EC-Council offers free Hacker Halted 2026 entry to U.S. military and government cyber professionals

EC-Council will give complimentary admission to Hacker Halted 2026 and its Global CISO Forum 2026 for qualified U.S. military and government cybersecurity professionals. The move aims to expand peer exchange ahead of the Atlanta conference on Oct. 8-9, where AI-driven threats and defensive strategy will be central themes.

Why it matters: - The offer lowers the barrier for U.S. military and government cybersecurity professionals to access training, peer networking and senior-level discussions. - EC-Council is pairing the conference with its Global CISO Forum 2026 to widen exposure to executive-level security dialogue. - The timing comes as AI, deception and emerging technologies are reshaping both offensive and defensive cyber operations.

What happened: - EC-Council announced complimentary admission to Hacker Halted 2026 for U.S. military and government cybersecurity professionals. - The offer also includes access to EC-Council's Global CISO Forum 2026. - Hacker Halted 2026 will take place Oct. 8-9 at The Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta. - The conference theme is “Cyber Carnival: Where Illusion Meets Intrusion.” - EC-Council said the conference will examine how deception, manipulation, AI and emerging technologies are changing cyber threats and defenses.

The details: - The admission offer covers conference entry only. - Separate fees and eligibility requirements may apply to pre-conference training and other optional programs. - Hacker Halted 2026 will include 20+ presentations, panel discussions and breakout sessions. - The event will feature two days of practitioner networking and direct exchange across the cybersecurity community. - Technical coverage will include offensive security, threat intelligence, application security, AI and LLM security, security architecture, incident response and enterprise cyber risk. - Speakers and attendees will include cybersecurity professionals and researchers from Citi, Amazon, Microsoft and Coupa Software. - EC-Council describes Hacker Halted as its premier annual cybersecurity conference. - EC-Council created the Certified Ethical Hacker credential and says it has certified more than 400,000 professionals across 174 countries. - EC-Council says its certifications are recognized by the U.S. Department of Defense under DoD Directive 8140. - EC-Council's ecosystem includes EC-Council, EC-Council University, CodeRed, EC-Council Global Services, EC-Council Academia and Aware. - More information is available at hackerhalted.com. - EC-Council shared a LinkedIn post at the company's LinkedIn page.

Between the lines: - The 2026 theme shifts the focus from the 2025 event’s “Order from Chaos” framing to a sharper emphasis on deception and trust. - EC-Council is positioning the event as both a technical conference and a professional development venue for defense and public-sector security teams. - The Global CISO Forum remains invite-only and closed-door, which signals a focus on candid peer exchange rather than broad attendance. - EC-Council frames the initiative as a way to remove barriers for service members and government cyber teams while strengthening ties to the broader practitioner community.

What's next: - Qualified director-level and above information security executives may request approval to attend the Global CISO Forum 2026. - Registration for the forum remains subject to eligibility and approval. - EC-Council said the conference will continue to emphasize practical discussion around AI, cyber risk and evolving defense strategies.

The bottom line: - EC-Council is using Hacker Halted 2026 to expand access for public-sector cyber professionals while doubling down on AI-era threat education and senior peer networking.