
Also if you're into target shooting, plan on coming Wednesday to attend the unofficial Defcon shoot. If you want to guarantee that you get a Defcon badge or to be one of the first ones to hold it, then you'll need to arrive sometime on Wednesday and lineup in the early a.m. There are usually a handful of talks in the evening, either in various villages such as Skytalks, or one or two official Defcon talks.
#DEFCON 2021 REGISTRATION#
Thursday is mostly a registration day, so it's okay to plan on visiting Defcon then. Something that is not often mentioned is that many people cut out Thursday and Sunday for various reasons, ranging from not being able to get off work to travel times.

Check the Defcon website for details on upcoming events. Defcon is always near the beginning of August and goes on for four days Thursday through Sunday. So you want to go to the con? Great! If you can spare the ~$750 and a few days during the summer (usually during the first half of August, sometimes with a few days at the end of July), then here are the steps you need to take to go! Step 1: Plan When to GoĪt first glance, planning when to go may seem simple, however, counterintuitively, some considerations could change the exact dates for you. This way, you'll feel more a part of the culture, and people will take you more seriously without just writing you off as one of the thousands of noobs.
#DEFCON 2021 DOWNLOAD#
At the very least, download the documentary and watch it while you're traveling to the con. Plus, it's quite nice to know what people mean when they talk about Alexis Park. My first time at Defcon, I was little more than a script kiddie who had watched this documentary and got excited about the con, yet some people mistook me for a veteran con-goer of several years. There are some fantastic interviews by Dark Tangent and the other founders, which provide a rare behind-the-scenes context for how the con grew to be what it is today.
#DEFCON 2021 FULL#
The first Defcon was so successful, with the hundred hackers that went, that there's been a Defcon every year since.įor a complete history of the con, I highly recommend watching the full documentary embedded below, which is nearly two-hours long and goes into much greater detail than I could ever possibly do in this article. Why not invite everyone on #hack? Good idea! - Dark Tangent I decided what the hell, I'll invite the members of all the other networks my BBS (A Dark Tangent System) system was a part of including Cyber Crime International (CCI), Hit Net, Tired of Protection (ToP), and like 8 others I can't remember. I was just planning a party for a network that was shut down, except for my U.S.

We talking about where we might hold it, when all of a sudden, he left early and disappeared. He was going to shut down the network when his dad took a new job and had to move away. plan a closing party for all the member BBS systems and their users. hub, I was helping the Platinum Net organizer.

meant to be a party for member of "Platinum Net", a Fido protocol based hacking network out of Canada. If you only know the name Defcon (sometimes stylized as DEF CON or DEFCON) with nothing but a vague notion that it's a hacker conference, then you should know that it was started in 1993 by Dark Tangent (aka Jeff Moss). With that in mind, I'm writing this article to help those new attendees or noobs have a fun and exciting experience. The con is the combination of some of the most brilliant minds in the industry, some of the most annoying pranksters, and a few well-meaning drunks. So for those who are unaware, the networks are hostile, and the Wall of Sheep is real. This makes Defcon one of the best places for hackers to go and meet like-minded individuals. Most, however, are fellow hackers and tech nerds just like you. Sometimes they are sent by employers, some are reporters hoping to get the latest scoop, and a handful are just curious tourists and happen to be in Vegas at the time.

Not all of those people attending will be familiar with the security industry and culture. No single hotel is large enough to hold all the hackers that descend on Las Vegas every July/August. Thousands of new people attend Defcon every year, and Defcon 25 was said to have 25,000 attendees, forcing it to expand to two venues. In this guide, we'll take a holistic view at everything that goes into attending the con for the first time, from securing your electronics and making the most of your time to the logistics of getting there and finding the right place to stay. Defcon is the largest hacker conference with something for everyone, whether it be the talks, parties, villages, or any of the hundreds of events.
