July 27-30 at Caesars Palace!
Here's the skinny so far:
New to DEF CON?
Find out what it's all about!
DEF CON has been a part of the hacker community for over two decades. Pick up a bit of history and origin on the About Page. The DEF CON FAQ has the answers to most of the common questions you might have.
A treasure trove of hacking knowledge
awaits in our past media!
DEF CON Media Server. Speeches, music, art, and more!
For the big downloaders, check out our Torrents.
On the go, watch DEF CON Presentations on iTunes.
Want to participate?
There are a myriad of ways!
DEF CON is what you make it. If you'd like to do more than just attend, have a look at our Get Involved page for ideas!
Year round, consider joining a local DEF CON Group, or get active on the DEF CON Forums!
Cypherpunks, start your engines! Crypto and Privacy Village is returning for DEF CON 25 and they're looking for speakers. If you've got some good stuff to share with the Crypto community, point yourself over to cfp.cryptovillage.org and get your submit on! We're looking forwards to seeing what you've been working on.
If you have geek-friendly wares you'd like to get in front of tens of thousands of clued-up, engaged and highly caffeinated DEF CON types, might we suggest the vendor area at DEF CON 25? For that audience, you really can't beat it. Smart people with an interest in hacker stuff is literally all we got.
As always, vendor table space is limited, and will get claimed pretty quickly. Its a good idea to get your application in early to ensure your spot. The information you need to apply is available at defconvendors.com. Registration closes on June 1st, 2017, so don't delay.
The 2016 DARPA Cyber Grand Challenge was kind of a big deal. It was an autonomous, all AI Capture the Flag contest with millions of dollars in prize money. The systems competing were built by teams from all over the country, all of them building the road as they travelled. The teams that made it to the hotly contested final round are all full of straight-up wizards. We're proud of how great the contest turned out, and of all the brilliant humans who made it happen.
When the smoke cleared, For All Secure's Mayhem was the last bot standing. In addition to the millions in prize dollars, the eternal bragging rights and the very stylish DEF CON Black Badge, Mayhem now has a place in official history at the Smithsonian.
Writeup Here:
http://invention.si.edu/ai-and-challenge-cybersecurity
Recap and tons of info also available here:
http://archive.darpa.mil/cybergrandchallenge/
The popular Jack v2 Pirate Electronics Kit has returned to the DEF CON eBay store! Don't miss your chance to get the finest in blinky swag (from the High German 'blinkenschwag'). The last batch sold out almost immediately, so if Jack seems like your jam, get thee to eBay!
DEF CON Demo Labs are BACK! If you’ve got an open source project (tool or hardware) that you want to get in front of a huge, clued-in and interested audience, you’re gonna want to check out our Demo Labs page. Whether you’re looking for feedback, help or just getting the word out, we can offer you a 2-4 hour dedicated time slot to share at DEF CON 25. And one badge, if your project makes the cut, obvi. Get your info on the DL page and get your proposal in before June 1, and let’s make some demo magic!
Friendly DEF CON 25 CTF reminder: The next qualifying event is PlaidCTF, an online jeopardy-style contest that's a mere 10 days away! You can get more infoz at plaidctf.com, but it's time to #getonit. Fortune favors the bold.
The Call for Contests/Events/Parties is now closed. If you submitted a proposal, expect a response soon. If you just want to know what kind of delights are in store for DEF CON 25 attendees, watch this space.
It's getting closer, people. Feel free to get amped.
Friendly reminder to our friends in the fourth estate: Press Registration for DEF CON 25 is now officially OPEN! Spaces are limited, and speedy application improves your chances. The information you need to get your ducks properly aligned is on the DEF CON Press page. We've made some changes to streamline the process, so it's worth your time to check that out.
We look forward to hearing from you. It's gonna be a big year.
Attention CTF enthusiasts everywhere: Registration is open for the DEF CON 25 CTF competition! Please report to the web establishment of our friends and trusted associates at the Legitimate Business Syndicate for further instruction.
You can't win if you don't play, and you can't play if you don't register. Let DO THIS, shall we?
Can you talk a skinny dog off a meat truck? Do 419 scammers get off the phone owing you money? If you've got the steely nerve and Social Engineering skill to play in the big leagues, you should know that the SECTF is accepting applications for DEF CON 25. Get in the ring and show off your superpowers!
