Blackhoodie at Recon 2026

We are looking forward to hosting another Blackhoodie training at Recon for 2026! We will be hosting a free, one day training for women, by women.

Join us for an introduction to Ghidra and static analysis of x86 assembly before jumping into the conference. Whether you’re brand new to the field or looking to sharpen your skills, this is the perfect setting to learn alongside a welcoming community of like-minded hackers.

TL;DR:

What: Class on Static Reverse Engineering

When: June 18th 2026, 9am to 5pm

Where: Montreal, Google Office

Who: Women

Registration: fill form here (registration open until we reach capacity)

Fees: The training is free; food, travel and hotel is responsibility of attendees

Agenda

Introduction to Reverse Engineering x86

Teachers: Amna Mehmood is a cybersecurity researcher and reverse engineer with a background in malware analysis. Her focus includes Android reverse engineering, embedded systems, and vulnerability analysis. Jane Tangen is a reverse engineer working in Cambridge MA. She specializes in static analysis and in adding processor support into Ghidra.

Topic: In this one-day workshop, participants will learn the fundamentals of x86 reverse engineering through guided instruction and hands-on examples. The morning begins with an introduction to assembly code and static analysis using Ghidra, building a foundation for the afternoon’s practical challenges. Topics covered include stack overflows, type confusions, and string filters. No prior experience with reverse engineering or Ghidra is required, a basic familiarity with C or C++ (including a general understanding of malloc and stack usage) is all you need.

Prerequisites: Laptop with at least 4GB of memory and internet-capable (or can accept USBs) Java 21 or greater (Optional) Python 3.9 or greater

Who should attend Anyone who wants to learn Ghidra and/or practice interpreting x86 assembly!

What is BlackHoodie?

BlackHoodie is a free, women only reverse engineering workshop and community. More information can be found here: https://www.blackhoodie.re/about/

Why women-only?

One qualifies to attend an in-person bootcamp either if born and raised female, or if one identifies as a woman. This concept of women-only has no intention of putting up walls or feeling exclusive. Blackhoodie is about creating space in an industry that’s very competitive. It is a comfortable place, where attendees feel encouraged to grow skills without pressure. We do what we do, not to create women-only bubbles, as contradicting as it might sound, but to enable a minority to enter the security space, learn skills that are otherwise expensive to learn, find their interests and grow a professional network.

And, it works. BlackHoodie alumnae have gone far beyond being successful in the classroom since the workshop series started. They ventured out to start community projects and collaborations, got themselves new jobs in the security industry, went to speak at major security conferences, joined review boards and become influencers in our community. Many went on to mentor others after they had found their spot, came back to BlackHoodie to give trainings on their own or are now conference trainers and teach classes to the community.

Finally, why does the security industry need more women at all? The industry is growing and facing a talent shortage. More importantly, jobs are typically well paid, come with certain privileges, and are challenging and often fulfilling. And we do firmly believe our society as a whole can only benefit from having more women with money, independence and confidence. Likewise, the tech sector has grown in size and influence, and with great power comes great responsibility – responsibility best shared among a diverse body of decision makers.