Best of 8.8 Matrix

What is 8.8?

Seems like a simple question. I could give you the quick answer: Chile's most important technical cybersecurity conference, with 15 years of history, over 500 speakers, and a presence across the entire continent.

But that would be like describing the Matrix by saying it's a computer program—technically correct, but completely insufficient.

8.8 is that moment when you look around and realize you're not alone. There are others who feel that same dissonance, that nagging sense that the digital world they're selling us isn't the digital world that actually exists. That every app, every system, every "secure" solution has cracks that only some of us can see.

And once you see, you can't unsee.

Now you have two choices:

Red Pill

Welcome to 8.8 Matrix.

The Origin

Every revolution is born from a breaking point, and this one happened on February 27, 2010, in Chile. An 8.8-magnitude earthquake shook the country, leaving destruction, chaos, and an uncomfortable certainty: the unexpected can strike at any moment, without warning and without mercy.

A year later, three people who understood that the digital world faces the same reality—Gabriel Bergel, Héctor Escalona, and Mike Price—founded the 8.8 Computer Security Conference. The name wasn't a coincidence: it was an analogy about how unexpected and devastating cyberattacks can be. And the only defense is to prepare before, not after.

The first edition of 8.8 took place at Teatro Normandie in Santiago, Chile, on November 18, 2011. No sponsors, not a single ticket sold two months before the event—but ultimately 12 speakers and 400 attendees showed up. That was the seed. That's where the movement, the community, and the feeling that drove Gabriel and the entire 8.8 team to keep going for years was born:

"[...] the most important thing, and what convinced us to keep going, was the gratitude from the community. People would hug us as they left the conference and ask us the date for next year. That's when we realized we had no choice but to continue." — Gabriel Bergel

Fifteen years later, that seed has grown into something none of them could have imagined.

The Expansion

What started in Santiago grew beyond the country and even beyond the continent:

• 2016: Bolivia. The first international expansion. Also the year new conference formats emerged, like 8.8 Junior for the next generation, and 8.8 FFAA for armed forces and government.

• 2017: Peru and Uruguay. Launched alongside the creation of 8.8 Solidaria, a cybersecurity conference that simultaneously supports nonprofit organizations.

• 2018: Mexico.

• 2019: 8.8 Regiones. A local expansion to Iquique, Valparaíso, and Concepción, provinces across Chile.

• 2020: The year everything stopped... except 8.8. It expanded to Brazil and the United States, and 8.8 Andina emerged as a union of Peru and Bolivia. The regional conferences became 8.8 Regiones Norte, Centro, and Sur. And 8.8 Lovelace was born, celebrating women in cybersecurity.

• 2024: Ecuador. Plus the launch of the "Réplica" podcast.

• 2025: The 8.8 Academy and the 8.8 Cybersecurity Foundation were created.

Today, 8.8 has organized over 90 events, with a cumulative attendance of more than 27,000 people and insights from over 500 speakers.

The Culture: What You Won't Find on the Agenda

Some things that define 8.8 won't show up on the official website:

The beer: Free since the first edition. The 600 liters of beer for all attendees aren't just a nice touch—they're a way of saying: "This is a community that comes to talk, debate, and share what they know."

The t-shirts: Included with your ticket. Every year features a new unique design, collectible and aligned with the conference theme.

The Dots: Volunteers who make everything run. Simple as that—without them, there's no conference. They're the backbone of the entire operation.

The themes: Each edition has a visual identity and narrative rooted in pop culture. It's a way of saying: "We do more than hacking—we love movies, video games, and, of course, references."

And this year, the theme couldn't have been more perfect than the Matrix.

8.8 Matrix

1999 is the year a movie forever changed how the world sees hackers. The Matrix became part of the culture and identity of the hacker community, and the reason several generations of us saw a terminal for the first time and thought: "I want to do that."

For its fifteenth edition, 8.8 chose this exact theme and applied it across all their 2025 conferences, because as the organizers put it: "The Matrix is everywhere."