This month's profoundly rad design is here to hacker up your spring wardrobe! Dozens of DEF CON and hacker culture references packed together in the inimitable style of our own Mar Williams. Can you identify them all?
Limited edition, only available in the Secret Stash, so get yourself fresh while you can!
One of the fun perks of staying in the host hotel at DEF CON is access to live, streaming talk content from the comfort of your room. DEF CON TV can really come in handy when a talk is over capacity, or when you need a little breather from the Vegas of it all.
This year, we’re hoping to expand the offering of DEF CON TV beyond the main venue. If you're staying in any of the partner hotels, you’ll not only get our D.C. Group rate, but you get DCTV as well! Huzzah! We’ll keep you informed via social media and the DEF CON 25 website when we have the green light.
Our block rate is sold out at Caesars, but you can still grab it at
Linq
Paris
Bally's
Flamingo
Harrah's
We suggest you book promptly to ensure the preferred pricing - these will fill up quickly.
The next stop on the road to DEF CON 25 CTF glory is this weekend's 0OPS CTF. It's a wide open, jeopardy-style event you can learn about at https://ctf.0ops.net. Everybody gets an exciting sleepless weekend of network combat, but the winner gets a spot at the Big Show at DC25. Spring has sprung and the procrastinator's window is slowly closing. Gather your stoutest warriors and get your name in the arena, or forever wish you had tested yourself against the best.
Details and the full quals schedule are at legitbs.net.
Are you an entertainer? A singer of songs, a shredder of licks, a spinner of beats? Have you the skills to keep the sweaty masses in a rumpus till the breaking of dawn? If so, DEF CON has urgent need of your talents.
The DEF CON 25 Call for Entertainers is now live. Fill out the form, prove you have the goods, rock faces off at DEF CON's 25th Anniversary shindig. It's that simple. You've got til June 1 to get our attention.
Pro Tip: if you want to give your CFP submission its best chance, don't wait for the last minute! Get it in early so that reviewers have a chance to give you feedback. If you have a good idea that needs some refinement, we're happy to help you get it right.
This CFP announce is for lifehackers; not the ones who have a really good todo list app, but the ones who hack life. The DEF CON 25 Biohacking Village is looking for your presentation ideas. Grinders, transhumanists and DIY biotech geeks of every description are encouraged to apply.
The Biohacking Village theme for 2017 is Medical Industry Disrupt, so special consideration goes to pitches that aim to revolutionize the practice of medicine. You have until May 28th to get your submissions in. We're looking forward to seeing what you're up to.
For all the details, go to defconbiohackingvillage.com
It’s happening, luminous humans of DEF CON. The hour of our reunion draws closer. All the signs say so. The seasons change, the CFPs begin to sprout, and this year’s DEF CON website goes live.
That’s right - the DEF CON 25 website lives! Burn its address into your heart, your mind, and your browser of choice. As the conference approaches, we’ll fill the site with all the info you need to maximize your DEF CON preparations. Get amped, people. DEF CON’s 25th Anniversary is closer than ever.
Your response to our call for reviewers was much bigger than we expected, so we’re closing it down Monday. Thanks to everyone who offered to help - we’ll be getting in touch with those who’ve been selected. We’ll keep the applications we received on file, and we’ll open this call back up before DEF CON 26.
If you’re still looking for volunteer reviewer opportunities, we encourage you to get in touch with the villages - most of them also field a large number of proposals that might be a perfect match to your expertise.
Thanks to the DEF CON community for always responding to our requests with so much love and enthusiasm. You rule.
DEF CON 25 approaches. It more than approaches. DEF CON 25 looms. It hovers just beyond the near horizon, waiting to be awesome.
One key element of this awesome is all the superfun hackertainment we deliver in the form of Contests, Events, Villages and Parties. And the key element to pulling that together is YOU. All of that fun is 100% community-driven.
Every year we ask the DEF CON community for their best ideas for CON amusements, and we make the best ideas happen. This year, our 25th Anniversary year, we're hoping you're ready to respond and really step things up. Dig deep. Dream big. Seize this moment.
Everything you need to know to put your proposal together is on our CEV page. Go there, get amped, and submit your killer idea.
