Hack Space Con brings together security practitioners, researchers, and hackers from around the world for a multi-day event focused on hands-on learning, technical talks, and community connection. With a mix of deep-dive sessions, real-world research, and practical insights, the conference creates space for both offensive and defensive security professionals to share knowledge, challenge assumptions, and push the field forward.

More info at https://www.hackspacecon.com/#/?lang=en

"When Stealth Becomes the Enemy: Rethinking What “Success” Means in Red Teaming"

Time: May 9, 2026, 3:00 PM-3:50 PM ET

Place: Jamaica Room

Speaker: Billy Giles, Managing Senior Consultant I, Bishop Fox

Abstract: In many red team engagements, stealth and exploit sophistication are treated as success criteria, even when they prevent defenders from learning anything useful.

This talk challenges the assumption that remaining undetected or demonstrating novel exploit chains inherently makes an exercise valuable. Drawing on real engagement patterns, we’ll examine how red teams drift toward optimizing for technical achievement instead of answering the defensive and organizational questions they were hired to test.

Rather than arguing the efficacy of advanced techniques, this session focuses on intentionality: defining objectives first, designing constraints that support those objectives, and using exploits and stealth deliberately instead of reflexively. We’ll explore how objective-driven red team design changes planning, execution, and post-engagement outcomes, especially in environments where exploits are scarce or detection maturity is uneven.

Attendees will leave with a practical mental model for evaluating red team success, along with concrete techniques for designing exercises that create measurable defensive improvement and leadership-relevant outcomes.