Editing DEF CON (section)

== History ==
DEF CON was founded in 1993, by then 18-year-old [[Jeff Moss (hacker)|Jeff Moss]] as a farewell party for his friend, a fellow hacker and member of "Platinum Net", a [[FidoNet]] protocol based hacking network from [[Canada]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.defcon.org/html/links/dc-about.html|title=DEF CON® Hacking Conference – About|last=Tangent|first=The Dark|website=www.defcon.org|access-date=2016-03-12}}</ref> The party was planned for Las Vegas a few days before his friend was to leave the United States, because his father had accepted employment out of the country. However, his friend's father left early, taking his friend along, so Jeff was left alone with the entire party planned. Jeff decided to invite all his hacker friends to go to Las Vegas with him and have the party with them instead. Hacker friends from far and wide got together and laid the foundation for DEF CON, with roughly 100 people in attendance.

The term DEF CON comes from the movie ''[[WarGames]]'', referencing the [[DEFCON|U.S. Armed Forces defense readiness condition (DEF CON)]]. In the movie, Las Vegas was selected as a nuclear target, and since the event was being hosted in Las Vegas, it occurred to Jeff Moss to name the convention DEF CON. However, to a lesser extent, CON also stands for convention and DEF is taken from the letters on the number 3 on a [[telephone keypad]], a reference to [[Phreaking|phreakers]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.defcon.org/html/links/dc-about.html|title=DEFCON about}}</ref> The official name of the conference includes a space in-between DEF and CON.

Though intended to be a one-time event, Moss received overwhelmingly positive feedback from attendees, and decided to host the event for a second year at their urging. The event's attendance nearly doubled the second year, and has enjoyed continued success.<ref>{{cite video | people = [[Jeff Moss (hacker)|Jeff Moss]] | date = July 30, 2007 | title  = The Story of DEFCON | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg6bQMTjHCE | access-date = 9 Feb 2011}}</ref> In 2019, an estimated 30,000 people attended DEF CON 27.<ref name="forum.defcon.org">{{Cite web|url=https://forum.defcon.org/node/229647|title=Def Con 27 Transparency Report - DEF CON Forums|website=forum.defcon.org|access-date=2019-08-17}}</ref>

{{anchor|DEFCON: The Documentary}} For DEF CON's 20th Anniversary, a film was commissioned entitled   ''DEF CON: The Documentary''.<ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q123536853|title=DEFCON: The Documentary}}</ref> The film follows the four days of the conference, events and people (attendees and staff), and covers history and philosophy behind DEF CON's success and unique experiences.

{{anchor|DEF CON China}} In January 2018, the DEF CON China Beta event was announced. The conference was held May 11–13, 2018 in Beijing, and marked DEF CON's first conference outside the United States. The second annual DEF CON China was canceled due to concerns related to [[COVID-19]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/01/28/defcon_china_cancelled/|title=Coronavirus claims new victim: 'DEF CON cancelled' joke cancelled after DEF CON China actually cancelled|website=[[The Register]]}}</ref>

{{anchor|DEF CON Safe Mode}} In 2020, due to safety concerns over [[COVID-19]] the DEF CON 28 in-person Las Vegas event was cancelled<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/story/defcon-is-canceled/|title=Defcon is Cancelled|magazine=Wired|last1=Newman|first1=Lily Hay}}</ref> and replaced with DEF CON Safe Mode,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://defcon.org/html/defcon-safemode/dc-safemode-faq.html|title=DEF CON 28 Safe Mode FAQ}}</ref> a virtual event planned for the same August 6–9 dates as DC 28.

In 2021, DEF CON 29 was held on August 5–8 in-person in Las Vegas and virtually (via [[Twitch (service)|Twitch]] and [[Discord]]). In-person attendees were required to wear masks in conference areas and to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Attendees with verified vaccine records (verified by a 3rd party) were given a wristband which was required for entry into the conference areas.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://defcon.org/html/defcon-29/dc-29-faq.html|title=DEF CON 29 FAQ}}</ref>