Let's get epic, people.
Friendly reminder: If you've got any questions about the process of becoming a DEF CON speaker, don't miss the AMA today! Get yourself over to /r/defcon at 6pm PST today and get 'em answered by the DEF CON 25 CFP Review Board.
Get tips on what they're looking for, help with how to present your proposal and general encouragement to bring your ideas to the DEF CON community. Be there.
If you're a packet ninja on a quest for CTF immortality at DEF CON 25, you need to keep your eyes on the qualification schedule. No quals, no glory.
The next qualifying event is the online Jeopardy-style Bostonkey.party, happening this very week (Feb 25-27)! You can find info about this and all the remaining events in the schedule at legitbs.net, the online home of the upstanding citizens hosting this year's CTF.
We're expecting big things from you.
The DEF CON 25 CFP Review Board will be hosting an AMA Wednesday, Feb 22 at 6pm PST. Bring your questions and get yourself up to speed. Meet the team that does the selecting, and learn tips that will give you an edge in getting your talk accepted.
Join us in /r/defcon next Wednesday!
Greetz!
We're seeking specialized CFP Reviewers to join our DEF CON 25 CFP board this year. We have a fairly well rounded board, but we could use a few more to the team. Specifically, we'd like those more specialized in: Cryptography, Malware, Post-exploitation, Reverse Engineering, and Forensics. So if you can open a can of whoop ass with those skills, please apply.
All you have to do is write a cover letter telling us how you've been involved in the DEF CON community, what skills you can bring to the table, and where to find your resume. Please be aware being on the review board is a hard volunteer job. To review you need to spend hours reading submissions and providing feedback. There will be hundreds of emails, so you have to be committed. The reward, however, is having a hand in making DEF CON 25 amazing and the eternal gratitude of hackers all over the world. Which is nice.
Send your entries to talks@defcon.org if you want in.
Thanks,
Nikita
Pro Tip: DEF CON's eBay store has a 50 dollar price drop on some very stylish waterproof soft-shell jackets! Now there's no excuse for spending one more day in the same boring, skull-free outerwear. Fight the elements and crush the mid-winter blahs with style. Check 'em out !
We're excited to announce that our founder, Jeff Moss, has been named a Commissioner of the brand new Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace! The Commission, which will debut at the Munich Security Conference, aims to safeguard the peaceful use of the Internet as volatility and threats from state-level conflict increase.
Jeff joins a team of security and policy luminaries Chaired by Marina Kaljurand, former Foreign Minister of Estonia. The Co-Chairs are former US Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff and former Deputy National Security Adviser of India Latha Reddy. You can learn more about the GCSC and its mission at cyberstability.org
The Secret Stash is keeping you hacker fresh with more DEF CON 25 wearables! Both the tee and the sticker are custom, exclusive artwork available only from the Stash. Look fly and keep DEF CON close to your heart until we meet again in July!
Luminous humans of the DEF CON community, we interrupt your slow news week to bring you this urgent message:
The DEF CON 25 CFP is OPEN! And so is the Call for Workshops!
We realize that's kind of two messages. The common thread is that the machinery of DEF CON 25 awakes from its fitful rest, and it hungers. It hungers for your talk submissions as well as your workshop ideas.
To expedite the annual feeding of this beast, we've created a CFP index page that includes all of the many ways you can submit your work for consideration.
The time is upon us, people. The deadlines will arrive faster than you think. Get your stuff together, whip it into shape and get it in. We are only going to turn 25 once, and we want you to be a part of it.
In 2013, the FBI wanted access to Edward Snowden's encrypted email. Faced with a request for Lavabit's SSL key, founder Ladar Levison instead closed the service. Over 400,000 customers lost access to their accounts. Levison's hardline stance on customer privacy earned him praise from the security community.
Today the service is on the verge of relaunching. It's got brand new architecture, new features and soon, end-to-end encryption.
