EC-Council Expands Opportunities for Women to Shape the Next Era of Cybersecurity and AI at Hacker Halted 2026

EC-Council extends complimentary Hacker Halted 2026 admission for women in cybersecurity, recognizing their growing role in shaping cyber defense.

ATLANTA, GA, UNITED STATES, September 10, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- EC-Council, creator of the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) credential and a global leader advancing Cybersecurity and Responsible AI through its Adopt. Defend. Govern. (ADG) Framework, today announced complimentary admission for women in cybersecurity to Hacker Halted 2026

Hacker Halted is EC-Council’s premier annual cybersecurity conference, bringing together practitioners, researchers, executives and technology leaders around the latest developments in offensive and defensive security.

Taking place October 8 - 9 at The Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta, the complimentary admission initiative gives more women the opportunity to participate directly in this technical environment and engage with the ideas, practitioners and emerging security challenges shaping the profession.

Women cybersecurity professionals may claim complimentary conference admission by registering here: Hacker Halted 2026 and entering discount code WC26.

The offer applies to conference admission; separate fees and eligibility requirements may apply to pre-conference training and other optional programs.

Hacker Halted 2026 will feature:

- 20+ presentations, panel discussions and breakout sessions addressing critical and emerging cybersecurity issues

- Two days of practitioner networking and direct exchange across the cybersecurity community

- Technical perspectives spanning offensive security, threat intelligence, application security, AI and LLM security, security architecture, incident response and enterprise cyber risk

- Cybersecurity professionals and researchers from organizations including Citi, Amazon, Microsoft and Coupa Software

- Hands-on and practitioner-led discussions focused on the realities of defending increasingly complex digital environments

Building on Hacker Halted 2025, themed “Order from Chaos,” which focused on bringing greater clarity and structure to an increasingly complex and unpredictable threat environment, the 2026 edition “Cyber Carnival: Where Illusion Meets Intrusion” advances the conversation from navigating chaos to seeing through deception. 

The theme places greater focus on the judgment, curiosity and critical thinking required as AI and other technologies make digital interactions increasingly sophisticated.

“Cybersecurity is entering an era where trust, judgment, and clarity will be just as important as detection,” said Jay Bavisi, Founder & Group President, EC-Council. “That is exactly what this year’s Hacker Halted theme, ‘Cyber Carnival: Where Illusion Meets Intrusion,’ is designed to explore. As AI and emerging technologies reshape how threats appear and evolve, the conference creates an important space for practitioners to exchange ideas, sharpen their thinking, and learn from one another. We also want more women in cybersecurity to be part of those technical conversations and help shape how the industry responds.”

Qualified director-level and above information security executives may also request approval to attend EC-Council’s Global CISO Forum 2026*.

EC-Council Global CISO Forum is an invite-only, closed-door gathering for C-suite and senior information security leaders from across industries and geographies. Designed for candid, peer-to-peer exchange, the forum brings together director-level and above security executives, CCISO professionals, and invited practitioners to discuss the most pressing challenges in cybersecurity.

*Registration for EC-Council’s Global CISO Forum remains subject to eligibility and approval.

About EC-Council

Founded in 2001, EC-Council is a global cybersecurity and AI organization focused on building the skills, capabilities and systems required for a more secure digital future.

EC-Council created the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) program and has certified more than 400,000 professionals across 174 countries. Its programs and credentials are used across government, defense, enterprise and academia worldwide.

As an ISO/IEC 17024 accredited certification body, EC-Council’s credentials are recognized by the U.S. Department of Defense under DoD Directive 8140 and are held by professionals across the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and leading global organizations.

As cybersecurity and AI converge, EC-Council is advancing Responsible AI through its proprietary Adopt. Defend. Govern. (ADG) Framework, bringing together people, process and technology to help organizations adopt AI responsibly, defend digital environments and govern emerging technologies with greater accountability.

The EC-Council ecosystem includes EC-Council, EC-Council University (ECCU), CodeRed, EC-Council Global Services (EGS), EC-Council Academia, and Aware.

About Hacker Halted

Hacker Halted is EC-Council’s annual cybersecurity conference bringing together practitioners, researchers, executives, and technology leaders to examine the evolving realities of offensive and defensive security.

The conference combines technical presentations, panel discussions, breakout sessions, hands-on experiences, and practitioner exchange across areas including threat intelligence, application security, AI and LLM security, incident response, security architecture, and enterprise cyber risk.

Each year, Hacker Halted is built around a theme that reflects the changing threat landscape and the challenges facing modern defenders. The 2026 edition, “Cyber Carnival: Where Illusion Meets Intrusion,” explores how deception, manipulation, AI, and emerging technologies are reshaping how cyber threats are created, detected, and defended against.

For more information, visit hackerhalted.com

About EC-Council's Global CISO Forum

EC-Council Global CISO Forum is an invite-only, closed-door event gathering the highest level executives from across industries and countries to discuss the most pressing issues in information security.

Invite-only and closed-door: attendance is limited to CCISO certification holders, CCISO students, EC-Council-invited security practitioners, and director-level or above information security executives, and marketers or business development professionals aren’t permitted to attend.

Purpose: it’s designed as a strategic venue for peer-to-peer exchange and deep dialogue among the world’s C-suite and senior security leaders on the most pressing challenges in cybersecurity. The closed-door nature exists specifically to create an atmosphere of trust and confidentiality that enables open exchange of lessons learned, failures, and forward-looking strategies.

Format: closed-door sessions, interactive discussions, and curated roundtables.

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