Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) Office of the Chief Information Security Officer (OCISO) is proud to announce the 27th Annual Information Security Forum (ISF) on May 20-21, 2026 (Wednesday-Thursday) at the Palmer Events Center in Austin, Texas. As the premier cybersecurity event for Texas state and local government and public education institutions, ISF 2026 brings together decision-makers, IT professionals, and security leaders from across the state for two days of learning, collaboration, and innovation.
ISF will feature engaging presentations, panel discussions, and networking opportunities designed to foster collaboration between public-and private-sector security experts.
ISF 2026 CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS
- This Call for Presentations is for BREAKOUT sessions, offered on both Wednesday & Thursday, May 20-21, 2026 in the mornings and afternoons.
- Breakout sessions will be 45 minutes in length. If planning for Q&A, it should fall within the 45 minutes.
- All events will be held in person.
- 1 screen & LCD projector and 1 microphone will be provided in each room and selected speakers are asked to provide their own laptop for projecting slide presentations through the projector.
- All events will be held at the Palmer Events Center, 900 Barton Springs Rd, Austin, TX 78704.
- Selected speakers are provided complimentary registration to include continental breakfast and lunch on both days.
- Compensation and travel expenses are not provided for speakers.
IMPORTANT:
ISF attendees have clearly expressed that sales-oriented presentations do not meet their expectations and detract from the educational value of the event. Therefore, all sessions must be strictly educational and tool-agnostic. Product promotion, vendor marketing and sales-focused content is not permitted. Tool-specific information should be reserved for inside your exhibit booth or for product demonstrations in the Product Demo area (registration for which will open in March).
Restricted content includes, but is not limited to:
- Product demonstrations or feature walkthroughs
- Case studies that primarily highlight a specific vendor or solution
- Branded frameworks, methodologies, or sales narratives
- References to pricing, purchasing, or calls to action related to commercial offering
Our goal is to foster credible, unbiased, and actionable learning that attendees can apply regardless of tools or vendors. We appreciate your partnership in upholding this standard.
PRESENTATION PROPOSAL SUBMISSIONS
We are currently seeking to fill our break-out sessions with unique, practical, and educational content that focuses on real-life applications attendees can utilize in their organization. Suggested topics include:
- Future-proofing the Cybersecurity Workforce
- Optimizing Cybersecurity Tools and Resources (Inventory Gap/Overlap, Configuration, Tuning)
- Building in Fundamental Cyber Capabilities
- Advancing IT Resiliency
- Modernizing the Cybersecurity Infrastructure
- AI and the Future of Work
- Sophisticated Phishing and Deepfakes
- Cybersecurity Metrics & Reportiing
- Vendor Risk Management
- Cybersecurity and Business Risk
- Securing/Protecting Critical Infrastructure
EXTENDED DEADLINE TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL: Friday, January 23, 2026
Each break-out session will be 45 minutes in length and should include time for Q&A within that window, with scheduled transition time between sessions. The audience will include security and IT employees of state agencies, public institutions of higher education, K-12, and local governments.
Please include the following in your submission:
- Topic title (maximum of 20 words)
- Session Abstract/Description (maximum of 200 words)
- Three (3) Session Objectives (what will attendees learn?)
- Speaker Biography - max of 250 words
Presentation submissions are due by close of business Friday, January 16, 2026. Early submissions are appreciated!
Presentations will be selected and presenters notified in early March 2026. Once confirmed, the agenda will be finalized and published.
Please send any questions to: erin@xcelevents.us.
Confirmed presenters will need to submit their speaker photo(s) by April 1, 2026. Final slide presentations must be submitted by April 17, 2026.
VENDOR SPONSOR INTEREST
For those interested in sponsoring this year, please click this link to register online (all registrations are online only):