You can read Kim Zetter's interview with Levison on the Intercept.
https://theintercept.com/2017/01/20/encrypted-email-service-once-used-by-edward-snowden-to-relaunch/
For additional background , watch Levison and Stephen Watt discussing Lavabit at DEF CON 22.
https://youtu.be/TWzvXaxR6us
The trailer for 'Coded', a new hacker-focused series from Freethink Media, has tons of shots from DEF CON 23. It also contains interview footage with Ladar Levison and Nico Sell. We've only seen the trailer, but It looks promising. Here's the promo blurb: "The data war is in full swing. Foreign governments are hacking major corporations, major corporations are collecting massive amounts of consumer data, and the NSA is listening to all of them. With malevolent hackers on one side and oppressive regimes on the other, data security is as important to the global economy and human rights as free speech and the rule of law. Join us as we profile a new generation of programmers helping consumers and companies alike protect their financial information, their identities, and their freedom."
Gentle reminder: The Secret Stash is back with more DEF CON 25 boss-level swag! Both the tee and the sticker are custom, exclusive artwork available only from the Stash. Get your 2017 look together with a versatile tee - fresh for all situations, from the boardroom to your secret lair.
Get your goodies at teespring.com/defconstashjanuary
Women's cut/sizes at teespring.com/defconstashjanuarywomen
The early birds have captured all of the on-site worms: Caesars Palace is sold out for DEF CON 25.
Be of good cheer, however. You can still get our discounted room rate at the following nearby properties:
Linq
Paris
Bally's
Flamingo
Harrah's
DEF CON 25 is gonna be kind of a big deal, and we want you there. We suggest getting on that reservation post haste. The link for the DEF CON discount is https://resweb.passkey.com/go/SCDEF7 and the time for action is now.
Congrats to @Granick!
Hacker lawyer extraordinaire, Director of Civil Liberties for the Stanford Center for Internet and Society and possible secret superhero Jennifer Granick just won the Palmer Prize! The prize, awarded for work that sheds light on the interplay of civil liberties and State security is for her upcoming book "American Spies: Modern Surveillance, Why You Should Care, and What to Do About It". We can't wait to read it.
Jennifer is also a frequent and popular speaker at DEF CON. To give those unfamiliar an idea why her work and ideas are so valued by the hacker community, take a look at her most recent DEF CON presentation. It's entitled "Slouching Towards Utopia; The State of the Internet Dream" from DEF CON 24.
As always, enjoy and pass it on.
Attention all seekers of CTF glory - the qualification season is underway! The solid citizens of the Legitimate Business Syndicate have posted the information you need to get involved on their website at legitbs.net.
If you've got the goods, get in the arena. There's nothing between your squad and Capture the Flag supremacy but air, opportunity and the best players on Earth. Get you some.
Today's treat - a YouTube playlist chock full of SE goodness from the Social Engineering Village at DEF CON 24! All the presentations and a bonus live recording of the Social Engineering podcast. There is much to be learned here, so block off some time.
As always, take what you can use and pass it on. The best defense against the dark arts of SE is exposure and education.
The Secret Stash is back with more DEF CON 25 boss-level swag. Both the tee and the sticker are custom, exclusive artwork available only from the Stash. Get your 2017 look together with a versatile tee - fresh for all situations, from the boardroom to your secret lair.
Happy New Year, DEF CON community! Jayson Street, our DEF CON Groups Ambassador, has some year-end words for everybody from his tastefully appointed secret bunker.
Get amped, radiant humans of DEF CON. 2017 is our Silver Anniversary and big things are in the plan.
As always, if you're not in a DEF CON group, consider joining one. If you can't find one nearby, consider starting one! The infoz are all available at defcongroups.org.
Excelsior.
We've got some new stuff in the trusty old DEF CON eBay store for you - including DEF CON 24 Rucksack and Duffel bags and the hit "Jack" soldering Kit from HACKED at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Start the new year right - treat yourself to the very finest of hacker swag!
Greetings, hacker fam. It's time to announce the theme for DEF CON 25!
Welcome to DEF CON's Silver Anniversary!
We're celebrating 25 years of warranty-voiding, boundary-expanding adventures in technological subversion, and looking forward to the next 25.
The theme this year is 'Community, Discovery and the Unintended Uses of Technology' and the vibe is retrofuturist - think maxed-out 8-bit grafx in a dark arcade, lovingly defaced websites in Netscape Navigator. A world where adventurous digital misfits are building a new world out of the pixels and info the Powers that Be leave behind.
