Editing DEF CON (section)

{{short description|Annual hacker gathering in Las Vegas, Nevada}}
{{about|the computer security convention||Defcon (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox recurring event
| name               = <!--Uses page name if omitted-->
| logo               = 
| logo_alt           = DEF CON Logo
| logo_caption       = 
| logo_size          = 
| image              = 
| image_size         = 
| status             = Active <!-- STOP!!  The cancellation of DEFCON is a long-running gag. See the talk page or look at the HTML source of defcon.ws (use CTRL+U or CMD+ALT+U to see it). Unless you have information from *multiple* reliable sources, please don't change this.   -->
| frequency          = Annual
| country            = United States
| years_active       = {{age|1993|06|01}}
| genre              = Security Conference, Hacker Conference
| begins             = 
| venue              = Varies
| location           = [[Las Vegas]], [[Nevada]]
| prev               = August 8-11, 2024
| next               = August 7-10, 2025
| founder_name       = [[Jeff Moss (hacker)|Jeff Moss]]
| attendance         = Over 30,000
| capacity           = 
| area               = 
| budget             = 
| activity           = 
| website            = {{URL|https://defcon.org}}
| footnotes          = 
| first              = {{start date|1993|6|9}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.defcon.org/html/links/dc-archives/dc-1-archive.html | title= Def Con 1 Archive|access-date = 2017-04-23}}</ref>
}}
{{Computer hacking}}
'''DEF CON''' (also written as '''DEFCON, Defcon,''' or '''DC''') is a [[Computer security conference|hacker convention]] held annually in [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]], [[Nevada]]. The first DEF CON took place in June 1993 and today many attendees at DEF CON include [[computer security]] professionals, [[journalist]]s, lawyers, federal government employees, security researchers, students, and [[Hacker (computer security)|hackers]] with a general interest in [[source code|software]], [[computer architecture]], hardware modification, conference badges, and anything else that can be "hacked". The event consists of several tracks of speakers about computer and hacking-related subjects, as well as cyber-security challenges and competitions (known as hacking [[Wargame (hacking)|wargames]]). Contests held during the event are extremely varied and can range from creating the longest [[Wi-Fi]] connection to finding the most effective way to cool a beer in the [[Nevada]] heat.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deviating.net/bccc/|title=DefCon Beverage Cooling Contraption Contest|website=deviating.net|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240815221958/https://deviating.net/bccc/|archive-date=2024-08-15|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Other contests, past and present, include [[lockpicking]], [[Defcon Robot Contest|robotics-related contests]], art, slogan, coffee wars, [[scavenger hunt]], and [[Capture the flag (cybersecurity)|Capture the Flag]]. Capture the Flag (CTF) is perhaps the best known of these contests and is a hacking competition where teams of hackers attempt to attack and defend computers and networks using software and network structures. CTF has been emulated at other hacking conferences as well as in academic and military contexts (as [[red team]] exercises).

Federal law enforcement agents from the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]], [[United States Department of Defense|DoD]], [[United States Postal Inspection Service]], [[United States Department of Homeland Security|DHS]] (via [[Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency|CISA]]) and other agencies regularly attend DEF CON.<ref name="Zetter" /><ref>{{cite web
  | url = https://www.defcon.org/html/defcon-15/dc-15-faq.html
  | title = DEFCON 15 FAQ's
  | access-date = 9 Feb 2011
  | quote = Lots of people come to DEFCON and are doing their job; security professionals, federal agents, and the press.
}}</ref> Some have considered DEF CON to be the "world's largest" hacker conference given its attendee size and the number of other conferences modeling themselves after it.