Kernelcon 2026

Welcome to Kernelcon Unplug. Connect. Hack. Go Off Grid. Out here, under the endless Midwest sky, technology feels different. It's raw. It's hands-on. And its free from the digital noise of daily life. Kernelcon 2026 invites you to step off the grid and immerse yourself in a weekend where curiosity meets community.

From sunrise keynotes to late-night hardware hacks, every moment is designed to push your skills further and recharge your inspiration. Whether you're exploring our villages, cracking challenges in the CTF, or sharing stories around the afterparty, you'll find yourself surrounded by people who live and breathe infosec.

So leave the VR headset behind, feel the real breeze, and come join one of the Midwest's premier security experiences. Out here, it's not just about technology, it's about the people who shape it.

Kernelcon is the result of many motivated information security professionals who recognized the opportunity to create an awesome security conference in Omaha. The idea for Kernelcon started within the local DEF CON Group, DC402, with lots of help from other members of other local security groups such as NebraskaCERT and OWASP. We are inspired by many other conferences including DEF CON, DerbyCon, ShmooCon, etc., and wanted to bring those same experiences to the Mid-West here in Omaha.

Our goal is to make Omaha an annual destination for security professionals around the world that want to have a unique conference experience.

We hope you enjoy the conference as much as we did planning it.