We've come a long way together, from the obscurity of BBS life to Runner-Up for Time's Person of the Year. From 20 people at the CON to 20,000. From media scapegoat to – well, it's a work in progress.
Join us at Caesars Palace to look back at how we got here, and to imagine together where we go next.
According to CrowdStrike, the Russian hackers known as ‘Fancy Bear’ (recently in the news regarding the US election) or APT28 used a trojanized Android targeting app to geolocate and frustrate Ukrainian artillery.
From the article: “It’s incredible, from a technical point of view, that hackers and hacking can so drastically influence the outcome of military engagements,” Wardle said. “If this is all true, I mean, it would have been a huge, huge advantage for the Russians to be able to geolocate the Ukrainian artillery units...basically in real-time, via an infected Android app. Crazy.”
It’s worth noting that at DEF CON 23 Runa Sandvik and Michael Auger dealt with the possibilities of using connected weaponry against its owners in their talk “Hacking a Linux Powered Rifle”. You can check that presentation out here.
In the spirit of this festive season, DEF CON has a gift for you and your various screenz: wallpapers for everyone!
Designed by our very own Mar Williams and sized to fit many popular devices, these DEF CON 25 wallpapers will make your lock screen the talk of the town!
And while you're admiring your spiced-up mobile, remember that you can still get a T-shirt emblazoned with this very same artwork at teespring.com/defconstash, for the next several days.
Heads up to all the CTF fans out there: the upstanding citizens of the Legitimate Business Syndicate have alerted us to some of the contests that will qualify for the DC25 CTF.
According to the Legitimate Business Syndicate (@legit_bs) Twitter feed, the following contests are confirmed as qualifiers:
PlaidCTF (@PlaidCTF)
Boston Key Party (@BkPCTF)
0CTF (@0opsCN)
33C3 CTF (@EatSleepPwnRpt)
If you're not in the dojo getting yourself into tournament shape, it's time to start making better choices.
Gentle reminder: The DEF CON Secret Stash exclusive T-shirt/sticker pack is available for a little while longer. The image comes from DEF CON staff artist Mar Williams and is only available through this offer.
Get yourself some DEF CON 25 swag hella early and tell people you come from the future.
Like #DEFCON? Like #GoRuck Events? Wanna put them together? Express your interest in the DEF CON/GoRuck Custom! http://buff.ly/2h7Th7F
IoT-enabled botnets are all over the news, but the suspect devices are generally consumer-grade. In today's #internetoftriviallycompromisablethings update, 80 different industrial-tier IP cameras shipped with hard-coded creds, opening them up to all kinds of botnet mischief.
Sony has addressed the issue in the latest firmware updates for these devices, and updating is enthusiastically recommended.
Probably a good reminder that the higher prices for corporate-level gear do not imply better security practices.
If you want to devote some time to educating yourself on the current state of the Internet of Things, we suggest starting with the DEF CON 24 IoT Playlist.
Enjoy, share widely and run the latest firmware.
From now until DEF CON 25, we're offering monthly packages of exclusive, limited-edition DEF CON 25 swag.
The December pack is a crisp, fresh DEF CON 25 tee and a high-quality DC25 sticker. The design is courtesy of DEF CON staff artist Mar Williams, created especially for this package. Look sharp, gift like a boss and hide your laptop's shiny metal shame. Rock DEF CON 25 swag like you come from the future.
Watch this space: December 1, DEF CON has something nice for your holiday season. Even if you've been a little naughty.
Music lovers, rejoice! The live music selections from DEF CON 24 are here! Thanks to the generosity of the artists and the miracle of BitTorrent, you can help yourself to a curated selection of the tunes that rocked DC24. Enjoy the (metaphorical) stacks of (figurative) molten wax, in both standard formats and lossless FLACs.
As always, share widely and give the artists you dig some love.
The new Raspberry Pi hotness is Samy Kamkar's PoisonTap. It's a cheap (like dinner at Arby's cheap) device that pops locked machines fast (like the onset of Arby's regret fast). Samy posted a video demo on YouTube, and you should watch it.
If you dig Samy's style and want to see another of his low-fi, hi-yield hacks, we've got a #defconflashbackfriday video for you - Samy demoing inexpensive car/garage door exploiter 'RollJam' at DC23 in supremely informative and entertaining fashion.
