Blab Tech
BSides Manila Launches First Philippine Chapter of Global Security Conference
On Sunday, August 30 2026, a quiet gathering in Makati City marked a historic moment for Philippine cybersecurity. The ITSDI Headquarters hosted the inaugural BSides Manila, the country’s first officially sanctioned chapter of the worldwide BSides community.
Priced at ₱300 per ticket, the event follows a volunteer‑run model that has produced more than 1,300 conferences in 300 cities across 73 countries since 2009. BSides deliberately keeps costs low and relies on an open Call for Presenters; speaking slots are never sold to sponsors, and the program is single‑track, beginning at 12:30 p.m. to accommodate students and volunteers traveling across Metro Manila. Organizers anticipate between 50 and 80 participants.
The conference was launched to fill a perceived void: Filipino security professionals often have to travel abroad to share expertise, leaving students and local practitioners with few venues to learn from peers. “Our people run SOCs in Sydney, London, Dubai, and Singapore—what we want to add is more rooms at home where a student in Manila can sit beside them and ask how they did it,” said co‑organizer Roberto Tayag.
Confirmed talks covered a spectrum of contemporary threats. Rei Nikolai Magnaye delivered a session on behavioral security assessments, while Humphrey Cogay examined sleeper‑agent backdoors in agentic AI systems. Steve Espino tackled practical threat modelling with MITRE ATT&CK, and a panel on breaking into cybersecurity was followed by lightning talks open to all attendees.
The Society of Information Technology Enthusiasts of the University of Santo Tomas College of Information and Computing Sciences (UST SITE) served as the event’s primary community partner. Co‑organizer Gil Tario II underscored the ethos of BSides: “practitioners talking honestly to each other about what broke and how they fixed it—those conversations are free, they just need a room.”
The Philippines’ IT and business process management sector employed about 1.9 million full‑time workers and generated roughly USD 40 billion in export revenue in 2025. Filipino professionals are a substantial presence in security operations centres, threat intelligence teams, and incident response practices worldwide.
BSides Manila is positioned as an addition to, rather than a replacement for, the country’s nearly two‑decade‑old security community. Organizers plan a larger event in 2027 and satellite gatherings at universities across the Philippines.
By keeping costs low and maintaining an open‑call model, BSides Manila seeks to broaden participation and strengthen the Philippine cybersecurity ecosystem. The conference underscores the need for regular, affordable venues where local talent can learn from peers and global experts.
As the first Philippine chapter of BSides, the event marks a milestone for the local community and sets the stage for future gatherings that aim to bring cybersecurity knowledge to a wider audience.
Priced at ₱300 per ticket, the event follows a volunteer‑run model that has produced more than 1,300 conferences in 300 cities across 73 countries since 2009. BSides deliberately keeps costs low and relies on an open Call for Presenters; speaking slots are never sold to sponsors, and the program is single‑track, beginning at 12:30 p.m. to accommodate students and volunteers traveling across Metro Manila. Organizers anticipate between 50 and 80 participants.
The conference was launched to fill a perceived void: Filipino security professionals often have to travel abroad to share expertise, leaving students and local practitioners with few venues to learn from peers. “Our people run SOCs in Sydney, London, Dubai, and Singapore—what we want to add is more rooms at home where a student in Manila can sit beside them and ask how they did it,” said co‑organizer Roberto Tayag.
Confirmed talks covered a spectrum of contemporary threats. Rei Nikolai Magnaye delivered a session on behavioral security assessments, while Humphrey Cogay examined sleeper‑agent backdoors in agentic AI systems. Steve Espino tackled practical threat modelling with MITRE ATT&CK, and a panel on breaking into cybersecurity was followed by lightning talks open to all attendees.
The Society of Information Technology Enthusiasts of the University of Santo Tomas College of Information and Computing Sciences (UST SITE) served as the event’s primary community partner. Co‑organizer Gil Tario II underscored the ethos of BSides: “practitioners talking honestly to each other about what broke and how they fixed it—those conversations are free, they just need a room.”
The Philippines’ IT and business process management sector employed about 1.9 million full‑time workers and generated roughly USD 40 billion in export revenue in 2025. Filipino professionals are a substantial presence in security operations centres, threat intelligence teams, and incident response practices worldwide.
BSides Manila is positioned as an addition to, rather than a replacement for, the country’s nearly two‑decade‑old security community. Organizers plan a larger event in 2027 and satellite gatherings at universities across the Philippines.
By keeping costs low and maintaining an open‑call model, BSides Manila seeks to broaden participation and strengthen the Philippine cybersecurity ecosystem. The conference underscores the need for regular, affordable venues where local talent can learn from peers and global experts.
As the first Philippine chapter of BSides, the event marks a milestone for the local community and sets the stage for future gatherings that aim to bring cybersecurity knowledge to a wider audience.
