Defcon
Dates: August
Price: $120.00 USD
URL: homepage
Location: Las Vegas, NV; USA

Event Description:

DEF CON is the world's largest annual hacker convention, held every year in Las Vegas, Nevada. The first DEFCON took place in June 1993. In 2007, at DEFCON 15, there were over 6,000 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.