Build Stuff 2025, Vilnius, Lithuania

In November 2025, I spoke at Build Stuff in Vilnius about creative defences against scrapers, phishers, and digital opportunists. It was my first time attending Build Stuff, and was a superb introduction to the conference.

The Talk

I delivered "Digital Cat & Mouse: Strategies to Outsmart Scrapers, Phishers & Thieves” - a talk blending practical defences, odd stories from real incidents, and a few unconventional tricks for making life difficult for bad actors. The room was packed, and the Q&A afterwards was full of great questions and even better follow-up conversations.

One of the things I always enjoy at conferences is swapping "you won't believe this one” stories about the various attacks people have seen in the wild. Build Stuff absolutely delivered on that front. I came away with new techniques, new anecdotes, and a renewed appreciation for the community of people working on the less glamorous corners of application security.

Slides are here: https://speakerdeck.com/conroyp/digital-cat-and-mouse-strategies-to-outsmart-scrapers-phishers-and-thieves

The Conference

Build Stuff had a brilliant programme this year: a balanced mix of deeply technical sessions, hands-on case studies, and some more off-the-wall talks meant that there was always something interesting going on!

A few highlights:

• Daniel Saidi's session on building SDKs - the perfect combination of deep technical insight and strong storytelling. A lot of talks manage one or the other; Daniel managed both, and it made the session hugely enjoyable and genuinely educational.

• Richard Campbell's talk on the recent history of AI, circular economics, and the possibility of an upcoming market correction. Thoughtful, wide-reaching, and very well delivered.

• Aeon Karris's interactive talk, which had us pair up with strangers for an unexpected networking exercise. A brave choice with an introvert-friendly crowd - but surprisingly effective.

Across the board, I was struck by how many sessions hit that rare "technically strong and great fun to watch" combination. At many conferences, you may get talks with great technical detail, or talks which are genuinely fun, entertaining, and delivered with flair, but it's not all that common to see both in the one session. I was surprised by how many talks here ticked both boxes - educational and entertaining at the same time!

An interesting part of the conference was the sponsor setup. Every attendee got a "sponsor bingo card" to collect stamps from different booths. Completed cards are then entered into a prize draw on the last day. It was a clever way to encourage engagement without the usual pressure of sales pitches. I found myself having genuine conversations with sponsors I might have otherwise skipped. The t-shirt, jumper and tote bag each attendee got were also very nice touches!

The Hallway Track

Between the talks, the hallway conversations were superb - lively, varied, and full of the kind of insights you only get from informal chats. Discussions drifted from security oddities to API design, from conference war stories to the merits of different Christmas-market snacks (an important topic in Vilnius in December).

Great Speaker Support

One of the standout aspects of Build Stuff was the speaker preparation process. In the weeks beforehand, Neringa Young and her team organised a set of online meet-and-greet calls where speakers could introduce themselves, discuss our upcoming sessions, and get familiar with the faces we'd soon meet in person.

It sounds simple, but it made arriving in Vilnius feel like meeting old colleagues rather than strangers. There's huge value in that, especially for multi-track conferences where speakers often scatter in all directions between sessions.

Logistics were similarly excellent: clear communication around travel, accommodation, schedules, speaker events, and everything else that normally requires a bit of detective work. Every detail was handled with clarity and friendliness.

The speakers' dinner at Katpėdėlė was another highlight - a great chance to get to know everyone properly over some excellent Lithuanian cuisine. Delicious, warming, and very generous portions!

It's great to talk to the other speakers about the background to their talks, and their own experiences. Gil Fink had some amazing stories about his work fixing JS applications in critical systems, where lives are literally on the line. Fascinating stuff, and a great benefit of speaking at these events - getting a chance to pick the brains of these experienced experts, and hear all the interesting stories they have to share!

Vilnius

This wasn't my first visit to Vilnius, but it was great to see the city in full Christmas-market mode - lights everywhere, cold crisp air, and an atmosphere that made even short walks between venues feel festive.

Vilnius is a wonderfully walkable city with plenty to explore between sessions. I made a quick detour to the video portal linking Vilnius and Dublin, and once again found it strangely charming to watch my home city from 2,000 km away.

Final Thoughts

Build Stuff was an outstanding conference - brilliantly organised, packed with high-quality talks, and delivered with real warmth by the team behind it.

Huge thanks to Neringa Young and the entire Build Stuff crew for creating such a vibrant, welcoming event and for putting so much care into the speaker experience.

Already looking forward to next year!