# Zeek Newsletter - Issue 65 - July 2026

**URL:** <https://community.zeek.org/t/zeek-newsletter-issue-65-july-2026/8013>\
**Category:** Announcements\
**Tags:** newsletter\
**Created:** [August 6, 2026, 5:38pm UTC](https://community.zeek.org/t/zeek-newsletter-issue-65-july-2026/8013 "2026-08-06T17:38:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![michelle](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/community.zeek.org/michelle/32/772_2.png) [@michelle](https://community.zeek.org/u/michelle)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 5:38pm UTC](https://community.zeek.org/t/zeek-newsletter-issue-65-july-2026/8013/1 "2026-08-06T17:38:27Z")

</div>

![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/uploads/zeek/original/1X/57ff332bac89b539745df8eabc86d634edc1ebd7.jpeg)

# Welcome to the Zeek Newsletter

## In this Issue:

- [Community News](https://community.zeek.org/t/zeek-newsletter-issue-65-july-2026/8013#p-29803-community-news-reminders-3)
- [Development Updates](https://community.zeek.org/t/zeek-newsletter-issue-65-july-2026/8013#p-29803-development-updates-4)
- [Zeek Techniques](https://community.zeek.org/t/zeek-newsletter-issue-65-july-2026/8013#p-29803-zeek-techniques-5)
- [Packages](https://community.zeek.org/t/zeek-newsletter-issue-65-july-2026/8013#p-29803-packages-6)
- [Get Involved](https://community.zeek.org/t/zeek-newsletter-issue-65-july-2026/8013#p-29803-get-involved-7)

**TL;DR:** Zeek 9.0 rc1 and 8.0.10 are targeting mid-August with extensive security and bug fixes. Lots of community news, including the 2026 Project Survey closing August 14, the Berkeley Workshop schedule launch, and a full redesign of [zeek.org](http://zeek.org)!

* * *

## **Community News & Reminders**

- **Community Call Recap:** This month we covered the upcoming Zeek 9.0 rc1, Leadership Team elections coming later this month, the [zeek.org](http://zeek.org) website redesign, and more. [Watch the recording here](https://youtu.be/1LdNbiAgOvc). The next call is September 2 at 10am PT – [use this Zoom link](https://us06web.zoom.us/j/99882457331?pwd=WVZLRGtpbmx1V2FqSnlRT1FLRC9lQT09) to join.

- **Berkeley Workshop:** The schedule for the upcoming Zeek Workshop is officially live. Join us for two days of hands-on technical sessions, community talks, and deep dives into Zeek. [Check out the full schedule and reserve your spot today](https://zeek.org/zeek-workshop-berkeley-2026/).

- **The 2026 Project Survey:** The annual community survey is open and runs through August 14. This year includes an optional focus group sign-up if you’re interested in providing feedback on future releases. [Take the survey here.](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScjP10NYCE0Wa4XPnVb4tgnVJgCsFacJbUByOcuoV-ZR58XHg/viewform)

- **Website Redesign:** Our website recently got a full makeover! Take a look around at [zeek.org](https://zeek.org) and let us know on Slack if you find anything broken, missing, or looking weird.

- **Package Testing Blog Series:** We recently published Yacin Nadji’s three-part series, _The Cure for Exceptional Zeek Package Testing_. It walks through practical techniques for testing packages when you lack a shareable PCAP, need to mock external APIs, or want to run tests on historical logs. Read[Part 1 here](https://zeek.org/2026/07/the-cure-for-exceptional-zeek-package-testing-part-1/).

- **Topic of the Month:** Last week we wrapped up “Learning from Mistakes”, you can find the [recap from the conversation here](https://zeek.org/2026/08/the-logs-were-right-debugging-your-mental-model-in-zeek/). This month’s topic is “Deployment Decisions” – [join us on Slack](http://zeek.org/slack) to discuss!

- **Security Onion Conference:** Our friends at Security Onion invite you to the Security Onion Conference, a great opportunity to connect with fellow defenders, learn best practices, and dive into the latest in network security monitoring and threat hunting. [Tickets will be available later today!](https://securityonionsolutions.com/conference/)

* * *

## **Development Updates**

Zeek 9.0 rc1 is targeting mid-August, with a full release expected around the beginning of September. The release is relatively light on new features but carries a large number of bug fixes (similar in volume to the recent 8.0.9 and 8.2.1 patch releases) driven by LLM security scanning and continued fuzzing work on the codebase.

Alongside 9.0, an 8.0.10 patch release will ship carrying the same fixes for users still on the LTS line. The 8.0 line will reach end of life when 9.1 ships at the end of the year.

As always, follow development progress on [GitHub](https://github.com/zeek) to stay current with the latest changes.

* * *

## **💡 Zeek Techniques**

This month’s tip came from an anonymous submission:

When wrangling JSON logs where the `ts` field is a Unix timestamp (`1783418081.078779`), the following `jq` magic can be useful to add a human-readable `ts_str` field.

```auto
$ echo '{"ts": 1783418081.078779}' | jq '.ts_str=(.ts|strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S"))'
{
  "ts": 1783418081.078779,
  "ts_str": "2026-07-07T09:54:41"
}

```

```auto
$ zcat 2026-07-0\*/weird\*gz | jq '.ts_str=(.ts|strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S"))'
{
  "ts": 1783418081.078779,
  "uid": "CQpaRLaf2RsMEt40d",
   ...
  "ts_str": "2026-07-07T09:54:41"
}

```

For TSV logs, zeek-cut has the `-d` flag!

Share your tricks, shortcuts, or techniques with us [using this form](https://forms.gle/1DR2ei98E1n54dg39).

* * *

## **Packages**

Anyone in the community can write add-on functionality for Zeek via packages.

- Browse Zeek packages: [https://packages.zeek.org](https://packages.zeek.org)
- Head to our [zkg package manager documentation](https://docs.zeek.org/projects/package-manager/en/stable/index.html) to get started on your own
- Questions? Check out [#package-sharing](https://zeekorg.slack.com/archives/CTGDGK6EA) to get help

Recently added or updated packages are always visible on GitHub directly, via the following search of pull requests to our package repository:

[https://github.com/zeek/packages/pulls?q=is%3Apr+is%3Aclosed](https://github.com/zeek/packages/pulls?q=is%3Apr+is%3Aclosed)

Recent Updates:

> **[GitHub - zeek/zeek-xdp](https://github.com/zeek/zeek-xdp)**
>
> Contribute to zeek/zeek-xdp development by creating an account on GitHub.

* * *

## **Get Involved**

- Share ideas or content: [news@zeek.org](mailto:news@zeek.org) or [#security-news](https://zeekorg.slack.com/archives/CT0J1PSR2) on Slack.
- Stay connected: [Discourse](https://community.zeek.org) • [YouTube](https://youtube.com/c/Zeekurity) • [Mastodon](https://infosec.exchange/@zeek) • [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/zeek.org) • [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/zeekurity)
- Check out [Leadership Team meeting notes](https://community.zeek.org/c/lt-meeting-notes/13) for insider updates.
- Looking for Zeek jobs? [See openings on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/search/?keywords=zeek).

**Thanks for being part of the community. We’ll see you next time!**