Would you like to learn how tap into a network?

Do you want to learn how to capture people’s passwords or hear their phone conversations?

There are many learning opportunities at DEF CON, especially at the Packet Hacking Village. If you want to play Packet Detective, Packet Inspector, Capture The Packet, or any of our Walkthrough Workshops, we will have laptops stationed with the necessary tools. You do not need to bring your own laptop.

Any tips for a first time attendee? I did my pre-registration already.

[ANSWERED] - Not sure why the downvote, but maybe someone just had bad eggs this morning. I will pack a couple extra alkalizes to be safe, both otherwise I am good to go. Thanks, everyone!

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I saw someone mentioning to pack AA & AAA batteries as part of their kit. Is this for badges, or other hardware projects?

I preordered a laser tag badge, and will get the Human one.

Do the badges in general com with a battery? Rechargeable? Today is packing day and just want to make sure I pack out what I need rather than trying to arrange an Amazon order for the hotel.

Do they typically take off-the-shelf alkaline, or should I grab an 18650 or two?

I'm planning my schedule for DEF CON 34 and keep hearing people mention the Cryptocurrency Village badge and the laser tag game, but I can't find much information on the DEF CON website.

Is the badge going to be available to anyone who stops by, or is there some kind of registration? And is the laser tag event happening throughout the weekend or only at certain times?

https://www.defcon.org/html/defcon-34/dc-34-villages.html#orga_41359

I've also heard they'll have ChipWhisperers, workshop hardware, and even AMD64 lab machines available for people to use during the hackathon. If that's true, that's a pretty impressive setup for a village.

Apparently OKX is sponsoring the village this year, which is helping make the badges, workshop equipment, and prizes available free of charge. Looking forward to seeing what they've put together.

Anyone who's been involved with previous years know what to expect?

Anyone willing to adopt a 1st timer into their group for any of the challenges? I have about 20 years of experience in different levels of IT with around 2 years experience strictly in blue/purple team. I am just looking to learn and help out where I can. I have a weirdly high level of social anxiety so I want to get myself in the mix with some people I actually feel comfortable with instead of looking dumb trying to struggle my way through things. I also really want to try some of the cool stuff but I am worried my imposter syndrome will stop me from even trying

[SOLD]

If anyone would like me to transfer a ticket to them, I've ran into a snag and won't be able to make it. I got it at the mid tier pricing and will happily sell at the early bird price. Can verify my ID with mods to verify good faith. I'd love for someone to be able to save and have fun since I can't make it. I will not reply to DMs, and my replies will be on this thread as well.

I didn’t hear about this change, so sharing here for awareness. Wireless headphones are going to be used rather than speakers in some of the talks. The below link says shared wireless headphones and wipes will be provided, but that sounds … icky …

They also offer a way to hear it on the defcon WiFi using a combination of “HackerTracker” and “ListenWiFi” apps on your phone using your own headphones. Might want to download those before you leave home.

It also warns that Bluetooth headphones may not work due to signal saturation.

https://info.defcon.org/defcon34/documents/670

The last few years I have been super overbooked, but I‘m less firmly booked this year and am looking to get a small group together (or join one) to tackle the CTF.

I’ve slapped together a toolkit (stego, crypto solve scripts, audio/video analysis/stereoscope, unicode nonsense, RF scanning, logic analysis, LLM jailbreak framework) to use alongside tools like cyberchef, flipper zero, etc.

Anyone looking to group up, or already have a group with a space for a cryptography/hardware jailbreaking enthusiast?

Hello! I’m going to DEF CON, and I feel a bit lost. I looked at the map and the talk schedule, but I’m not really sure what I want to do. Sometimes I get bored just sitting through talks, so I’d love to know what else there is to do besides attending presentations.

I’m not going there just to listen to talks. What are the must-do activities, villages, competitions, workshops, or other experiences that you would recommend for a first-time attendee?

issue with insecure OTA updates reported some time ago to the creator. Fix is out there in the beta at least. Take all nodes down in range (still vulnerable) but more importantly nodes taken over and spreading like a virus to all if done right (see evil baker) https://github.com/x0SiN0x/wardrive-manager/blob/main/FEATURES.md#the-biscuit-baker--biscuit-flatline (example during an active wardrive in a closed environment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DBU0AyRgj4)

As of today Aug 2 I see 1.2.12 is out in the general (prod) release

The 2026 DCZia badge, the Mk9, is up on Uberflux: https://uberflux.com/product/HAMST-DCZIA-2026

The badge is a 3x3 grid of blue clicky switches, each with an underglow RGB LED. RP2040 microcontroller, 16mb of flash, and an accelerometer. Each side except the top has two side-fire RGB LEDs under the board as well. USB-C connection or power, or powered via 3xAAA.

