Call for Trainers: DEF CON Training Singapore 2026
Event Description
Dates: April 26-27, 2026
Location: Marina Bay Sands
DEF CON has been one of the world’s leading cybersecurity communities for more than three decades, known for convening industry, government, and independent experts to exchange advanced knowledge and practical skills. Building on this tradition, DEF CON Training delivers intensive courses taught by recognized global instructors. DEF CON Training courses offer hands-on instruction in a challenging, fast-paced environment.
This April, DEF CON and Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX) will be co-organizing DEF CON SG with the Centre for Strategic Infocomm Technologies (CSIT) as our strategic partner. Training will take place April 26-27, 2026, with DEF CON SG following April 28-30.
Course Guidelines
All courses should be two days long, including about 16 hours of content. This timing should include any exams or capstone activities.
Based on the preferences of the host and needs of the region, this call for trainers will focus primarily on intermediate, advanced, and expert-level courses (see descriptions in #8: Difficulty Level in the Application section below).
The hosts for this event have identified several topics of particular interest. While submissions are not limited to these areas, trainings on these topics will receive preference for acceptance:
- Domains of interest:
- EDR/XDR evaluation
- IoT Security
- Malware techniques
- Quantum security
- Red teaming
- Reverse engineering and exploitation
- Security for AI
- Threat hunting
- EDR/XDR evaluation
- Within the domains above, seeking specific instruction related, but not limited to:
- EDR internals
- Hardware hacking
- Linux kernel exploitation
- Linux malware reverse engineering
- Red teaming on autonomous systems or communication systems
- Windows internals (with the option to customize topics)
- EDR internals
All submissions, including those from returning trainers, will be evaluated by the training review board through a competitive process. Accepted courses will be posted on the DEF CON Training website. DEF CON Training will provide promotion and administrative support. Gross revenue for each course will be split evenly (50% to each party) between DEF CON Training and the trainer(s), based on the price set together.
Strong applications will:
- Focus on the domains of interest listed above
- Provide intermediate, advanced, or expert-level difficulty
- Include novel approaches or unique topics, especially those that have not been offered at other recent DEF CON Training sessions or similar events
Courses may be reviewed on a rolling basis, so you are encouraged to apply early and to check training.defcon.org for course postings to ensure you do not submit a duplicate of an accepted course.
Submission Instructions
Please email your completed application or any questions to training@defcon.org.
We will acknowledge receipt of all materials with an email reply. If you do not receive an email reply within 48 hours of submission, please send a follow up to confirm your materials were received.
The submission deadline is November 10, 2025, at 11:59 PM Pacific Time. We expect to share the results with all applicants by December 2025.
NOTICE: Las Vegas Call for Trainers
The Call for Trainers (CFT) for Las Vegas 2026 will open soon. If you would like this application to be considered for both Singapore 2026 and Las Vegas 2026, please indicate that on the application below and in your email submission.
Application
Please complete all fields below. Incomplete applications may be deemed ineligible for review.
1. Name of Training:
Title as you would like it to appear on the DEF CON Training website.
2. Trainer(s):
Please list all trainers. If you are applying on behalf of a company and have not identified the trainer(s) yet, please list as “[Company Name] Trainers.” We encourage training teams (2 or more) to provide a backstop in case of personal emergencies.
Please provide email addresses for all trainers.
3. Cost (in US Dollars):
$[X,XXX]
Pricing should begin at $2,000 and increase in increments of $250 (for example, $2,250, $2,500, $2,750, $3,000, etc.).
4. Course Blurb:
1-2 sentence description of your course. If you only had 2 sentences, what would you want a student (or their employer) to know about what they will learn?
5. Full Course Description:
1-2 paragraph description of your course
6. Course Outline:
Detailed outline of course content. Where possible, please provide timing. It should be clear whether the amount of course content is aligned to a two-day course.
7. Topic Tags:
Please select up to three topic tags that you believe align to your course content. You may also suggest new tags by writing them in “Other” below. Please note that tags are intended to be useful for students searching for relevant courses, so we may not accept new tags if they are deemed to be too specific.
