITCON conference, the CISO Summit (executive-level forum for security decision-makers), CTF competitions (offensive hacking contests), Cyber Range events (blue team defensive competitions), Enterprise and Community conference tracks, Defense attack-defense competitions, Hackdoor escape room experiences, and the ZeroDay vulnerability reporting platform. Since 2005, HITCON has been dedicated to promoting information security awareness, fostering technical talent, and providing a platform for knowledge exchange between hackers, enterprises, and government agencies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HITCON Cyber Range: Blue team cybersecurity competition focused on incident response and threat detection, simulating enterprise cyber attack scenarios.
• HITCON CISO Summit
• HITCON HackDoor
• HITCON ZeroDay

Products and services

• HITCON Annual Conference
• HITCON CISO Summit
• HITCON CTF (Capture The Flag)
• HITCON Cyber Range
• HITCON Enterprise
• HITCON Community (CMT)
• HITCON Defense
• HITCON HackDoor
• HITCON ZeroDay

Quantifiable outcome

• HITCON CISO Summit 2025 brought together 200 attendees from 12 countries participating in 15 roundtable topics covering AI, supply chain security, public-private collaboration, semiconductor security, smart manufacturing, cybersecurity policy, CISO management, finance, critical infrastructure, and risk management.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

24 partnerships are on record, tiered major, standard and core.

