Nashville 2600 presents PhreakNIC 20 at the Clarion Inn in Murfreesboro. PhreakNIC, an annual technology convention, has been held each year since 1997 in the greater Nashville area; 2016 marks the event’s 20th consecutive year. Festivities begin at 10 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 4, and run until the morning of Sunday, Nov. 6.

PhreakNIC started as an information security (infosec) hacker convention but has expanded over the years to include topics ranging from ham radio to do-it-yourself engineering to general talks about science and science education.

Nashville 2600 Chairperson Elonka Dunin is well-known within the cryptography scene; she even assisted bestselling author Dan Brown with his research on codes—so much so that Brown named a character after her in one of his novels.

“PhreakNIC is a magnet for those who experiment with technology and information security from all around the Southeastern United States,” Dunin says. “It is a real mix of the intellectually curious. We bring in academics, law enforcement, hackers, makers and everything else you can think of. It is an equal mix of talks, workshops and social events, a wonderful opportunity to network, both socially and technically.”

Elonka Dunin

This year, PhreakNIC features a mix of talks with two speaking tracks including infosec and cryptography. Additionally, there is a workshop track for some hands-on learning experiences. On Saturday, Nov. 5, the workshop area will be transformed into a kids’ track for youth aged 6 through 14, with the goal of igniting intellectual curiosity in the next generation.

Clarion Inn is located at 2227 Old Fort Parkway in Murfreesboro. For more information or to register for PhreakNIC, visit phreaknic.info.