DEF CON is actually, for real, not a joke canceled

All it took was a pandemic, but the long-running joke finally became a reality: DEF CON is canceled. 

The annual hacker conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, typically draws tens of thousands of attendees to talk shop, compare notes, and generally cause delightful mischief. One element of that mischief is the constant — and until now false — yearly claim that DEF CON is canceled. The coronavirus changed that, and the organization announced Friday that the in-person conference will not take place this year. 

“The #DEFCONiscanceled meme has crossed over into real life, courtesy of #COVID19,” read the announcement. “In early March we had hopes that things would be stable by August. That is no longer realistic.”

As with many tech giants, DEF CON organizers are attempting to figure out how to hold a remote/digital conference. 

“Expect events like a new on-line Mystery Challenge, a DEF CON is Canceled music album, remote CTFs like Hack-a-Sat, Villages like the Packet Hacking Village, contests like the TeleChallenge, Ham Exams, and more,” explained DEF CON founder Jeff Moss aka The Dark Tangent in a blog post. “We are also planning a remote movie night and drink-up.”

Image: screenshot / def con

Moss added that he worries about a second wave of COVID-19 hitting in the fall, and that played into his decision to cancel — as opposed to simply postpone — the event. 

“Even if a vaccine were to be discovered tomorrow it would not be soon enough to test, manufacture, distribute and administer in time for people to safely to travel by August,” wrote Moss. “Too many States have stayed open or are re-opening, people partied for far too long, and the lack of Federal coordination gives me no hope that things will get back to normal this year.”

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While DEF CON the event is officially canceled this year, the DEF-CON-is-canceled memes will surely live on.    

DEF CON 29 is, at present, still planned for August of 2021.