

Competitors must pre-qualify in order to play.
#Defcon conference series#
Attendees call it the World Series of hacking and not everyone can play. The most prestigious challenge to win at Defcon is Capture The Flag (CTF).
#Defcon conference code#
The Defcon conference badge is a miniature circuit board, which lights up in various sequences and many hackers spend the entire conference trying to “crack” the code on the badge. The first puzzle comes in the form of the coveted electronic Defcon22 badge. Organizers of Defcon like to challenge attendees with puzzles – either to hone their skills or perhaps to distract them from infiltrating nearby sandwich shops. To be precise, there is a lot of hacking to do. And while t he speeches are a highlight of the event, there are plenty of other unique and unusual things to do at Defcon. Participants must go through a rigorous review panel of their peers, before earning a coveted spot to speak at Defcon. And this year an unexpected participant was Tesla, apparently looking to recruit some computer geniuses. And one Rio hotel staffer told us that employees there were warned not to bring their cell phones, credit cards or anything else for the four-day conference because they could be breached.įor those looking for a Defcon souvenir that has not been hacked from someone, the chaotic vendor area has it all: artists hawking Defcon T-Shirts, security companies pitching the latest and greatest hacking equipment, how-to books and lockpicking kits. We were told to put our IDs, credit cards and other chip-embedded cards in some form of protective RFID shielding case while at the conference.Ī fast food restaurant nearby the hotel was hacked while we were there. These are hackers after all, and nothing electronic is safe from the prying eyes of their sniffer programs – bots whose only purpose is to latch onto your personal data. The Defcon conference, which is the ultimate assembly of paranoia, costs $220 in cash. These hackers mingle with National Security Agents (NSA) and Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) agents and other government guys who listen to the speeches, but really want to recruit talent. Some of the attendees include white hat hackers (good guys) and black hats (unscrupulous guys). Nearly 16,000 eager hackers of all ages showed up for Defcon 22 at the Rio Hotel. Thousands more who want to emulate his skills were in town for Defcon – a very different type of security conference that’s held the first week of August in Las Vegas and stands in stark contrast to the high-priced corporate event. Many of those acolytes descended on Las Vegas for a chance to see him speak at the Black Hat convention. The topic of Satellite vulnerabilities alone was enough to raise concern within the security industry and earn adoration within the hacking world. It costs about $3,000 to get in the door. We caught up with the Madrid-based IOActive security researcher right after he spoke at Black Hat, a high-end security conference geared toward corporations, security professionals and FBI types. Illinois State Fair Announces New Headliners for Grandstand Concert Lineup
