DEF CON

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For the term DEFCON as used in the military sense, see Defense Condition. For the computer game, see Defcon (computer game)

A defcon 13 "human" badge

DEF CON is the world's largest annual hacker convention, held every year in Las Vegas, Nevada. The first DEF CON took place in June 1993. In 2006, at DEFCON 14, there were roughly 6,500 people in attendance.

Many of the attendees at DEFCON include computer security professionals, journalists, lawyers, federal government employees, crackers, and hackers with a general interest in computer code and computer architecture. The event consists of several tracks of speakers about computer- and hacking-related subjects, as well as social events and contests in everything from creating the longest Wi-Fi connection and cracking computer systems to who can most effectively cool a beer in the Nevada heat. Other contests include lockpicking, robotic-related contests, art, slogan, coffee wars, and Capture the Flag. Capture the Flag (CTF) is perhaps the best known of these contests. It is a hacking competition where teams of hackers attempt to attack and defend computers and networks. CTF has been emulated at other hacking conferences as well as in academic and military contexts.

Since DEFCON 11, fundraisers have been conducted for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The first fundraiser was a dunk tank and was an "official" event.

A video of Def Con '06 can be found at [1].

DEF CON has been the host of many interesting events since its beginning, but the most infamous is perhaps the arrest of Russian programmer Dmitry Sklyarov on July 16, 2001 for distributing software to decrypt Adobe's e-book format.

[edit] List of Venues

The first DEF CON was held in June of 1993 at the Sands Hotel & Casino.
DC2 1994 was held at the Sahara Hotel & Casino.
DC3 1995 was held at the Tropicana & Casino.
DC4 1996 was held at the Monte Carlo Hotel & Casino.
DC5 1997 was held at the Aladdin Hotel & Casino.
DC6 1998 was held at the Plaza Hotel & Casino.
DC7 1999 through DC13 2005 were held at the Alexis Park Resort.
DC14 2006 was held at the Riviera Hotel & Casino.

[edit] See also

Hackers on Planet Earth, also known as H.O.P.E. – the conferences held by 2600+ The Hacker Quarterly.
Summercon, run by The Legion of Doom
Chaos Communication Congress – oldest and Europe's biggest hacker conferences held by Chaos Computer Club.
HoHoCon – first modern hacker convention held by CULT OF THE DEAD COW.
Black Hat Briefings the largest "official" computer security event in the world.
Phreaknic a smaller conference, as of 2006 on their 10th year. Held annually in Nashville, TN.
Notacon New to the scene, a branch off conference that focuses on Creativity instead of Security.