Check it out, pass it on.
DEF CON 24 Speaker Patrick Wardle is back in the news with a warning about Shazam's macOS app. Apparently, turning off the app doesn't stop it from recording.
Which is weird, right?
If reading the article has you looking for a little more of Patrick's insights into macOS security, you can check out his talk 'I've Got 99 Problems, Little Snitch Ain't One.' from DC24.
Limber up your hard drives, my friends. If you seek the motherlode of DEF CON 24 content, look no further than our Torrents page. All the talks in multiple formats? Check. DARPA Cyber Grand Challenge content? Music? CTF files? Check, check, super check. Fire up your preferred netguzzler and get to guzzling. Enjoy, seed and share widely.
More hot playlist action - Internet of Troublingly Hackable Things edition! It's a gourmet selection of talks from the main track and the IoT Village. We recommend pairing it with an overcaffeinated beverage and wired headphones. Learn all you like, then make sure to pass it on.
Today's playlist is the DEF CON 24 Wireless Village Talks. Software Defined Radio, evil access point tricks, BLE hacking - it's all in there. If the wireless ecosystem and the hacking thereof floats your boat, it's time to make an appointment with our YouTube channel and get caught up.
As always, share the love and pass on the knowledge..
Today's DEF CON 24 playlist is called 'AFK'; it focuses on talks that deal with policy and ideas rather than hardware and code. Hacker Law superhero Jennifer Granick's talk on the state of the applicable law is in here, as are the 'Meet the Feds' and 'Ask the EFF' panels. There's a little something for every interest, from the venerable Richard Thieme's talk on the psychological toll of working with secrets to the Bob Ross Fan Club's talk on recognizing and neutralizing propaganda.
Thirteen talks in all, with lots of variety. Block off some time (or just put in headphones) and get yourself some. As always, share the love.
More playlists on the way!
The rollout of DEF CON 24 videos continues with 10 videos with a focus on car hacking. There’s a couple of presentations that deal with the CAN BUS, a deep dive into autonomous cars and even a couple specifically about big rigs. Seven of the ten talks come straight out of the Car Hacking Village!
There’s a weekend coming - maybe it’s time to curl up with a laptop and get up to speed on the rapidly expanding world of automotive hacking. As always, enjoy and pass it on.
Big playlist coming Monday!
Today we begin the rollout of the DEF CON 24 talks with a very diverse playlist of crypto and privacy focused presentations.
From the main tracks we have Ladar Levison on compulsory decryption and Nate Cardozo on the State of Crypto in 2016. We also have six talks from the Crypto and Privacy Village!
As ever, we want you to enjoy the presentations, get inspired and pass the knowledge along.
More talks tomorrow!
Today's #defconflashbackfriday is from DEF CON 24, and it's a fun one. Evan Booth's talk this year was on building a bionic hand out of a Keurig coffee maker, but it's also about imagination, creativity and finding potential in the commonplace and unremarkable tech that's all around us. As always, please enjoy, be inspired and pass it on.
DEF CON is on Instagram! We're posting a steady stream of pictures from the vaults, pictures of the preparations we're making for DEF CON 25 and various image-based shareables to amuse and edify all hackerkind. Follow us at wearedefcon and share your memories, your projects, or maybe all the exciting places you're wearing your DEF CON hat. We can't wait to see what you're up to.
DEF CON in the news: To kick off your week with a heaping helping of hope for the future, here's an article from Sara Sorcher and Ann Hermes at the Christian Science Monitor calling out 15 kids killing it in the cybersecurity space.
To our great joy, a bunch of those kids have in common the DEF CON kids' track, R00tz Asylum. CyFi, Kryptina, Evan, Miller and Emmitt - you make us prouder than you know.
The US Presidential election is a few weeks away. Whatever the outcome it’s safe to say this election is an inflection point. Hacked communications, data dumps and claims of state actors using media to influence the vote have dominated the news cycle. These factors and the anxiety and outrage fatigue that acccompany them are likely to be around a while, so it seemed like an opportune moment to repost Chris Rock’s talk on overthrowing governments. It’s a thought-provoking investigation into what it might take to use the modern landscape for toppling a regime, and it’s a good practical alternative to the generalized hysteria promoted by cable news.