• CIO TaiwanmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025CIO Taiwan serves as a co-host of HITCON CISO Summit 2026. As Taiwan's leading CIO media and community platform, CIO Taiwan contributes industry connections and promotes the summit to enterprise technology and security leaders.
• CoreCloud Technology (中芯數據)majorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025CoreCloud Technology is a 尊榮/VIP-level sponsor of HITCON CISO Summit 2025 and 2026. The company provides enterprise cloud security solutions and uses HITCON as a platform to reach senior cybersecurity decision-makers.
• TXOne NetworksmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025TXOne Networks is a 天龍-level sponsor of HITCON CISO Summit 2025 and a long-time supporter of HITCON events including Cyber Range. TXOne provides OT/ICS security solutions and has CEO 劉榮太 participating as a CISO Summit attendee.
• CyCraft Technology (奧義智慧科技)majorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025CyCraft is a 鑽石/Diamond-level sponsor of HITCON CISO Summit 2025 and 2026, providing AI-driven external attack surface research. Co-founder 叢培侃 serves as a standing supervisor of the HIT Association.
• Chunghwa Telecom Security (中華資安國際)majorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025A Gold-level sponsor of HITCON CISO Summit 2025. Chunghwa Telecom Security is a major managed security services provider in Taiwan.
• Google CloudmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Google Cloud is a 天龍-level sponsor of HITCON CISO Summit 2025 and 2026. Google Cloud representatives including customers solution security architects participated as speakers and attendees.
• DEVCORE (戴夫寇爾)majorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025A 鑽石/Diamond-level sponsor of HITCON CISO Summit 2025 and 2024. DEVCORE is a leading Taiwan-based offensive security company (penetration testing, red team). CEO 翁浩正 (Allen Own) is the Chairman of the HIT Association.
• Deloitte Taiwan (勤業眾信)majorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025A 鑽石/Diamond-level sponsor of HITCON CISO Summit 2025 and 2024, and a Diamond-level sponsor of HITCON Enterprise 2024. Deloitte provides cybersecurity consulting services and uses HITCON to reach enterprise security leaders.
• Panasonic (松下電器)majorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025A Gold-level sponsor of HITCON CISO Summit 2025 and long-term supporter of HITCON. Panasonic's Product Security Center has been actively involved in HITCON through speaking engagements and technical contributions to OT security discussions.
• JamfstandardGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025A 鑽石/Diamond-level sponsor of HITCON CISO Summit 2025. Jamf provides Apple device management and security solutions for enterprise environments.
• ZeroOne (智戎科技)standardGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025A 天龍-level sponsor of HITCON CISO Summit 2025, providing enterprise security solutions.
• AIShieldstandardGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025A Gold-level sponsor of HITCON CISO Summit 2025, focused on AI security solutions.
• Booz Allen HamiltonmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025A Gold-level sponsor of HITCON CISO Summit 2025. Booz Allen Hamilton provides cybersecurity consulting to government and enterprise clients globally. VP Garrettson Blight and Cyber Strategist Emil Tan participated as speakers.
• Taiwan Mobile Solutions (中華電信智慧應用)standardGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025A Gold-level sponsor of HITCON CISO Summit 2025.
• Cisco TaiwanmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025A special cooperation partner of HITCON CISO Summit 2025. Cisco provides enterprise networking and security solutions. VP Harvey Jang spoke at the summit on privacy governance.
• Rakuten (樂天集團)majorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025A Gold-level sponsor of HITCON CISO Summit 2026 and long-term supporter of HITCON. Rakuten's Group CISO Yoshinari Fukumoto and Rakuten Payment CISO Advisor participated as speakers. Rakuten has been a featured speaker at multiple HITCON Enterprise events.
• CrowdStrikemajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025A Diamond-level sponsor of HITCON Enterprise 2024. CrowdStrike provides endpoint security and threat intelligence services.
• TRAPA SecuritymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025An organizing partner for HITCON Cyber Range x CTF 2025 and long-standing community partner. TRAPA Security (CEO 趙正宇, HIT Association Advisor) provides technical support for blue-team exercises and competition design.
• National Institute of Cyber Security (NICS, 國家資通安全研究院)coreOthers · 1 January 2025NICS serves as a talent promotion partner for HITCON Cyber Range x CTF 2025 and its leadership (including President 林盈達) actively participates in CISO Summit as attendees and speakers. NICS represents Taiwan's national cybersecurity research and coordination body.
• Institute for Information Industry (III, 財團法人資訊工業策進會)majorOthers · 1 January 2025A talent promotion partner for HITCON Cyber Range x CTF 2025. III provides cybersecurity research and talent development programs. CEO 范俊逸 and Vice President 洪光鈞 participate in CISO Summit.
• Chunghwa Telecom (中華電信)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Chunghwa Telecom partnered with HITCON on HackDoor since 2019, combining telecom infrastructure with cybersecurity education through IoT security escape room challenges.
• CHROOT Security GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025CHROOT is the original founding community behind HITCON, having organized the first HITCON in 2005. It continues as a co-organizer and technical community partner, with deep ties to Taiwan's hacker ecosystem.
• Ministry of Digital Affairs, Digital Industries署 (數位發展部數位產業署)coreOthers · 1 January 2023The Administration for Digital Industries under the Ministry of Digital Affairs serves as an advisor and guidance unit for HITCON CISO Summit. The ministry supports HITCON as part of Taiwan's national cybersecurity talent cultivation and industry development strategy. MODA officials, including Minister Audrey Tang in 2023 and current Minister Lin Yijing, have participated as keynote speakers.
• Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 財團法人工業技術研究院)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023ITRI serves as a co-organizer of HITCON CISO Summit and supports the broader HITCON event ecosystem. The institute provides technical expertise, particularly in industrial cybersecurity and OT security areas, and facilitates industry-academia collaboration through the partnership.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• DEF CON: One of the world's largest and longest-running hacker conferences, founded in 1993. Comparable to HITCON for its community-driven, hacker-culture focus, technical CTF and workshops, and reputation as a non-commercial research platform.
• RSA Conference: The largest cybersecurity conference globally, with a strong CISO and enterprise track. Comparable to HITCON's CISO Summit and Enterprise track in audience and sponsorship model, though vendor-driven rather than hacker-curated.
• Virus Bulletin: A long-running international conference and research publication focused on malware, threat research, and security analysis. Comparable to HITCON in its technical research focus and in bridging researchers with enterprise security practitioners.
• Security BSides: A global network of community-organized, grassroots security events. Comparable to HITCON CMT in spirit and community-building model, with a similarly non-commercial, volunteer-led format but distributed across many local chapters.
• Black Hat: Global cybersecurity conference series owned by Informa, with annual events in the US, Europe, and Asia. Directly comparable to HITCON as a multi-format cybersecurity event brand serving researchers, enterprises, and executives, though at significantly larger scale.

Emerging players

• TROOPERS: Heidelberg-based conference for IT security professionals, with a strong focus on advanced and offensive security. Comparable to HITCON in technical depth and high-quality speaker curation, but smaller in scale and EU-focused.
• Nullcon: India-based security conference with a strong hacker and research focus. Comparable to HITCON in technical depth and community ethos, but with a different geographic base and slightly different enterprise mix.
• CODE BLUE: Japan-based technical security conference with an offensive and defensive research focus. Comparable to HITCON in technical depth and APAC reach, particularly given shared participation of Japanese speakers at HITCON CISO Summit.

Regional players

• Singapore International Cyber Week (SICW): Government-led annual cybersecurity event hosted by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore. Comparable to HITCON's CISO Summit in targeting senior policy makers and CISOs in APAC, but with a more government-driven, policy-heavy format.
• SINCON: Singapore-based cybersecurity conference organized by HITCON alumni and Singapore's security community. Directly comparable to HITCON in community DNA, event format, and APAC regional focus, making it both a peer and a potential regional extension.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HacksInTaiwan
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@HacksInTaiwan
• Facebookfacebook.com/HITCON
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hacks-in-taiwan-conference
• Instagraminstagram.com/hacksintaiwan

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Hacks In Taiwan Conference (HITCON)