CyCon 2023 – Trip Report: Neil Ashdown

 At the end of May 2023, a group from the Royal Holloway CDT attended the 2023 edition of CyCon in the Estonian capital, Tallinn. CyCon – the International Conference on Cyber Conflict – is organized by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE), which is based in Estonia. The Royal Holloway CDT has a strong tradition of attending CyCon and of working with the CCDCOE. Some of this year’s group also attended in 2022 – you can find a write-up of that trip here: 

The theme of the conference was ‘Meeting Reality’ – a phrase that perhaps reflected the continuing impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The talks covered a wide range of policy, legal, and technical aspects of cyber conflict. A highlight for us was attending the talk given by Royal Holloway’s own Andrew Dwyer on the evolution of the UK’s concept of cyber power. In between talks, CyCon served up an insight into the intersection of the academic, military, and government circles. Technical specialists from industry brush shoulders with Italian Rear Admirals. You can discuss cyber deterrence and yard sales over lunch with Martin Libicki and then share a coffee with Microsoft’s head of intelligence fusion. It is a fascinating environment.

The Royal Holloway contingent once again took part in the day of workshops and informal events that precedes the official start of the conference. This year’s workshops included opportunities to design educational games about cybersecurity or to participate in a crisis simulation aimed at understanding how different government agencies work together to respond to a cyber incident. Other members of the contingent attended briefings from senior policy and industry figures on emerging threats and key trends.

As always, there was a strong social element to the CyCon experience. The proliferation of suits and military uniforms could lead a first-time attendee to expect a relatively staid experience. In contrast, some of the most important networking occurs around the social events organized by the hosts or – later in the evening – in the bars and restaurants of Tallinn. The conference itself was not classified, but certain events that took place in an Irish karaoke bar just outside the walls of the old city of Tallinn must remain forever secret.

A perennial highlight of CyCon is the dinner organized for the attendees. Last year’s event looked forward to a cyberpunk future of virtual reality shootouts and hypersonic glide vehicles. In 2023, we went back to the future for an old school James Bond vibe – the venue was a converted seaplane hangar, with the star attraction being a former Soviet submarine hanging in mid-air. The jazz saxophonist playing on the boat’s prow as we arrived added a haunting, surrealist touch.

The academic field of cyber conflict study is less well-established than some of the subjects that CDT students work on. The conference circuit is similarly smaller and is not formalized around one or two ‘top-tier’ academic conferences. In this context, CyCon has become an important opportunity for CDT students working on projects that touch on international politics and security. For some students it may be their first encounter with military and intelligence personnel in a professional context. Along with the high quality of the presentations, this makes CyCon a valuable conference to attend.

Following on from the theme of ‘Meeting Reality’, the theme for CyCon 2024 will be ‘Over the Horizon’. It will be interesting to see how the organizers manage to top the combination of submarines and smooth jazz, but we are sure they will find a way.



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