CyCon 2027: 19th International Conference on Cyber Conflict: Unified Response Tallinn, Estonia, May 25-28, 2027

CyCon, the International Conference on Cyber Conflict, is organised annually by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE).

Submission Guidelines

The conference is structured along three tracks: Legal, Strategy and Policy, and Technology. Authors must indicate the track to which their submission is addressed. The same paper may not be submitted to more than one track. Authors who are uncertain about the appropriate track are encouraged to contact the Programme Committee.

Authors are required to submit an abstract of 200–300 words describing the proposed paper and clearly setting out its main arguments and conclusions. Abstracts that describe a topic but do not indicate expected conclusions will not be considered.

Following a preliminary review, selected authors will be invited to submit full papers. Only original work that has not been previously published will be considered.

Full papers should be 4,000–6,000 words in length, including abstract, references, and any annexes. Papers exceeding this length by more than 10% require prior approval from the Programme Committee. Authors are expected to present well-developed arguments supported by appropriate analysis and evidence.

All submissions will be subject to a double-blind peer review process in accordance with IEEE standards.

Theme: Unified Response

Cyberspace is a domain without borders, and the threats that inhabit it respect none. No single nation, organisation, or sector may be capable of addressing the full range of contemporary cyber threats in isolation. At the same time, the mechanisms required to enable effective collective action; shared situational awareness, compatible legal frameworks, and coordinated operational approaches, remain uneven and, contested.

As cyber operations increasingly intersect with hybrid threats, military operations, and the functioning of critical infrastructure, the ability to act in a coordinated and coherent manner has become a central challenge. Addressing this challenge requires not only technical capability, but also legal clarity, strategic alignment, and organisational cooperation across national and institutional boundaries.

CyCon 2027 will explore how such a unified response can be achieved. Contributions may address, inter alia:

• the conditions enabling or constraining coordinated responses across jurisdictions and sectors;
• approaches to building interoperability, and shared situational awareness;
• legal, policy, and technical barriers to collective action, and ways to overcome them;
• methods for assessing effectiveness in collective cyber defence.

The Programme Committee invites the submission of original research papers offering technical, legal, strategic, policy, or operational perspectives on these and related cyber conflict issues.

Important Dates

• Abstract submission: 23 September 2026 (09:00 EET)
• Notification of abstract acceptance: 21 October 2026
• Full paper submission: 06 January 2027 (09:00 EET)
• Notification of paper acceptance: 17 February 2027
• Camera ready submission: 03 March 2027

Publication

CyCon 2027 proceedings will be published on our website in the end of May 2027 together with the printed proceedings published during the conference.

One author of each accepted paper is required to present the paper at the conference. The selected speaker will receive a support package, including conference registration, accommodation, and economy-class travel.

Venue

The 19th iteration of CyCon will take place on 25–28 May 2027 in Tallinn, Estonia.

Contact

All questions about submissions should be emailed to cycon2027@ccdcoe.org