ECSO CISO Meetup draws record turnout in Berlin
More than 230 senior cybersecurity professionals and public-sector representatives gathered at Estrel Berlin on 1–2 October for the fifth edition of the ECSO CISO Meetup. Non-profit, community-led, and free of charge: the record attendance reflects the relevance of the Meetup as the leading event of its kind, built by CISOs, for CISOs.
Key takeaways
- More than 230 professionals met at Estrel Berlin. It was the fifth edition of the ECSO CISO Meetup, on 1–2 October.
- The Meetup operates under the Chatham House Rule. Comments are not attributed to individual speakers or organisations.
- The next edition takes place in Warsaw in 2027. Since 2021, the Meetup has been held in Brussels, Florence, Vienna, Valencia and Berlin.
Related: A CISO does not take responsibility away from company leadership
Berlin became the meeting point for Europe’s cybersecurity leadership on 1–2 October, as hundreds of CISOs gathered at Estrel Berlin for the fifth anniversary edition of the ECSO CISO Meetup. What sets the Meetup apart is its model: community-led, independent, non-profit, and free of charge. Built by CISOs, for CISOs.
Beyond CISOs (Chief Information Security Officers) of leading European and global organisations, attendees include public institutions such as the Federal Office for Information Security, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), and the Cybersecurity Service for the Union Institutions, Bodies, Offices and Agencies (CERT-EU).
Unlike conventional cybersecurity conferences centred on commercial promotion, the Meetup is designed around the needs and experiences of practitioners. Its value lies in giving CISOs a place to exchange what they are seeing, doing and learning with peers facing many of the same challenges across different sectors and countries.
Europe’s biggest independent CISO gathering
The fifth edition demonstrated how far the ECSO CISO Meetup has grown. More than 230 cybersecurity leaders came together to discuss organisational resilience, AI, cloud and OT security, regulation, geopolitics and an increasingly complex threat landscape.
More than 230 professionals in the plenary of the ECSO CISO Meetup in Berlin. Photo: ECSO
The programme combined senior institutional perspectives with practitioner-led sessions, real-world case studies, interactive workshops and peer discussions. But the strongest value of the two days extended beyond the formal agenda.
For many participants, the opportunity to compare experiences directly with fellow CISOs including lessons from incidents, crisis management and difficult strategic decisions is what makes the Meetup distinctive. The conversations continue in the corridors, at the dinner table and long after the event itself.
A trusted space for honest conversations
Trust is at the centre of the ECSO CISO Meetup.
The event operates under the Chatham House Rule, creating an environment where participants can discuss sensitive experiences openly without comments being attributed to individual speakers or organisations. For leaders responsible for security incidents, vulnerabilities, business continuity and high-stakes decisions, this freedom to speak candidly is essential.
It allows conversations to move beyond polished case studies and generic best practice. CISOs can share what went wrong, what worked, where approaches failed and how they responded – and hear directly from peers who have faced comparable situations.
Exchange between sessions at Estrel Berlin. Photo: ECSO
This combination of confidentiality, independence and practitioner ownership creates a different atmosphere from a typical conference. The Meetup is a forum for honest exchange first, with the programme built around the people in the room.
Warsaw 2027: the next chapter
Since its first edition in 2021, the ECSO CISO Meetup has taken place in Brussels, Florence, Vienna, Valencia, and now Berlin. Following this record-breaking fifth edition, the ECSO CISO Meetup will continue in Warsaw, Poland, in 2027. The next edition will bring Europe’s CISO community together once again for trusted peer exchange, practical lessons and conversations on the challenges shaping cybersecurity leadership.
The success of the fifth ECSO CISO Meetup was made possible with the support of our partners: CISO Alliance Deutschland, Women4Cyber Foundation, and Women4Cyber Germany.
ECSO thanks Exclusive Diamond Sponsor Bitdefender, Platinum Sponsors Atos, ESET, Labyrinth, Rubrik, Xopero and Yubico; Gold Sponsors BlueFlag Security, GambitCyber, Hack the Box, Secunet, SensorFu, Virtual Browser and Wire; Silver Sponsors Hoxhunt, ISC2, WEDOS and YesWeHack; and Start-up Sponsors Axyome, Brightside Technologies, Dawnguard, Entryzero, Quointelligence, revel8, Syntho and Zepo Intelligence.
We also thank our media partners Security Insider, SecurityToday, Digital Chiefs and cloudmagazin for supporting the reach and visibility of the Meetup.
About the ECSO CISO Community
The ECSO CISO Community hosts +700 Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and other cybersecurity executives working in the CISO Team, from all across Europe and sectors. Its objective is to promote the exchange of information, good practices, threat intelligence, and to develop common positions among cybersecurity practitioners. Joining is completely free. The ECSO CISO Community is an initiative of the ECSO Working Group on Cyber Threat Management.
About the ECSO Working Group on Cyber Threat Management
The ECSO CISO Meetup 2026 is an initiative of the ECSO Working Group on Cyber Threat Management. We support organisations in tackling today’s cyber threats by working hand in hand with industry leaders. Together, we focus on areas of strategic importance, such as cyber threat intelligence and the implementation of EU cybersecurity policies, turning high-level strategies into concrete action. Our aim is to create a trusted environment for practitioners and end-users to share information, lessons learned, and best practices.
About the European Cyber Security Organisation (ECSO)
The European Cyber Security Organisation (ECSO) is the pan-European, public-private federation (non-profit) focused on empowering European cybersecurity communities. Established in 2016 as the European Commission’s contractual partner for the Public-Private Partnership in Cybersecurity (2016-2020), we have built on the successes of that partnership to strengthen European cybersecurity by providing a platform for cooperation, community advocacy, public-private collaboration, and more.
SecurityToday was a media partner of the fifth ECSO CISO Meetup. Our interview with Matthias Muhlert, Chair of the ECSO CISO Community, is available as a separate article.
Frequently asked questions
Where did the fifth ECSO CISO Meetup take place?
At Estrel Berlin, on 1–2 October 2026.
How many people attended?
More than 230 senior cybersecurity professionals and public-sector representatives.
Which public institutions attended?
Among others the Federal Office for Information Security, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) and the Cybersecurity Service for the Union Institutions, Bodies, Offices and Agencies (CERT-EU).
Why can participants speak openly?
The event operates under the Chatham House Rule. Comments are not attributed to individual speakers or organisations.
Where will the Meetup take place in 2027?
In Warsaw, Poland. Previous editions took place in Brussels, Florence, Vienna, Valencia and Berlin.
Source: ECSO press release of 2 October 2026, original text.
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Image source: AI-generated (October 2026). Photos in this article: ECSO (press photo)
