Flare Academy & Darkroom · Live from DEF CON

Master the dark web: Live threat-intel training & CTF competition

Thursday, August 6
4:30–9:00 PM PDT
The Renaissance Hotel, Las Vegas
Just steps from DEF CON and the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Kick off DEF CON with an exclusive dual-session evening. Level up your investigation workflows with our elite research team, put your skills to the test in a live-fire competition, and network with peers over great food and drinks.

Save Your Spot

What to expectThursday, August 6, 2026 · Las Vegas

Hands-on Tactical Training

Learn directly from top threat-intelligence experts and leave with monitoring workflows you can deploy immediately.

High-energy Competition

Face off against fellow defenders in a custom-built environment that simulates real-world dark web threats.

Elite Networking

Dedicated time to swap strategies and connect directly with Flare's core research team.

Food, Drink & Exclusive Swag

A great spread of food and drinks all evening, plus limited-edition Flare Academy swag and exclusive prizes for the top CTF competitors.
Reserve your Spot
⏳ Seats are Limited
Featured speakers

Coached by Flare's research team.

The same people who live in the underground every day will walk you through how they actually work it.

Olivier Bilodeau

Principal Cybersecurity Researcher
Olivier Bilodeau (@obilodeau), a principal researcher at Flare, brings 12+ years of cutting-edge infosec expertise in honeypot operations, binary reverse-engineering, and RDP interception. Passionate communicator, Olivier spoke at conferences like Black Hat, DEF CON, SecTor, DerbyCon, and more. Invested in his community, he co-organizes MontréHack, is NorthSec’s President, and runs its Hacker Jeopardy.

Eric Clay

Chief Marketing Officer
Eric Clay is likely the most threat-intelligence-obsessed CMO in cybersecurity and is involved in research at Flare. His security analysis has been featured in NBC News, TheHackerNews, and major ISACs. A DEF CON 32 Red-Team village speaker who translates complex cybercrime insights into actionable intelligence for the world.
Full speaker lineup announced soon.
Event agenda

How the night runs.

4:30 PM– 5:00 PM

Doors Open: Food, Drinks & Face-Time with the Flare Research Team

Arrive at the Renaissance, grab your badge, and settle in for an evening of deep-dive intelligence work while enjoying delicious food and drink

Welcome drinks and snacks with the Flare Research Team
5:00 PM– 6:30 PM
Session 1 · Hands-on masterclass

Flare Academy — Live Training

Level up your external threat intelligence. Dive deep into real-world investigation workflows and master advanced dark web monitoring alongside top experts. Walk away with practical skills you can deploy immediately.

Interactive workspace, live threat-data access
6:30 PM– 7:00 PM

Threat Intel Happy Hour with the Flare Research Team

Take a break to swap strategy with fellow defenders and chat 1-on-1 with Flare's threat-research team about emerging dark web trends.

Drinks, snacks & intel
7:00 PM– 9:00 PM
Session 2 · High-energy competition

Darkroom by Flare Academy — CTF

Put your skills to the ultimate test. Compete against your peers in a custom-built environment featuring live threat scenarios and tactical darkroom investigations — fueled by great food, drinks, and premium prizes for the leaderboard winners.

Live CTF dashboard, custom prizes
Reserve your spot
⏳ Seats are Limited