DEF CON

Overview

DEF CON is one of the world's largest hacker conferences, held every August in Las Vegas. It began in 1993 when Jeff Moss, known online as The Dark Tangent, planned a going-away party in Las Vegas for a friend who then left town early, so Moss invited his hacker friends instead. About 100 people came to that first event. It has since grown into a gathering of tens of thousands of security professionals, researchers, students, and curious beginners, along with federal agents who attend openly enough that spotting them has become a conference tradition. Its Capture the Flag contest, running since 1996, is one of the most respected hacking competitions anywhere, and its villages let attendees pick locks, hack cars, and probe voting machines. Moss went on to create the Black Hat Briefings conference in 1997 and was sworn into the Homeland Security Advisory Council in 2009. 

Why It Matters

DEF CON is where the penetration testing profession became a community. It is a place where hackers openly probe cars, voting machines, and other everyday technology for flaws, and where the skills of attacking systems are taught, shared, and celebrated rather than hidden. For a young person, it also reminds you how the field actually works: people learn by doing, competitions are the classroom, and the people you meet become the network that leads to a career. A conference that started as a party for a friend who never showed up is now one of the most important gatherings in cybersecurity.