Attending DEFCON 2023
- Kay TwoOh
- Aug 15, 2023
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 26, 2024
Defcon is a hacker convention held annually in Las Vegas, NV spanning four major hotels and casinos on the strip. This year it was hosted by Flamingo, Ceasars Forums, LINQ, and Harrah's. The convention consists of workshops, lectures, competitions and opportunities to network with your fellow cyber warriors.
My favorite part of Defcon was upskilling myself and learning how to pick locks. Come to find out I'm a natural at it. I purchased my own lockpick set and within 30 minutes I picked all 5 difficulty levels of the supplied locks (1 pin to 5 pin locks). Prior to picking locks I sat in for a couple of lectures going over the history of lockpicking and a useful introduction to lockpicking.
I've never been part of a red team but you never know what the future holds and there is something sexy about knowing how to gain unauthorized physical access (which circumvents whatever logical/technical controls you have in place) to basically anything that isn't RFID (badge access). One might agree that RFID is even easier to hack because all you have to do is be in proximity of someone that has a legit badge, but that's another conversation for another day.
Another part of my defcon experience was sitting in on lectures consisting of war stories and the latest technological advancements in the hacker space. I felt like a nerd in a comic book store falling over myself to see the next booth or talk to the next person. I didn't have to hold my vocabulary back. I didn't have to dumb myself down to be understood. I could let it all out and everyone knew exactly what I was talking about. They understood me and I understood them. It felt like I was part of a secretive society that spoke an intricate language.
I walked into Defcon with no expectations and walked out upskilled, smarter, and more connected and motivated than I've ever been in my career. I felt like I found my tribe. The weird, the outkasts, the abnormally intelligent, the ultra-passionate, the real. These are my kind of people that unappologetically are themselves and have serious skillsets to offer the world.
What a breath of fresh air in a superficial digital data-driven world.
Thank you Defcon! I'll see everyone next year! I'll leave you with some more pictures of my experience.
PS - For anyone considering attending but not sure if it's worth it or for them - It's for anyone interested in the hacker space. I met so many people that had no idea why they came but we're simply interested in seeing what Defcon is about and they had a great time! There are many parties both internal and external to Defcon, but for the more introverted of us you can always just hang out and play CTFs and meet people that way as well.
