Kochi will host the 19th edition of c0c0n 2026 from October 6 to 13, with Kerala Police expecting more than 3,000 participants, over 200 speakers and delegates from more than 20 countries for one of India’s longest-running cybersecurity conferences.
Kerala Police chief Ravada A Chandrasekhar announced the programme on Tuesday, saying the eight-day event would bring together cybersecurity experts, law enforcement agencies, industry leaders, researchers, technology professionals, academicians and students from India and abroad. The conference will be held at the Grand Hyatt at Bolgatty in Kochi.
The theme for this year’s conference is “Empowering Cyber Resilience: Strategy, DeepTech, and Global Enforcement”. According to Chandrasekhar, the programme will focus on the changing cybersecurity environment and the need to build stronger and more resilient digital ecosystems.
The conference will be organised in three phases. Pre-conference technical training sessions will take place from October 6 to 8, followed by the main conference on October 9 and 10. Post-conference technical training programmes are scheduled from October 11 to 13.
The programme is expected to include more than 20 technical training sessions, keynote addresses, master classes, round-table discussions, networking sessions, Capture the Flag competitions, cybersecurity villages and live bug bounty activities. An exhibition area spread across more than 25,000 square feet will allow technology companies and cybersecurity organisations to display their solutions and engage with participants.
The conference tracks will cover artificial intelligence, child sexual exploitation and abuse, financial-sector cybersecurity, industrial and operational technology security, hardware security, cybercrime investigation, digital forensics and other emerging challenges. The dedicated child-safety track will bring together law enforcement agencies, researchers, technology experts, policymakers and child-safety professionals to discuss threats affecting children in digital spaces.
Chandrasekhar said the event would also focus on improving the capabilities of law enforcement agencies as cybercrime becomes more sophisticated and transnational. Specialised programmes, including LEA CTF 2.0, will give police personnel opportunities to develop and test practical skills in cybercrime investigation, digital forensics and cybersecurity.
A post-conference training session titled “The Dark Web: Beyond the Anonymity” will be conducted for Kerala Police. The state police chief said the session was linked to Operation Toofan, a Kerala Police initiative, and would help investigators understand criminal activity on anonymised networks, related digital traces and cryptocurrency ecosystems.
The event will also feature an LEA Call for Papers, inviting police personnel, investigators, cybersecurity professionals and technology experts to submit ideas, investigative methods, problem-solving approaches and practical tools that could strengthen cybercrime investigations. The conference is scheduled to begin with the first phase of technical training in Kochi on October 6.