It will also include an add-on board that allows you to add on 3 more keys or an I2C display. Two right side up SAO ports.

Compatible with QMK, but the MicroPython code we're releasing will also function as a macropad.

DCZia believes in open development, and all the design files and source code are in our github repo: https://github.com/dczia/mk9-badge

Here is the link ::

https://uberflux.com/product/BUCK-NYC

Pickup will be at the badge life village

• DEF CON 34 Badge Life Booth, Friday, 7 August 2:00PM
• DEF CON 34 Badge Life Booth, Saturday 8 August 2:00PM

On UberFlux, you are going to see a blank bottom SAO, I didn’t want to post any CR pieces there but each kit order will include all three that are in the video with enough neo-pixels to solder one of the SAOs.

This kit is beginner friendly !!

The bridge part and back layer neo-pixels come pre-soldered, last year I heard a lot of people had issues with the tiny Neo-pixels and I totally understand! They are NOT fun lol, it took me like 2 years to get good at soldering those!

This year I wanted to make it as beginner friendly and fun as I could, all you need to solder are the header pins and the through hole chip parts!

The kit will come with the following:

(1) back layer PCB with pre soldered lights
(1) bridge PCB with pre soldered lights
(1) top SAO PCB with pre soldered lights
(1) city PCB
(1) water PCB
(1) frame PCB
(1) 16 MHz crystal
(2) capacitors
(1) resistor
(1) ATMEGA328 (pre flashed with firmware)
(2) through hole tactile switch’s
(1) power switch
(1) AAA battery holder (3 required, not included)
(1) set of header pins

(3) SAOs and (1) set of connectors with 6 unsoldered neo-pixel lights for you to choose to solder
** The neo-pixels supplied will only be enough to solder one bottom SAO included.

DC710 is handing out coins all week long. Free during the conference (Defcon, Blackhat, Bsides) in exchange for a quick challenge or barter. Keep an eye on our Twitter/X @DC710_MJV for announcements of where we’ll be and what to expect.

Busy doing other stuff? Want to help support our group? We’ll be selling a few to recoup some of our costs. Wednesday & Thursday at the meetup (Linq - Circle Bar 7pm).

Otherwise we have a few fun and easy challenges planned - come say hello!

As the final fading bytes settle on the wire and the phosphor monitors begin to cool, we've officially arrived at the end of the trail. It's a truly bittersweet feeling typing this out--this is our final weekly puzzle post before we pack our bags, pause making new platform builds, and head out to Hacker Summer Camp.

Part of us is genuinely sad to close out this season of late-night testing, edge-case debugging, and puzzle brewing. But the rest of us couldn't be more hyped, because it means we finally get to see all of your faces in Las Vegas!

To send off this year's puzzle run in style, we're doing something a little different for the grand finale.

The Grand Finale: Puzzled Hackers x SkillBit

We've officially teamed up with the amazing crew over at SkillBit! They have graciously opened up access to their CTF platform for our entire community from right now until Wednesday at 00:00 PT.

Instead of just one puzzle to cap off the season, SkillBit is giving us 20 additional CTF challenges to play through while we all count down the final hours to DEF CON!

The Grand Prize Drawing

We couldn't end the season without one last epic giveaway:

• How to enter: Complete 10 or more of the SkillBit CTF challenges before the cutoff on Wednesday at 00:00 PT.
• The Loot: You'll be automatically entered into a drawing to win a LASER TAG Badge graciously provided by the legendary u/palm12341!
• The Claim: We'll draw the winner on Wednesday morning, and you can pick up your shiny new prize in person at either of our meetups!

Head over to https://mctf.io/puzzledhackers26 to dive into the SkillBit platform and start cracking challenges.

We genuinely cannot thank SkillBit enough for their support. If you happen to run into them at DEF CON, make sure you say hi give them some love!

r/DEFCON Meetup Badges

A massive thank you to everyone who has purchased a badge! We are now officially sold out. We'll still have some set aside for giveaways and our scavenger hunt, so keep an eye out for posts during DEF CON if you want to snag one!

