The OzSec Foundation was formed to create a nexus for the Information Security community in the greater Wichita area. By organizing events and creating unified channels for communication, the OzSec Foundation exists to serve the ongoing efforts of existing Information Security organizations, educational institutions and other members of the community.
OzSec began connecting infosec professionals at it's first conferance in Wichita, Kansas, in October 2018. It was a joint effort of the ISC2 Wichita and ISSA Central Plains chapters, as well as help from the community at large. The endeavor was hailed as a success and the community hoped it wouldn’t be the last. Shortly thereafter, John Carney, the President of ISC2 Wichita at the time, started working to establish the OzSec Foundation as an entity of its own. In early 2019, John accepted a career position outside of the Wichita area and as a result resigned from his efforts related to both ISC2 Wichita and the newly formed OzSec Foundation. With the future of the foundation and Wichita’s own information security conference in jeopardy, new leadership took the reigns to keep the John’s vision alive. The second annual OzSec Information Security Conference took place in October 2019. With ongoing help from partners ISC2 Wichita, ISSA Central Plains and the newly added ASIS International Wichita chapter, the second outing for OzSec was twice as big and successful as the first. Plans for expanding further in 2020 began immediately. Unfortunately, in 2020 the spread of COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the first OzSec Spring Fling workshop in March and the annual conference in October. Instead, the OzSec Foundation hosted a smaller, virtual event for the community in the month of October to keep the tradition going. Looking to the future, the OzSec Foundation continues to grow and partner with other community organizations and education institution to grow the information security network in the Wichita area.