ATEA-FPO-2026ATConference-Paper-Call.pdf

2026 Anti-Tamper Conference

Call for Papers

21-23 April 2026 Johns Hopkins University/Applied Physics Laboratory

Kossiakoff Center – Laurel, MD 20723

The 2026 Anti-Tamper Conference is Sponsored by the DoD Anti-Tamper Executive Agent in collaboration with the DoD Anti-Tamper Executive Agent Program Office

2026 DoD Anti-Tamper Conference Theme:

“Securing Tomorrow Today: 25 Years of Anti-Tamper Resilience”

Join us for an extraordinary event where we celebrate 25 years of unwavering Anti-Tamper (AT) resilience and embark on a journey towards "Securing Tomorrow Today." This conference stands as a testament to DoD’s enduring commitment to safeguarding innovations and protecting progress in the dynamic modern landscape. It is imperative that as a nation we overcome barriers that hinder the delivery of essential capabilities to our servicemen and women, all while designing for exportability to empower our allies and coalition partners in joint operations.

The theme of this year’s conference “Securing Tomorrow Today” invokes the past, present and future of Anti-Tamper technological solutions. In January 2001, Jack Gansler as Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics officially designated the Air Force as the Executive Agent for Anti-Tamper starting this journey of development. As we reflect on past achievements and gaze towards the future, let us honor the champions of innovation who have led the charge in protecting progress. The lessons learned and challenges overcome from the past can guide us in this landscape where adversaries continuously evolve and enhance their technologies.

Technology is today’s and will be tomorrow’s force multiplier and highlights the ever growing need to keep pace with the rapidly developing commercial microelectronics market. As the DoD leans forward with rapid acquisitions and use of commercially developed components within weapon systems, Anti-Tamper techniques and technologies play a crucial role as one piece of the holistic protection puzzle. The escalating complexity of reverse engineering techniques poses a significant threat to the integrity of cutting-edge technology developments for the US Government and its foreign partners. As we push the boundaries of state-of-the-art technology, it is a poignant reminder of the pivotal role that anti-tamper technologies play in fortifying hardware security defenses to mitigate risks, protect against vulnerabilities, and uphold their resilience in an era of rapid technological advancement.

The future brings unknown advancements from quantum- resistant encryption baked directly into silicon leveraging novel materials or advanced AI- driven threat detection or 3D stacked hardware in micro-packages. Each new advancement will undoubtedly present fresh attack vectors requiring new defenses steering the future of AT to be as transformative as the past 25 years. In many ways, AT has become proving ground for next- generation technology. This conference will bring together defense industry leaders, government experts, and technology innovators who have devoted themselves to the art of Anti-Tamper protection. The insightful discussions, cutting-edge strategies, and success stories that highlight the evolution of anti-tamper technologies developed over the past quarter-century will guide the next generation of technology security and protection.

Together, we aim not only to secure tomorrow's innovations today but also ensure the last line of defense for technology with the knowledge and tools from the past. This conference is the transformative opportunity to be part of an event that celebrates 25 years of Anti-Tamper excellence and paves the way for continued success in safeguarding tomorrow's innovations.

We are currently seeking abstract submissions on, but not limited to, and in no order, the following topics:

1. The Force Multiplier of Today and Tomorrow: The rapid evolution of Commercial-Off The-Shelf (COTS) microelectronics demands constant vigilance and adaptation in our security strategies.

a. COTs in AT solutions: How can the DoD leverage commercial technology and State-of-the-Art (SOTA) COTs components for security solutions?

b. Early Integration: Perspectives on employing COTs within AT solutions at the start of the development cycle to reduce impact for program risk and targeting for exportability

c. Holistic Security: How can COTs enable Holistic Security Protection across Cyber, Assurance and AT?

d. AT Supply Chain: Case studies, lessons learned, government and industry perspectives on COTs based AT solutions plan to overcome supply chain challenges

2. Essential for Secure Acquisition: As the DoD embraces commercial components for rapid acquisition, anti-tamper technologies have become a crucial role as one piece of the holistic protection puzzle.

a. AT & Acquisition Lifecycle: Implementing AT across the Acquisition lifecycle including through Development, Production & Sustainment

b. Direct Commercial, Non-Traditional and Foreign Military Sales: Case studies, lessons learned, government and industry perspectives on exportability utilizing a holistic security approach for Direct Commercial, Non-Traditional (Non Program of Record) and Foreign Military Sales through Program Protection of Critical Program Information (CPI)

c. Rapid Deployment: How can programs provide the appropriate AT protections along with Cyber and Assurance security in a rapid deployment cycle without adding undue cost and time delay?

d. AT Framework: Case studies, lessons learned, government and industry perspectives on implementing the AT Framework

3. The Rising Threat of Reverse Engineering: Increasingly sophisticated reverse engineering techniques pose a serious challenge to protecting cutting-edge technology for the US Government and its allies

a. State of Reverse Engineering: With the evolving reverse engineering threat, how does this drive AT solutions development for continual cutting-edge protection?

b. Post-Quantum: Preparing for Quantum Algorithm (either Quantum Resistant Cryptography and/or Post-Quantum Cryptography) upgrades over the acquisition lifecycle

c. AI Driven Threats: How do you incorporate defense in-depth methodologies to fortify the AT architecture against AI driven threats?

