Important Dates
Submissions due: Wednesday, March 5, 2025
Notification to submitters: Wednesday, May 7, 2025
Enigma Track Organizing Committee
Ben Adida, VotingWorks
David Brumley, Carnegie Mellon University
Joe Calandrino
Melanie Ensign, Discernible
Joseph Lorenzo Hall, Internet Society
Casey Henderson-Ross, USENIX Association
Daniela Oliveira, National Science Foundation
Bryan Payne, Adobe
Franziska Roesner, University of Washington
Enigma @ USENIX Security
Inspired by our previous Enigma conferences and invited talks tracks at USENIX Security, we're excited to launch Enigma @ USENIX Security. This new track complements the Symposium's traditional research papers and poster sessions with discussions on big ideas and their noteworthy intersections. While USENIX Security continues its legacy of uniting researchers, practitioners, and system specialists around cutting-edge security and privacy advances, Enigma introduces its signature focus on the broader implications of technology in society.
This track delivers engaging talks and panels that bridge technical and social domains, exploring emerging threats and defenses at the intersection of cybersecurity, privacy, and human experience. Combining Enigma's accessible approach to complex topics with USENIX Security's rigorous technical and academic foundation creates a comprehensive program that serves both deeply technical audiences and those focused on real-world applications to foster crucial dialogues spanning the full spectrum of modern security and privacy challenges.
Call for Speakers
To complement the main tracks at USENIX Security, this call is expressly looking for submissions from outside of academia. Submissions will be considered from government, industry, nonprofit, and other non-academic speakers. We seek proposals for original 20-minute talks (plus 10-minute Q&A) on current and emerging security and privacy topics that combine technical depth with broad accessibility. Ideal presentations offer practical applications or operational case studies that illuminate big ideas, whether in traditional areas like web security and cryptography or at fascinating intersections with fields such as law, biology, or ethics. While we welcome both pragmatic guidance and challenges to conventional wisdom, talks must remain vendor-neutral and non-commercial. The program committee particularly values great explainers who can make complex concepts engaging while maintaining scientific rigor and will work closely with accepted speakers through practice sessions to craft compelling narratives for the audience.
Submission Guidelines
To submit a talk, please prepare the following information.
We only accept single-speaker submissions. Third-party submissions, even if authorized, are not allowed.
Speaker Information
- Speaker Name
- Speaker Title and Company/Affiliation (if applicable)
- Speaker Email Address
- Speaker Bio
- [OPTIONAL] Social networking handle(s)
Presentation Information
Approximate length: 1 page suggested, up to 3 pages max
- Talk Title (required)
- Summary (500 words):
- Core idea and why it matters (200 words)
- Key takeaway for the audience (50 words)
- Brief overview of related work, including any prior presentations you've given on this topic (150 words)
- High-level talk outline (100 words, with additional details acceptable to show that you have planned out the flow of the talk)
- Additional Details (required):
- Will you release any code/data? (Y/N)
- Is this work being submitted elsewhere? (Y/N)
- Has a version of this talk been given before? If yes, explain what's new (50 words)
Note: Submissions should be vendor-neutral and non-commercial. Please focus on technical merit and practical impact. Original proposals are strongly preferred.
All accepted speakers will be assigned a coach to help with presentation preparation. We want you to talk about your work and passion in your own way. The role of our coaches is to provide feedback that makes your talk as clear and engaging as possible.
The complete set of talks from past Enigma conferences is available online for free per the USENIX open access policy.
USENIX may decline proposals for any reason, even after initial acceptance.
Questions?
Please contact sec25enigma@usenix.org.