DC412 - DEFCON Group Meeting

DC412 is back, and we're meeting at Hackers Guild. Same group, same crew, new spot. If you've been around the Steel City infosec scene for any length of time, you already know what this is. If you've drifted away, this is your sign to come back. If you're new, pull up a chair. There's room.

We meet on the fourth Friday of every month.

The format rotates so it stays interesting, but every meetup falls into one of three buckets, or we may mix it up and have a combination of formats, but remember, there will always be pizza:

Presentations. A community member walks us through whatever they've been working on. Recent vuln research, a CTF write-up, a war story from an engagement, a new tool, a weird bug, a hardware project that shouldn't have worked but did. Vendor-agnostic, no pitches, just people sharing what they've learned.

Hands-on labs. Bring a laptop. We work through challenges, pass hardware around, build things, break things, and help each other when something doesn't compile. Topics could include demos of audio surveillance with laser mics, building functional KeySweepers as a group, and plenty of soldering, lockpicking, and packet capture along the way.

Informal nights. Sometimes the best meetups are the ones where we just hang out. No agenda, no slides. Catch up, swap stories, plan the next thing.

Red teamers, blue teamers, hardware hackers, lockpickers, students, researchers, devs who are security-curious, and a healthy mix of people who just like figuring out how things work. Government and private sector. Career veterans and folks running their first nmap scan. The room is always a mix, and that's the point.

A few things that have always been true and aren't changing:

• No vendor pitches. No paid speaking slots. No selling.
• Open to everyone, regardless of experience, background, or job title.
• We don't condone illegal activity. Don't show up trying to hack people or organizations. Plenty of people in the room have spent careers going after folks who do.
• Respect the speaker, respect the room, respect each other.

We're always looking for talks. Lightning talks (5 to 10 minutes) are a great way to dip your toe in if you've never presented before. Longer slots (20 to 45 minutes) are open too. Got something you've been working on? Bring it. We'll help you shape it if you want feedback before the night.

If you've got a hands-on idea you want to walk people through, hit us up. Hardware, software, network, whatever. If it's hands-on and people will learn something, there's a slot for it.

Hackers Guild was built to give Pittsburgh's security community a real place to meet, learn, and build together. Hosting DC412 here every month is exactly the kind of thing this space exists for. Tables, power, wifi, room to spread out, and a community that wants you here.

Event venue & nearby stays

Hackers Guild, 2247 Babcock Boulevard, Pittsburgh, United States

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