What to do @ DefCon15?

June 7, 2007 7:45 PM

I'm heading to my first DefCon convention in Vegas. What portions of the convention are must-do/must-see/must-witness?

I'm an I.T. professional and linux geek who's really just going to people-watch for my own personal edification. I'm studying security principles from the takes-one-to-know-one angle. I'm lurking the "official" message boards for interesting things to do, but every gathering has the stuff that's truly hip, as opposed to just hype. I can probably afford one major speaking/demo admission fee - do any experienced Me-Fi'ers have first-hand recommendations?

posted by uncorq to computers & internet (6 comments total)

Do they still do the Spot the Fed contests?
posted by frogan at 9:48 PM on June 7, 2007

Probably, though it doesn't mean nearly as much as back in the day when I earned my shirt at DC3 (mine were AFOSI techs). As for speakers, casting my eye down the list I'd say it's always worth listening to Litchfield, Hoglund, Arkin & Schneier. If you just want to catch the flavor of hacking in action, spend some time watching the Capture the Flag teams going at it. And be sure to stop by the Meco Surplus Computers table in the merch room, Uncle Ira's always got something randomly wonderful to show off, from an FBI hostage phone to a TEMPEST shielded Mac. He's a hard bargainer though, so be sure to haggle. But as with all such gatherings, the best events are also the most exclusive. At DefCon that'd be the cDc party & Cezar's Challenge; good luck getting into either of those.
posted by scalefree at 10:40 PM on June 7, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

I hear Hacker Jeopardy is good fun.
posted by jclovebrew at 11:04 AM on June 8, 2007

I went last year and had a blast without knowing anything about what was up beforehand. There's tons to see, and believe me, you'll stay entertained, even if you don't see the coolest stuff you possibly could. The admission to the main event is well worth it...
posted by ph00dz at 4:44 PM on June 8, 2007

One last addition: it's not being run by Mudge this year but the TCP/IP Drinking Game is always a crowd pleaser. Just try to stump this panel!
posted by scalefree at 1:53 PM on June 15, 2007

Thanks for the extra details - everyone's input was helpful and scalefree's in particular will help me plan (loosely - I hate pidgeon-holing myself into a schedule on vacation) - somehow scalefee zero'd in on my weakness for the 'neato' factor.

If any of you guys are also going this year, look for me... I'll be the one probably drooling like an ijjit ;)
posted by uncorq at 4:14 PM on June 24, 2007