4. Fortifying the Future: Anti-tamper technologies are vital to strengthen hardware security, mitigate risks, and ensure resilience in the face of rapid technological advancement.

a. Next Gen Microelectronics: Leveraging the development of next gen commercial and government microelectronics technology for Anti-Tamper applications

b. AI & ML: Perspectives on how to utilize AI and ML and how they can be integrated into AT solutions

c. Space Domain: What AT solutions are and/or will be applicable for Space Systems (vehicles, payloads, operational environments)?

Additional topics will be reviewed (such as those below), but priority will be given to papers that answer the topics in #’s 1-4, above

• Best practices and recommendations for implementing the Anti-Tamper Interface Control Document

• Utilizing AT MBSE modeling to support system requirements, design, analysis, verification, and validation activities

• Workforce Development: best practices for training new AT and security engineers

Abstracts due by 06 August 2025 2026 DoD Anti-Tamper Conference

The 2026 Anti-Tamper Conference invites original, previously unpublished submissions addressing a broad spectrum of Anti-Tamper (AT) topics relevant to the development, evaluation, and management of systems with AT requirements. We encourage submissions from suppliers, universities, and other organizations presenting innovative technologies, tools, methodologies, applications, and results in the field of Anti-Tamper.

Papers will be selected based on their relevance, data quality, technical significance, and interpretation of results. Submissions focused on AT techniques should clearly articulate the specific attacks mitigated and the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of the technique.

The conference audience comprises both contractor and government personnel; therefore, all papers and presentations must be non-proprietary. All submitted abstracts will be considered for inclusion in the conference proceedings, regardless of presentation selection. Poster sessions and vendor tables will be available for company representatives. Abstract acceptance is based solely on the information provided in the submitted abstract. Presentations will be approximately 20 minutes in length.

Security All conference registrants must submit security clearance credentials to AFLCMC/WAG-AT.

The conference will be held at the Johns Hopkins University Kossiakoff Center. The security level will support presentations and discussions up to SECRET//COLLATERAL. All abstracts must be UNCLASSIFIED or UNCLASSIFIED//CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION (CUI). Authors should indicate in their abstract if they intend to present at the SECRET//COLLATERAL level. Contractors may require significant time to review and approve abstracts and presentations for release; please allow ample time for this process.

Abstract Submission Abstract submissions should be in the form of a white paper, with a maximum length of two pages, including representative images, figures, and references. The white paper should provide sufficient detail to allow for a fair evaluation of the presentation material. The title of the presentation must be strictly Unclassified or CUI. Submissions must include the information listed below in the specified format; incomplete submissions may be disqualified.

2026 Anti-Tamper Conference Abstract Submission Required Information Template

Author’s complete name, title, and organization (if multiple authors, identify the individual that will be presenting the topic)

Which abstract topic(s) the submission is supporting Classification level of final presentation

Telephone number, fax number, email address

Complete mailing address

Submission Instructions Review the DoD AT Security Classification Guide (SCG), dated 31 Jul 2020, to determine the classification level (UNCLASSIFIED or CUI) of your abstract. To request the most current version of the DoD AT SCG, please email afmc.dod.atea@us.af.mil. Submit your abstract and the completed Excel template, "2026 Call for Paper Abstract Information_[Abstract Name]_[Company]," as encrypted email attachments to afmc.dod.atea@us.af.mil with the subject line "Abstract Submission for the 2026 AT Conference." If the submitter is not the author, please include the submitter's contact information in the email.

If you are unable to send an encrypted email:

1. Encrypt the document using the encryption provided by your application (e.g., Word, PDF, PowerPoint) and a password of your choice.

2. Send the encrypted document as an unencrypted email to afmc.dod.atea@us.af.mil.

3. Send a follow-up email containing the password to decrypt the document.

Contact the Anti-Tamper Education and Outreach Office at 937-255-3520 if you have any questions.

Timeline

06 August 2025 (firm) - Abstracts due 12 September 2025 - Notifications of acceptance 04 December 2025 – Draft Presentations due 04 February 2026 – Final Presentation due

Additional Information Further details, including registration information, will be available on https://at.dod.mil as they become available. Please direct any questions to afmc.dod.atea@us.af.mil.

mailto:afmc.dod.atea@us.af.mil mailto:afmc.dod.atea@us.af.mil mailto:afmc.dod.atea@us.af.mil https://at.dod.mil/ mailto:afmc.dod.atea@us.af.mil