In Chile specifically, the main event consisted of two days of talks on Thursday, October 2nd and Friday, October 3rd, at Centro Cultural CA660 in Santiago, Chile—a new venue that hosted the conference and its 800+ attendees.

Access to the simulation had different levels. Early bird tickets at USD 38 for the fastest ones, a second early bird at USD 44 as another chance, general admission at USD 55 including the official event t-shirt, and for those who wanted the full experience, the VIP pass at USD 220 offered a meet & greet with speakers, a swag pack with a hoodie, and a private breakfast.

It was a single main track, no distractions or having to choose between parallel sessions. When someone spoke at 8.8 Matrix, everyone listened.

That's how 15 speakers from 9 different nationalities led the event. With all presenters being top-tier, 87% of the speakers were international, and 53% of the talks were delivered in English.

The Talks: The Chosen Ones

Just as Morpheus found The One in the Matrix, 8.8 found its chosen ones for 2025: its speakers. Here are some of the talks that defined this edition:

"Cyberfascism: What Does It Look Like And How Do We Stop It?" — Eva Galperin, EFF

The opening keynote wasn't technical—it was a punch of truth. Eva Galperin, Director of Cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, came to remind us that technology isn't neutral. From IBM collaborating with the Reich in 1937 to modern mass surveillance, fascism didn't disappear—it went digital. It wasn't a comfortable talk. The best ones rarely are.

"Know the Adversary: Enhancing Online Safety for Children Through an Offender Behavioral Framework" — Pamela Petterchak, MITRE

The silence in the room was different than usual—heavier. Pamela presented CAMM (Cybercrimes Against Minors Matrix), applying the same TTP methodology we use against APTs, but to map and predict the behavior of online predators. If we can anticipate Lazarus, why not those who attack children? Not everything in cybersecurity is technical. Sometimes it's profoundly human.

"Analizando el Ecosistema de los InfoStealers en LATAM" — Joseliyo Sánchez, VirusTotal (Google)

With twenty-one years of VirusTotal collecting malware as backup, Joseliyo analyzed the silent epidemic of our region. Lumma C, Agent Tesla, RedLine—names that probably already have credentials from someone you know in Colombia, Mexico, Chile, or El Salvador: their hunting ground. In his talk, Jose provided the complete map of the Latin American criminal ecosystem—one more sophisticated than we'd like to admit.

"Cybersecurity Challenges Across Borders: Insights from the Other Side of the Globe" — Dmitry Galov, Kaspersky GReAT

What do they see from Russia that we don't? Dmitry brought the global perspective: the XZ Utils case that nearly compromised half the internet, APTs like Revenge Hotels targeting Spanish-speaking countries, the Ghost TAP technique for stealing NFC cards, and mentions of AI-powered black-hat tools active in LATAM like XanthoroxAI. We know threats don't respect borders; our defenses shouldn't either.

Side Quests

Obviously, a conference isn't just what happens on stage. It's also what goes on in the hallways and corners—all the parallel activities that turn passive attendees into active participants. And 8.8 Matrix knew this well.

The conference featured an exclusive Capture The Flag running throughout both days of the event, with prizes for the top three finishers.

There was also the MELI Live Hacking Event: a bug bounty event organized by the Mercado Libre team, open from September 25 through October 3, with extended scopes, special bounties, and a live leaderboard.

And finally, Sound of Cyber made an appearance: a unique sensory experience that let you visualize attacks on a honeypot in real time and experience them through your senses. An experience brought from conferences like Black Hat straight to Latin America.

The Movement Continues

8.8 Matrix is over, but the movement doesn't stop—it continues on October 1st and 2nd, 2026, in Chile.

We don't know what the theme will be, who the speakers will be, what threats will have emerged by then, or what new attack vectors will force us to rethink everything.

But we know one thing: as long as there are people who keep choosing the red pill, 8.8 will keep having aftershocks.

See you in October.

Knock, knock.