San Francisco Hosts Largest-Ever RSAC as Rebranded Conference Draws 44KSan Francisco Hosts Largest-Ever RSAC as Rebranded Conference Draws 44K
The 2025 RSAC Conference in San Francisco attracted a record number of cybersecurity professionals from around the world, featuring hundreds of exhibitors and speakers across an expanded venue space, while introducing several new program elements designed to address both industry innovation and everyday security concerns.
June 16, 2025
From April 28-May 1, some 44,000 cybersecurity professionals from 120-plus countries descended on San Francisco’s Moscone Center for the 34th annual RSAC Conference. It was the largest turnout yet, marking a roughly 6% increase over last year. But the number of attendees was far from the only first at the event, which rebranded to the RSAC Conference this year after being known as the “RSA Conference” since its inception in 1991. (“RSA” is an acronym made up of the first letters of the last names of the three co-founders of the company, with the addition of "C" representing the conference’s commitment to “content, connection, culture, and conversation.”)
The event has been held at the 2 million-square-foot Moscone Center since 2007. This year, it took up roughly 120,000 square feet of convention space to accommodate 650 exhibitors—up from 600 in 2024—plus more than 450 sessions featuring 750 speakers. Programming also expanded to Moscone’s adjacent Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) for the first time this year, “where a lot of our innovation programming and YBCA keynote stage were housed,” explained Ben Waring, RSCA director of global PR and communications. In all, the conference had a 1.5 million square-foot footprint across Moscone Center, YBCA, and host hotels.
When asked about other new conference features, Waring shared a breakdown of what else made its debut at the record-breaking 2025 RSAC Conference:
The inaugural DARPA AIxCC Experience “was an immersive journey that transported attendees from the bustling RSAC 2025 to Northbridge, a fictional city designed to showcase the importance of AI-driven cybersecurity in protecting our critical infrastructure,” Waring described.
Held at the YBCA, experts in the futuristic space guided attendees through Northbridge, where multiple rooms featured LED screens as walls, interactive display panels, and eye-catching projection mapping that showcased AI's importance to the future. In one standout scenario, DARPA AIxCC guests experienced a simulated, AI-assisted hospital attack scenario in a space modeled after an emergency room.
The “Protecting Home & Family” track was brand-new to the RSAC Conference’s on-stage lineup—and its programming was among the buzziest of the entire event, Waring said.
This track consisted of five sessions featuring leaders from Google, Ampyx News, and RangersAI, who “offered insights on protecting what matters outside of the secure office environment,” Waring said. “Carefully curated sessions focused on tips and tricks for kids and seniors, along with guidance on safeguarding tech at home from scams, and other nefarious actors.”
Speaking of the RSAC Conference’s cybersecurity-pro attendees, Waring continued, “These folks are fighting on the front lines in many cases trying to keep companies and individuals secure from cyber-attacks. They are similar to first responders—in the digital sense—and often tackling duties beyond their own roles to help keep the public safe. It's truly inspiring.”
The 2025 conference also played host to the Innovation Sandbox Contest. Though not new to the event, it marked the first year that the RSAC Conference handed out a whopping $50 million to the contest’s finalists.
In its 20th year, submissions for the Innovation Sandbox Contest climbed 40%, to 200, making it the most competitive iteration of the competition yet. Just ten firms moved on as finalists that, aside from receiving a $5 million check, each had the opportunity to deliver a three-minute pitch and participate in a Q&A session in front of a panel of expert judges.
The $5 million check made out to each of the finalists, including the “RSAC 2025 Conference’s Most Innovative Startup,” was written by Crosspoint Capital Partners, the private equity firm that acquired a majority stake in the RSAC Conference back in 2022.
In an impressive first on day one of the conference, the New York Stock Exchange virtually rang the Opening Bell from the Moscone Center.
Sure, it signaled that the markets opened for the day, but it also served as the official kickoff to the RSAC Conference. The moment was “a nod and testament to the power of cybersecurity across global markets,” Waring added.
Despite so much newness at the 2025 RSAC Conference, Waring told TSNN that his favorite part of the event was meeting attendees attending for the 30th time—and then meeting a first-time Security Scholar attendee hoping to land a job at College Day just moments later. After all, there are “currently 3.5 million vacant cybersecurity roles globally,” Waring noted the importance of the event’s College Day, which gave current university students and graduates within the past year a free, one-day pass to the RSAC Conference to explore a dedicated agenda of keynotes, resume review sessions, and networking opportunities.
Networking events for more seasoned cybersecurity attendees, meanwhile, included a “LoyaltyPlus & First-Timer Reception” the day before the event started, which brought together first-time and veteran attendees at ping-pong club SPIN San Francisco. There was also a more formal welcome reception on day one, plus an expo pub crawl and craft beer tasting experience throughout the rest of the week.
Twenty-plus RSAC Conference affiliates also hosted ancillary events, including the Crypto Caffe put on by SandboxAQ and invite-only “Golden Hour by the Bay” VIP dinner hosted by software company UpGuard. “There was something for everyone!” Waring said.
Have FOMO yet? You’re in luck—the 2026 RSAC Conference will return to the Moscone Center March 23-26, 2026.
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