JALANDHAR_
[YEAR TO CONFIRM][ARCHIVE PHOTO TO COME]
- VENUE_
- [VENUE TO CONFIRM]
- STORY_
- [STORY BEING REBUILT]
ABOUT_
IT STARTED WITH
A COMMUNITY_
HATCon did not begin as a conference.
Around 2012, a group of young cybersecurity enthusiasts — many of them just out of college — connected online through a community called Hindustan Cyber Force.
They were researchers, hackers, cybersecurity practitioners and curious minds learning from one another.
01THE ORIGIN
BEFORE HATCON,
THERE WAS HINDUSTAN
CYBER FORCE_
A group of young people interested in cybersecurity connected online. The community grew organically.
Researchers connected with researchers. Hackers exchanged knowledge. Cybersecurity practitioners joined conversations. Some brands and organisations started showing interest.
Eventually, online relationships started turning into physical gatherings.
ONLINE GROUP_
Hindustan Cyber Force
COMMUNITY_
It grew organically
RESEARCHERS + HACKERS_
Peer to peer
KNOWLEDGE SHARING_
Research, demos, questions
REAL-WORLD GATHERINGS_
Online moved offline
HATCON_
That became HATCon
02WHAT WAS HATCON?
NOT A MEETUP.
NOT QUITE A CONFERENCE.
A bunch of researchers meeting to share what they knew. The early gatherings were not built around a traditional conference model. People came together to share research, demonstrate ideas, talk about cybersecurity and learn from one another.
An audience naturally formed around those conversations.
THAT BECAME HATCON_
032012 — 2013
FROM AN ONLINE COMMUNITY
TO CAMPUSES ACROSS INDIA_
JHANSI_
[YEAR TO CONFIRM][ARCHIVE PHOTO TO COME]
- VENUE_
- [VENUE TO CONFIRM]
- STORY_
- [STORY BEING REBUILT]
KANPUR_
[YEAR TO CONFIRM][ARCHIVE PHOTO TO COME]
- VENUE_
- [VENUE TO CONFIRM]
- STORY_
- [STORY BEING REBUILT]
NASHIK_
[YEAR TO CONFIRM][ARCHIVE PHOTO TO COME]
- VENUE_
- [VENUE TO CONFIRM]
- STORY_
- [STORY BEING REBUILT]
THE ARCHIVE IS BEING REBUILT_
We are reconnecting with the people who were there and rebuilding the HATCon archive — one photograph, story and memory at a time.
04YOUNG. CURIOUS. BUILDING.
WE WERE FIGURING IT OUT
AS WE WENT.
The people organising HATCon were themselves very young. Many were just beginning their careers.
There was no grand institutional plan.
There was curiosity, research, cybersecurity, knowledge sharing — and the desire to meet people who cared about the same things.
CURIOSITY_
RESEARCH_
CYBERSECURITY_
KNOWLEDGE_
COMMUNITY_
05HCF INFOSEC
THE COMMUNITY
STARTED TAKING SHAPE_
The Hindustan Cyber Force community eventually evolved into a formal organisation. In 2012, HCF Infosec Private Limited was incorporated.
Around this ecosystem, HATCon became a platform for gatherings, knowledge sharing and relationship building across the cybersecurity community.
MILESTONE_
2012
HCF Infosec Private Limited
THE COMMUNITY REMAINED THE PROTAGONIST_
06THEN LIFE HAPPENED
EVERYONE STARTED
BUILDING THEIR OWN JOURNEY_
The people behind the early HATCon community were young. Careers started. Companies were built. People moved into different parts of the technology and cybersecurity industry.
HATCon became quiet.
But the community did not disappear. The people simply moved forward.
07LOOKING BACK
THE REAL OUTCOME
WAS NEVER THE EVENT_
Years later, when we look back at the people who were part of those early gatherings, many are now established professionals, researchers, founders and leaders across the industry.
What HATCon helped create was not simply a series of events. It was a network.
PEOPLE WHO LEARNED TOGETHER.
GREW TOGETHER.
AND WENT ON TO BUILD.
08THE COMMUNITY
THERE MAY BE THOUSANDS
OF STORIES WE HAVEN'T
FOUND YET_
We believe thousands of people may have been directly or indirectly connected to the Hindustan Cyber Force and HATCon ecosystem over the years. The exact number is still being reconstructed.
≈ 5,000
POTENTIAL COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS_
Community estimate. Archive verification in progress.
09HATCON CHAMPS
BUILT BY MORE THAN
A HANDFUL OF NAMES_
HATCon was built by a community. People organised. People researched. People spoke. People volunteered. People connected others. People showed up with something worth sharing.
Hitesh Malviya
[YEARS TO CONFIRM]
[CONTRIBUTION TO BE ADDED]
Rajeshwar Anand
[YEARS TO CONFIRM]
[CONTRIBUTION TO BE ADDED]
THE LIST IS GROWING_
Rediscovering the people who built this is part of the comeback.
10WHY NOW?
WE ARE NOT
REBUILDING THE PAST_
WE ARE BUILDING
WHAT COMES NEXT_
The opportunity today is not to recreate the events of 2012. It is to rebuild the community behind them.
Technology has changed. Cybersecurity has changed. AI is reshaping every industry. DeepTech communities are becoming increasingly important.
BUT THE BASIC NEED REMAINS THE SAME_
- Finding the right people.
- Learning from them.
- Sharing what you know.
- And building together.
11VERSION 5
HATCON,
REINVENTED_
HATCon Version 5 is being rebuilt around a much clearer idea. It is not about which event you attended.
WHO YOU ARE_
WHAT YOU KNOW_
WHAT YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE_
WHAT YOU ARE ACTUALLY BUILDING_
HATCon is being reinvented as a community of researchers, builders, hackers, technologists and people working on meaningful problems. The event is simply one place where that community comes together.
12GO DEEP
DEPTH OVER
SCALE_
We are not trying to build the biggest room. We want to build the most meaningful one.
DEEP TECHNOLOGY.
DEEP KNOWLEDGE.
DEEP CONVERSATIONS.
DEEP CONNECTIONS.
DEEP IMPACT.
FROM THE HATCON STORY_
“When we started, we were very young. We weren't trying to build a big conference. We were researchers and hackers trying to meet people like ourselves, share what we knew and learn from each other. Years later, when I look at where many of those people are today, I realise the real value was never the event. It was the community. HATCon Version 5 is our attempt to bring that community back — and build it properly for the next generation.”
[ATTRIBUTION TO CONFIRM]
13WHAT MATTERS
HATCON IS NOT ABOUT
YOUR TITLE_
IT'S ABOUT WHO YOU ARE.
WHAT YOU KNOW.
WHAT YOU CAN DO.
AND WHAT YOU'RE BUILDING.
14THE NEXT CHAPTER
WHAT STARTED WITH
A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE
CAN NOW BE BUILT BY THOUSANDS_
BENGALURU_MUMBAI_CHANDIGARH_NEW DELHI_
LOCAL COMMUNITIES.
ONE GLOBAL HATCON NETWORK.
HATCON_
THE COMMUNITY WAS ALWAYS THE POINT_