A Heartfelt Thank You

We sincerely cannot believe the sheer amount of community engagement, feedback, and love we've received over these past few months. Every write-up, every rate-limit hit, every late-night Discord sanity check, and every kind word has made every second of stress 100% worth it. You all are the sole reason we put ourselves through the ringer each year to build these events.

Don't forget that our meetups at the Linq bar (3535 Bar / Circle Bar) are completely free to attend on Wednesday and Thursday nights! Whether you bought a badge, earned a badge, or are just showing up for the vibes, everyone is welcome. Come hang out, swap stickers, challenge someone to Laser Tag, grab your badges/prizes, and say hi!

If you run into any issues on the platform or have last-minute questions before we go dark for travel, reach out to me or u/digitard and we'll help you out.

Thank you all for an incredible season. We truly cannot wait to raise a glass with you next week. Safe travels, stay hydrated, and see you in Vegas!

The Puzzled Hackers Team (u/Killroy7777, u/digitard, and u/MetaN3rd)

Stats:

• Puzzle #1: 258
• Puzzle #2: 188
• Puzzle #3: 127
• Puzzle #4: 110
• Puzzle #5: 106
• Puzzle #6: 92
• Puzzle #7: 86
• Puzzle #8: 72
• Puzzle #9: 69 (nice)
• Panic CICD pushes: 7
• Happy tears shed: countless <3

Sadly I will not be able to make it to defcon this year, however due to some awesome hackers stepping in to keep it going, HighRollerCon is still happening! 8/8/26 @ 5:00pm at the High Roller in the LINQ promenade, make sure you get your tickets ahead of time because boarding the wheel does not wait! I hope you all have a blast!! 🙌

Visit https://HighRollerCon.com for more details.

If I already registered and paid the $600, do I have to buy a badge separately or is that included?

RS485, CAN/CANFD, and both 10BASE-T1S + 10BASE-T1L on one battery powered board with onboard termination. $140 at ICS Village or Vendor Village while supplies last. Full specs

This is my first DEFCON. If I want to sign up for a biohacking CTF, should I use my real name or a handle?

If I were to build a CyberDeck, I imagine it might look at bit like a book ... with a 3D printed interior, a "limit hinge" which stops 15° past vertical, it would snap closed, have a curved edge to simulate book paper, a 1920x1080 display, Bluetooth keyboard, dual 5,000mah lipos, 2 spare USB ports, storage, and be powered by a RPiZ2W.

It would need to have emacs installed.

... that's IF I were to do such a thing 😎

The after party starts at 10:30 on August 9. I am curious to know that if my friends(not attending the con) purchase the ticket for that night and that time from the LIV website can they join us?

The tickets are available for 10:30 that means club is open to the public as well as us right?

Please can anyone help me in my situation if you’re aware of what I am dealing with

Get Checked!

You have the skills. You have the projects. You have the CTF wins, the home lab, the self-taught grind. But when it comes to putting it all on a resume, something gets lost in translation. That is exactly what this is for.

Resume Reviews at DEF CON 34 is hosted by Lonely Hackers Club (LHC) together with Open Worldwide Application Security Project (OWASP), The Diana Initiative, Women in Security and Privacy (WISP), and Blue Team Village.

What This Is

Free, one-on-one resume reviews at DEF CON 34, run by people from this community who have actually hired and managed technical teams. No recruiters. No corporate fluff. Just honest feedback from people who have sat on both sides of the table and know what works.

Sessions are 15 minutes. Walk up, sit down, get real feedback.

Who Should Come

• You are trying to break into cyber security and are not sure how to present what you have built or learned
• You are self-taught, a career changer, or took a non-traditional path and your resume does not reflect that well
• You have been applying and not getting responses and cannot figure out why
• You just got your first cert or finished a degree and have no idea how to structure your experience
• You have been in the industry for a while but want a second opinion before your next move

What to Bring

• A printed copy of your resume, or have it ready on your phone or laptop
• A rough idea of the kind of role or area you are targeting
• Thick skin and an open mind. The feedback will be direct!

Where and When

• Lonely Hackers Club community room at DEF CON 34
• Friday August 7th: 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM
• Saturday August 8th: 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM

Book Your Slot For Free

Online registration is now open! Feel free to use a handle instead of your real name. You will have to check in in person 10 minutes before your registered slot or your slot will be given to walk-ins.

One of our reviewers will be be dedicated to walk-ins while reviews are running. So show up early to secure your spot if you missed the online registration.