CactusCon 13 Villages & Special Events
Villages are spaces within CactusCon dedicated to specific topic areas, and typically include talks, hands-on activities, competitions, and other exciting and interesting things to check out! Check this page for updates as we add more villages and info.
CactusCon Badge
The Cactuscon 13 badge is your gateway to a hidden reality. As an unawakened, you start unaware, trapped in a carefully crafted digital illusion. Through a series of challenging tasks that test your intellect and problem-solving abilities, you’ll begin to see through the cracks of this false world. With each solved puzzle, you inch closer to awakening—unlocking new insights and understanding the forces controlling you. But awakening has its dangers. Once aware, Agents—ruthless enforcers of the system—will hunt you, determined to erase any threat to the status quo. The Matrix is real, and the only way to escape it is to outthink those who seek to keep you blind.
Hardware badges are available through preregistration or by purchasing at the event.
Capture the Flag
The Cactus Con CTF is back for another exciting year! The event will take place virtually and in-person at the Mesa Convention Center in Phoenix Arizona, USA. This will be a team event, no max on team size. Please have all your team members register here on ctf.threatsims.com.
*** All CTF participants must also register with the Conference to be eligible to play.
Prizes? Yep there will be prizes, more information will be shared as we get closer to the event
Team size? No max, but prizes are limited
Is this offense or defense? Yes!
The CactusCon Greenhouse
Have you ever wanted to be a pentester but didn’t know where to start? Do you have an interest in pentesting but need some help getting the fundamentals down? Are you a blue- teamer or a cyber manager and want to have a basic understanding of pentesting techniques? If so then the CactusCon Greenhouse is for you! The Greenhouse is a series of five stations, each one with an exercise in a pentesting fundamental; enumeration using nmap, web application testing using BurpSuite, exploitation with Metasploit, password cracking with john the ripper and hashcat, and vulnerability scanning. Each table is designed to take about 30 minutes to complete, and will have a web page to guide you through the exercises. Greenhouse Gardeners will be available to help if you get stuck. You will need to bring your own laptop to participate. More information is available here, but plan to come join the Greenhouse for a fun, instructional and low-pressure chance to get your feet wet in pentesting!
Ham Radio Village
Get on the air at CactusCon! Visit conham.net/cactuscon for info on Meshtastic, 2m simplex communications, and foxhunt frequencies!
We will help you experience the fun of Ham Radio
Ham Radio has been considered to be the original group of hackers, launching before computers, integrated circuits, and even the transistor! Hams of all generations have a hacker mindset, solving problems their own way, regardless of what the manual has to say. Continuing this pioneer spirit, the Ham Radio Community is here to support advancement of the hobby with a cybersecurity slant.
Everything we do today involves wireless communications of some sort, and a basic knowledge of how radio works is crucial. In the Ham Radio Community, you can learn hand-on with topics such as how to legally use a radio to send commands to a satellite, communicating around the globe when no other methods exist, and how to send and receive real-time location data without relying on any cellular networks. You can put your skills to the test by trying to find the hidden transmitters in the Ham Radio Fox Hunt contest, as well as transmitting memes over the airwaves to CactusCon attendees.
We provide license testing services for those looking to become licensed or upgrade their license class, as well as guidance on how to hack on the medium to achieve the best results and have the most fun!
Free Ham Radio License Exams
Come be part of the "oldest hacking community" by getting your amateur radio, aka "ham radio" license, at CactusCon 13! Exams will be offered on both days of the conference, free of charge. So study beforehand & pass the exam, or just sign up & show up to see what the exam is about! Most hacker-con attendees are able to get their technician license after a couple hours of studying.
You can study with ham.study, by going through the entire, publicly available, question pool. Sign up at the link here.
The Ham Radio Village Fox Hunt, Presented by EvilMog
Put your radio direction-finding skills to the test at CactusCon this year with the HRV Fox Hunt, Presented by EvilMog! Participants will have to locate a hidden transmitter using a (VHF) radio. Bring your tape measure yagi along or use a handheld and the tried and true "body blocking" technique to locate the hidden radio. Instructions to participate are as follows:
Watch Twitter @HamRadioVillage or @evil_mog for tweets to know when the foxes are deployed
Tune your radio to 146.565MHz
Find the fox, fox will broadcast K0HRV in morse code as well as various songs
Ask the person carrying the fox for an EvilMog business card
Take card to the HRV, put contact information on the back & give to village staff.
HRV will do a drawing at closing ceremonies & award the prize. You must be present at closing ceremonies to receive your prize or another winner will be drawn.
Note: hunters are limited to one entry per day.
Questions? Ping @InkRF on the CactusCon Discord server or ask on the HRV discord server: discord.gg/hrv
Physical Security Village
Dive into the fascinating world of physical access security and its vulnerabilities. The Physical Security Village offers hands-on opportunities to explore the art and science of lockpicking, bypassing physical barriers, and understanding the mechanics of access control systems. Whether you're a seasoned hacker or just curious, this interactive space is your chance to challenge your skills, learn new techniques, and rethink what it means to secure the physical world.
CISO Village
Our Background
From the ground up, the CISO village was designed to be like a 'School Science Fair' where each person is building a volcano. Each volcano is different and unique. Each person built their volcano with a different vision while making sure its meeting the requirements placed on it.
The cybersecurity programs that we support aren't too different from the science fair volcanoes. We each have unique challenges, constraints, and previous technical debt. We might be supporting a smaller or larger organization. We might be supporting a public or a private organization.
Despite these differences, wouldn't it be nice to step into the shoes of another CISO's program to see what things you might be able to improve on yourself? Wouldn't it be nice to better understand what things might be different in a healthcare industry versus a manufacturing industry (besides the regulatory requirements).
Our Approach
There are a lot of conferences where the attendees sit in the audience and learn. However, since many of the members have 10+ years of experience, we feel like having a more roundtable approach where we can all learn from each other would be more engaging. Our approach is not to have presentations. Our approach is to facilitate workshops where we can all learn from each other. We invite you to come learn and grow with us!!
See the CISO Village event page for schedule and workshop details.
CactusCon Kids
CactusCon Kids (CCK) will have several workshops appropriate for kids ages 6-16 years old. This year we are excited to have five different stations to captivate, encourage, and extend learning.
Hardware station: kids will assemble (solder) a hardware badge. No soldering experience is needed. Badges are free, supplies are limited.
Coding station: this is where they can code the badge and (learn to) hack it. Or just learn how to write code.
Cryptography station: kids will be challenged to use their problem solving skills to solve the puzzles to complete challenges.
Computer graveyard: participants can look inside "the machine" and learn what really happens inside the box.
Lockpicking station: kids will learn how locks work and how to pick them.
CactusCon Kids is Saturday, February 15th. Registration/check-in will open at 9:15am and the stations will open at 9:30am. Parents/guardians do not need to register for CCK, only the kids participating in the con need to register for a ticket. Parents/guardians are required to stay on premises of the Delta Marriott or attend the main conference, which is a different ticket.