03/02/2026 – last updated
Greetings!
If you’ve read this far, then you’re interested in the DEF CON convention, and you’re looking for information. You want to plan for your upcoming trip. You’ve come to the right place. This post is trying to bring everything DEF CON together for you.
You can break down DEF CON activities into two categories, DEF CON, and Villages.
DEF CON – defcon.org has info on these
- Four DEF CON talk tracks – Forum – brief talks 1/2 to 2 hours long
- Workshops – Forum – longer, more detailed, hands on, lasting half a day. These have limited seating. These require pre-Registration. They fill up VERY quick and are usually gone within minutes of opening. The list of DC32 Workshops is expected to be posted to the Forum on June 15, with registration opening at PDT Noon on July 7th
- Demo Labs – Forum – brief demonstrations for people to show off their project
- Paid Training – Forum – 2 day training sessions on the Mon and Tue after DEF CON. There will be an additional cost for these
- Contests – Forum – various contests, some lasting all 4 days of DEF CON, some short time on stage
- Communities – Forum – Things like Vendors and Exhibitors that don’t fit in as Villages
- CaptureTheFlag – The year end final rounds for qualifying teams of the CTF being run by Benevolent Bureau of Birds – News Announcement.
- Social Events, Meetups, on stage Music, Parties, etc. – Forum
Villages – Each Village has it’s own sources of info, best sources would usually be the villages own Website and Twitter account – View the Village Table for links to these
- Each Village, as it’s name may imply, specializes in a topic or aspect of security or computers
- DEF CON provides space and support for the Villages
- The Villages are NOT run by DEF CON
- The Villages are run and staffed by volunteers separate from DEF CON
- Each Village has it’s own separate Call For Papers and other activities
- Each Village has it’s own web site, Twitter account, and schedule of events/Talks/Parties/CTF/etc. or whatever activities are run by that Village
- Links for Village Info – Village Table – Forum List – defcon.org list
This results in the info you need for planning being all over the place on a multitude of websites. There are 3 sources that I’m aware of that combine all DEF CON, Village, and other events into one list.
Hacker Tracker – Android and IOS – the official DEF CON schedule app
The ONE! – A consolidated DEFCON 32 schedule – html, PDF, CSV, ICAL, Google calendar
info.defcon.org – the official DEF CON InfoBooth site
None of these have much DC32 info yet, they either aren’t working, have nothing, or have last years info.
You won’t be able to do meaningful schedule planning until June or July and more info starts getting announced.
I’ll be updating this between now and the start of DC32 as things change and get announced. Don’t surprised about last minute schedules being released and changes to existing schedules up to the last day or two before DC32.
FAQ highlights
There’s links to multiple FAQs about attending DEF CON at the bottom of this page, But here’s a few high points that warrant a mention at the top.
- Nothing is as close or quick as you think it is. Just walking across the street or next door can be a 20 minute walk
- You’re going to do a LOT of walking, so bring comfortable and well broken in shoes. There are scooter rental places in Las Vegas for the mobility impaired
- Don’t underestimate how HOT it can get outside at Las Vegas! It can be 110F during the day, and still be 90F at 3am. This is hot enough that it doesn’t matter that it’s a ‘dry’ heat!
- Don’t underestimate how COLD it get in an over air-conditioned conference room. Consider bringing a light jacket or windbreaker to stuff in the bottom of your pack
- Keep hydrated. Always have a water bottle with you to sip from
- 3-2-1 rule. at least three hours of sleep, two meals, and one shower every day
- Don’t try to see EVERYTHING, it’ll never work! You’ll just drive yourself crazy and to exhaustion
- Don’t over plan. Be flexible. If you’re having a good time someplace it’s not always a good idea to rush someplace else
- Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself to someone. This is a good opportunity to network, meet new people, and learn new things
Villages Table
Each Village, as it’s name may imply, specializes in a topic or aspect of security or computers.
One Page All Villages list with descriptions
defcon.org Villages page
You may need to scroll to the right to see all info
Contests Table
Various contests, some lasting all 4 days of DEF CON, some short time on stage
One Page All Contests list with descriptions
defcon.org Contests page
You may need to scroll to the right to see all info
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$$$$$_<CAPTURE_THE_COIN>_$$$$$ Contest Info |
$unL1ght Sh4d0w5 Contest Info |
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5N4CK3Y Contest Info |
Adversary Wars CTF Contest Info |
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Battle of the Bots: Vishing Edition Contest Info |
Betting on Your Digital Rights: 4th Annual EFF Benefit Poker Tournament at DEF CON 33 Contest Info |
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Blacks In Cybersecurity Village Capture The Flag Competition Contest Info |
Blue Team Village CTF Contest Info |
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Bug Bounty Village CTF Contest Info |
Call Center Village Contest Contest Info |
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Can it Ham? Contest Info |
Capture The Packet Contest Info |
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Car Hacking Village Capture the Flag (CTF) Contest Info |
Cloud Village CTF Contest Info |
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CMD+CTRL Cloud Cyber Range Contest Info |
Code CRIMSON: Healthcare in Trauma Contest Info |
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Creative Writing Short Story Contest Contest Info |
Cryptocurrency Challenge Contest Info |
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Darknet-NG Contest Info |
DC Sticker Design Contest Contest Info |
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DEF CON Beard and Mustache Contest Contest Info |
DEF CON CTF Contest Info |
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DEF CON MUD Contest Info |
DEF CON Scavenger Hunt Contest Info |
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Dozier Drill Lockpicking Challenge Contest Info |
Dungeons@Defcon Contest Info |
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EFF Tech Trivia Contest Info |
Embedded CTF Contest Info |
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Feet Feud (Hacker Family Feud) Contest Info |
Hac-Man Contest Info |
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Hack3r Runw@y Contest Contest Info |
Hacker Jeopardy Contest Info |
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Hardware Hacking Village CTF Contest Info |
HardWired Contest Info |
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ICS Village CTF Contest Info |
Kubernetes CTF Contest Info |
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PhreakMe Contest Info |
Pinball High Score Contest Contest Info |
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PROJECT ACCESS: A Fox Hunt in the Shadows Contest Info |
Radio Frequency Capture the Flag Contest Info |
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Red Team Village CTF Contest Info |
Scambait Village Contest Contest Info |
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Silk’s Roadhouse Contest Info |
Social Engineering Community Vishing Competition (SECVC) Contest Info |
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TeleChallenge Contest Info |
The Gold Bug Contest Info |
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The Pwnie Awards Contest Info |
Tin Foil Hat Contest Contest Info |
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Whose Slide Is It Anyway? Contest Info |
DemoLabs Table
Brief demonstrations for people to show off their project.
One Page All Demolabs list with descriptions
defcon.org DemoLabs page
You may need to scroll to the right to see all info
Workshops Table
Longer, more detailed, hands on, lasting half a day.
These have limited seating. These will fill up VERY quickly!
One Page All Workshops list with descriptions
defcon.org Workshops page
You may need to scroll to the right to see all info
Party,Gather,Event Table
Various Parties, Gatherings, and Events
One Page All Parties, Gatherings, Events list with descriptions
defcon.org Parties, Meetups, and Events page
You may need to scroll to the right to see all info
Thanks for your interest in this post/page. I hope it was useful to you.
Production of this post/page is not affiliated with DEFCON 34.
Use at your own risk.
For the latest info while at DC34 please check the info booths and screens.
If you notice any problems or something is missing in this post/page please let me know. Constructive comments and additional info is welcome.
Have a good DEFCON 34!
email: qumqats@outel.org
Twitter: @qumqats