What Happened with the DEF CON Badge This Year?

Four Small Additional Notes and then Usual Links Below...

-- ----- ----------
1. Mar's and others' work on the badge project was technically not done under the title of DEF CON's Art Team but was, in fact, a separate committee although of course there was great influence on the aesthetic side of things, etc. Mar has been working on hardware projects for 20 years and the assembled team consisting of Mar and others (including, but not exclusively Entropic) were the badge creators.

-- ----- ----------
2. Super huge props to everyone who ultimately fixed the save state issue. Lots of hackers (both connected to the project and also working independently) valiantly offered to tackle the issue of small bugs that remained in the code on Day One, and nearly everyone whom I know got their badge updated at the various Info Booths around the con and also in the Hardware Hacking Village where fixes were being shared. Seeing these efforts unfold in parallel was chaotic and at times imperfect, but the sheer number of flashes and fixes that attendees got to have taken care of was terrific.

-- ----- ----------
3. There's been a lot of they said / they said on the topic of "removed logos" but here are the facts to the best of my understanding after speaking with loads of folk and reading lots of things, and you all are free to give whatever weight you wish to my words here, based on how much you know of my connections to the community...

• Entropic's logo was added to the circuit board (and at the time of badge production remained on the PCB) because of their contributions to that element of the badge

• Entriopic's logo was also planned for addition on the plastic outer shell of the badge as a courtesy mention, but by the time the badges were going into final production Entropic had already separated from the project and therefore including their logo on the plastic shell (a component they didn't directly work on) was no longer necessary.

• Adjusting the mold shell to no longer have a debossed logo where was one previously planned is an easy tweak and that's why the outer clear plastic doesn't have their logo, even while the inner circuit board still does.


-- ----- ----------
4. I offered Dmitry the opportunity to have a statement included or linked to here, given the variety of differing information that has been presented (and revised) by various reporting on this story since the con. Dmitry's statement is...

“Please see the DEF CON unofficial badge hacking Discord, where you may easily avail yourself to the actual facts of the case, including evidence that many of the claims in this video are provably false.”

... that Discord, in addition to hosting several voices who were involved in the project and have their own thoughts, is also the best resource for those who are still looking to flash or modify their badge post-con. The invite link is:   / discord  


-- ----- ----------
Register article about this...
https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/1...

DEF CON's statement...
  / def_cons_response_to_the_badge_controversy  

DEF CON is known for their epic badges, many of which are electronic. This year, the badge was reported to have a quirk or two and then there was footage of someone purportedly linked to the badge project being "ejected" from the conference stage. What actually happened? I try to explain it in this video. Enjoy! 👍😁👍

-- ----- ----------
I'm on the Fediverse. That's a great place to find me...
https://defcon.social/@deviantollam

I'm also on Instagram. I mostly use it for liking my friends' photos...
  / deviantollam  

Bluesky is a newer community, and I'm over there, too...
https://bsky.app/profile/deviantollam...

I'm also on Discord, but mostly only because my daughter uses it, lol...
  / discord  

I post dumb questions to Reddit and sometimes answer folks' questions there, too...
  / deviantollam  

This is my GitHub. I post my design files there...
https://github.com/deviantollam

I still have my Twitter account. I don't use it anymore and neither should you...
  / deviantollam  

This is my personal web site. Most things i create wind up online...
https://deviating.net

This is my company. We're good at stuff...
https://enterthecore.net

This is where I train. Come and learn badass skills...
https://redteamalliance.com
-- ----- ----------