Introduction
If you're in security and haven't heard of BSides conferences, you're missing out. These grassroots events happen worldwide, featuring some of the best security talks from practitioners who actually do the work. The problem? Keeping track of all these events and their content is a nightmare.
That's where AllBSides comes in. It's a database that tracks BSides conferences globally, indexing talks, speakers, and events. It's most useful for conference planning and research, so here's what works and what doesn't.
Key Features
AllBSides is essentially a massive index of BSides conference data. Here's what you get:
- 8,643 indexed security talks - This is the meat of the platform. Every talk is catalogued with metadata
- 227 BSides chapters tracked - Coverage spans from major cities to smaller regional events
- 6 continents coverage - Truly global scope, though some regions are better covered than others
- 4,016 tagged technologies - Talks are tagged by technology stack, making research easier
- Upcoming event calendar - Shows future BSides events you can actually attend
The search functionality lets you filter by location, technology tags, or speaker names. It's basic but functional - you can find what you're looking for without too much friction.
Pricing Breakdown
This is simple - AllBSides is completely free. No tiers, no premium features, no paywalls. Everything is accessible without even creating an account.
| Plan | Price | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Conference listings, talk archive, search functionality, technology tags |
The fact that this is free makes it a no-brainer for anyone in security. There's literally no downside to bookmarking it.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Massive comprehensive database - The scope is impressive. It surfaces talks from BSides events that are hard to find anywhere else
- Global coverage - From BSides London to BSides Kampala, the geographic coverage is solid
- Technology tagging - Want to find all talks about Kubernetes security? The tagging system makes this easy
- Free access - No barriers to entry
- Regular updates - New events and talks get added consistently
Cons
- Limited to BSides only - If you want DEF CON, Black Hat, or other security conferences, look elsewhere
- No video hosting - AllBSides just links to external sources. If those links break, you're out of luck
- Basic search interface - It works, but advanced filtering options are limited
- No user accounts - Can't save favorites or create watchlists
- External dependency - You're always clicking through to YouTube, Vimeo, or conference sites for actual content
Who Is It For
AllBSides is built for:
- Security researchers looking for specific topics or techniques discussed at BSides events
- Conference speakers who want to see what's already been covered to avoid duplication
- Security professionals trying to stay current with community discussions
- Conference organizers planning BSides events and looking for speaker ideas
- Students and newcomers to security who want to learn from practitioner talks
It's not for people who want a polished learning platform or those primarily interested in vendor-sponsored conferences. This is community-focused.
Real-World Usage
It's most useful for research when preparing talks or looking up specific security topics. The technology tagging is genuinely useful: you can quickly find all talks related to "cloud security" or "incident response" across hundreds of conferences.
The calendar feature is handy for planning which BSides events to attend, though you still need to go to individual conference sites for registration details.
One frustration: dead links. Since AllBSides relies on external hosting, some older talks become inaccessible when conferences change their hosting or YouTube videos get removed.
Verdict
AllBSides scores 5.3/10. It suits security people who want to track BSides events, search a talk archive and follow CFPs. The site is public, needs no signup, and lists dates, locations and links. Bookmark it for lookup.
Treat its numbers with care. The archive size (8,893 talks, 235 chapters) comes from the vendor's own site, no outside source confirms it, and the site's two figures disagree. Look elsewhere if you want an API or integrations, since none were found. It is also limited to BSides, so those who want wider conference coverage need other sources.