- AI Security - Using AI to Enhance Cybersecurity Practices
- Application Security
- Blue Team
- Cloud
- Cryptography
- DDOS
- Defensive Cyber
- EDR/XDR Evaluation
- Forensics
- Hardware Hacking
- Incident Response
- IoT
- Malware Techniques or Analysis
- Network/System Security
- Offensive Cyber
- Pentesting
- Quantum Security
- Red Team
- Reverse Engineering
- Security for AI - Attacking and Defending AI Models or Systems
- Threat Hunting
- Threat Intelligence
- Vulnerability Assessment
- Other: (please list)
8. Difficulty Level:
Please select the appropriate level, using the descriptions below to guide your choice.
Details of specific skills needed can be provided in the next section (Suggested Prerequisites).
Beginner - The student has an interest in the topic presented and general technology knowledge that a power user or undergraduate student may have acquired.
Intermediate - The student has education and some experience in the field and familiarity with the topic being presented. The student has foundational knowledge that the course will leverage to provide practical skills on the topic.
Advanced - The student is expected to have significant practical experience with the tools and technologies that the training will focus on.
Expert or Specialized - The student has a solid understanding of the topic at hand, usually with knowledge of relevant standards, tactics, tools, and years of relevant hands-on experience. Students should expect to use these skills with agility to solve problems in novel ways.
9. Suggested Prerequisites:
Please describe any specific skills or knowledge students will need to excel in the course.
For example, if the class involves scripting, this would be the area where you would add the language being used and the expected knowledge level in that language. If the class is a tools-heavy, advanced class that covers penetration testing, list the primary tools being used.
This section is essential for helping students choose courses that align to their skill level, improving the experience for the student and instructor. Please be as specific as
possible.
If you will require pre-work, such as reading or activities prior to the course, please include that here as well.
10. What Students Should Bring:
Description of required equipment, including any system specifications.
11. What the Trainer Will Provide:
Description of any equipment or materials you will provide to students.
In the past, some trainers have offered students the option to borrow or keep their equipment. We can support a pricing add-on for students to purchase equipment from the instructor, if desired.
12. Trainer(s) Bio:
Please provide a 1-2 paragraph biography for each trainer. We recommend that you focus on your professional qualifications and experience that demonstrate your expertise in the training topic.
13. Will you provide an option for a certificate of proficiency exam add-on (+$300)?
Trainers have the option to offer a $300 proficiency exam add-on. The structure of the proficiency exam is flexible, but it should include a clearly-defined evaluation of the student’s knowledge of the course material. There should be a distinct benefit offered to students who choose this option, such as an extra activity or the opportunity for additional feedback from the instructor. If all students participate in the evaluation activity, then only students who purchase the add-on should have their work graded and be given feedback on their performance.
If you will provide a proficiency exam add-on, please provide a brief (2-4 sentence) description to include on the course website. Please include details about the threshold to pass (for example, a score of at least 70% on an exam, collect at least X number of points through a CTF, etc.).
14. Trainer or course image(s):
Please provide a picture of each trainer and/or images or logos that can be used on the course page. You may also provide these as separate attachments to your submission.
15. Previous training experience or speaking engagements:
Please list prior instances of delivering this training or others, as well as major speaking engagements.
16. Course Content Updates:
If you have delivered this training before (at DEF CON Trainings or with another event), please describe any updates or changes you have made to provide fresh content or unique experiences for this event.
17. Links to social media and online publications:
Please provide links to any personal and professional social media, websites, or blogs. Please note that these will be used as part of your application review but will not be included on the course page.
18. Links to past presentations:
Where applicable, please provide links to recordings of past presentations or talks, or other examples that demonstrate your delivery style and/or subject matter expertise.
19. Do you have any connections to the region that can support the promotion of your course to local customers? Note: Connections to the area are by no means required for your course to be accepted.
20. Course Minimum:
What is the minimum number of students you will require to run your course?
21. Course Maximum:
What is the maximum number of students you can accommodate in your course?
22. Las Vegas CFT:
Would you like this training to be considered as part of the CFT for Las Vegas 2025?
23. Additional Information:
Please use this space to provide any additional comments or considerations you wish to share with the training review board.