Kansas' New Cyber Frontier: OzCon Aims to Fortify the Midwest

OVERLAND PARK, KS – April 14, 2026 – As Kansas grapples with an escalating wave of cyberattacks targeting its government and judicial systems, a new initiative is set to bring national-level cybersecurity expertise to the heart of the Midwest. OzCon, billed as the state's inaugural hacking and information security conference, will launch on May 18th in Overland Park with a clear and urgent mission: to teach defenders how to win by thinking like attackers.

The one-day, practitioner-focused event arrives at a critical time. In October 2023, a sophisticated cyberattack crippled the Kansas Judicial Branch, shutting down its online systems for months and exposing the personal data of an estimated 150,000 individuals. More recently, the City of Wichita and Franklin County have fallen victim to similar disruptions, with the latter seeing sensitive poll book records of 30,000 residents exposed. These incidents underscore a troubling trend identified by state auditors, who have repeatedly found "significant weaknesses" in the cybersecurity posture of nearly half of Kansas's government agencies.

Against this backdrop of vulnerability, OzCon aims to shift the paradigm from reactive defense to proactive, adversarial thinking.

A New Frontline in Regional Defense

While Kansas hosts other cybersecurity summits and training exercises, OzCon distinguishes itself with a "no-nonsense" focus on offensive tactics. The conference is designed for IT and security professionals who need more than theoretical knowledge, promising an unfiltered look at the tradecraft used in modern cyberattacks through live demonstrations and practical workshops.

"OzCon is built by practitioners for practitioners," said Renee Chronister, the conference's founder, in a recent announcement. "We're pulling back the curtain on attacker tactics, exposing where defenses fail, and giving defenders the insight they need to respond smarter and faster."

This approach addresses a critical gap in a region where critical infrastructure, from local governments to water and wastewater systems, remains a prime target. National reports from the FBI highlight a dramatic rise in internet crime losses, with ransomware continuing to plague essential services often hampered by outdated software and limited resources. By bringing hacker-level insights to a local audience, the event seeks to directly bolster the cyber resilience of businesses and public sector entities across the Midwest. The conference's mission has attracted significant industry backing, including from top-tier sponsor Quorum Cyber, a global cybersecurity firm, signaling a recognition of the urgent need for such hands-on training.

Inside the Mind of the Adversary

The core philosophy of OzCon is that the most effective defense is built upon a deep understanding of the offense. Attendees will be immersed in the world of emerging vulnerabilities, modern exploits, and the psychological tactics that define successful hacking campaigns. The agenda is designed to move beyond traditional security checklists and into the dynamic, real-time decision-making process of a cyber adversary.

This focus on "adversarial thinking" is a crucial component of modern cybersecurity strategy. It encourages security professionals to constantly probe their own systems for weaknesses, anticipate novel attack vectors, and understand the motivations and methodologies of threat actors. Rather than simply installing firewalls and antivirus software, this mindset fosters a culture of continuous testing and adaptation, which is essential for defending against the sophisticated, multi-stage attacks that are becoming commonplace.

The conference promises to deliver this education through tangible, real-world scenarios. By witnessing live hacks and deconstructed attacks, attendees can gain practical knowledge that is immediately applicable to protecting their own networks, data, and critical infrastructure. This hands-on approach is intended to demystify the complex tactics used by cybercriminals and state-sponsored actors, making defense a more intuitive and effective practice.

The Oracles of Cyber Conflict

Lending significant weight to OzCon's debut are two of the cybersecurity world's most influential and forward-thinking figures: Winn Schwartau and Len Noe. Their participation brings a unique blend of historical perspective and futuristic vision to the conference.

Winn Schwartau is a pioneer in the field, widely credited with forecasting the age of digital warfare. In 1991 testimony before the U.S. Congress, he famously coined the term "Electronic Pearl Harbor," warning of a future where cyberattacks could cripple a nation's critical infrastructure. His seminal books on information warfare laid the theoretical groundwork for understanding cyber conflict decades before it became a daily headline. As a veteran analyst and longtime speaker at premier hacking conferences like DEF CON, Schwartau provides a strategic, long-term view of the forces shaping global cybersecurity.

In stark contrast, Len Noe represents the cutting edge where human and machine converge. Known as the "world's first augmented hacker," Noe utilizes subdermal microchip implants in his offensive security research. A former black hat hacker who transitioned to ethical hacking, he now serves as a technical evangelist, exploring the security implications of biohacking and human augmentation. Featured in the documentary I Am Machine and author of Human Hacked, Noe forces the industry to confront emerging threats where the human body itself becomes an attack surface, raising profound questions about cognitive security and neural data rights.

The presence of both Schwartau and Noe offers attendees a rare opportunity to learn from a foundational architect of information warfare theory and a living embodiment of its future evolution. Their combined insights promise a deep, multi-faceted exploration of cyber threats, from nation-state strategy to the vulnerabilities embedded in our own biology. This level of thought leadership is central to OzCon's goal of bringing a national-caliber security conversation to Overland Park, equipping local professionals with the knowledge to anticipate and counter the threats of tomorrow.

The conference will take place at the Overland Park Marriott Conference Center on May 18, 2026. Organizers hope the event will not only provide critical training but also foster a stronger, more collaborative security community within the region, creating a united front against the persistent and evolving digital dangers.