Packet Hacking Village Sponsorship FAQ

DEF CON is one of the oldest continuously running hacker conventions around, and also one of the largest.

The Packet Hacking Village is one of the largest and most storied villages at DEF CON, easily attracting tens of thousands of visitors during the convention. We are well known for our interactive teaching events including the Wall of Sheep, Packet Inspector, Packet Detective and our walk-through workshops. We are also widely known for our proprietary gamified training & skills assessment software, Capture The Packet, which has provided the platform for our Black Badge contest for over ten years.

The Wall of Sheep is an entertaining and interactive demonstration of what happens when network users let their guard down.

People don’t always think about internet safety in a practical sense. Even seasoned industry professionals get careless and believe that technology will passively protect them. The Wall of Sheep puts these assumptions to the test, and shows that when people let their guard down, anything can happen – and often does.

Companies who support cybersecurity education for the masses. Organizations looking to recruit new talent. Brands that seek entry into a traditionally resistant market. Among others, our past sponsors have included AWS, Wickr, Tinder, Sophos, Splunk, Aries Security, Cisco, HackerOne, Fidelis, Talos, Veracode, No Starch Press, O’Reilly, and more.

As one of the most well-known villages at DEF CON, we have high name recognition within the hacker community. We provide a consistent experience for attendees, and our reputation draws large crowds every year. As a result, the ROI on sponsorship for the Packet Hacking Village is relatively high in comparison to sponsoring smaller events.

The Packet Hacking Village is the ideal place to build long lasting industry connections that yield major opportunities. We attract some of the best and brightest cybersecurity experts in the world through providing a unique experience that speaks to the hacker subculture. While some marketers and salespeople have not succeeded in promoting themselves to hackers due to a lack of technical or cultural understanding, sales engineers, technical roles, and executives tend to do very well at our village.

Yes. A DEF CON badge grants entry to the convention space; a Packet Hacking Village badge grants entry to our village back of house area. It is possible to visit DEF CON without visiting the Packet Hacking Village, but it is not possible to access the village without entry to DEF CON.

Yes. Our Platinum, Gold, and Silver sponsors have the option to pre-purchase DEF CON badges through the Packet Hacking Village. This provides the convenience of cost planning in advance, and ensures no waiting in line at the convention. If you are interested in this option, please contact us at sales@ariessecurity.com to discuss.

We have worked with major sponsors in the past to develop custom sponsorship packages. If this is something you are interested in, please contact us at sales@ariessecurity.com to discuss.

Certainly. We’ve done custom events with outside organizations before, and our team includes expert event planners and organizers. Contact us at sales@ariessecurity.com to share your idea, and let’s make it happen.

We work with local partners in Las Vegas for a majority of our merchandise, which allows us to avoid shipping and any possible delays. Anything produced with vendors outside of the area is handled months in advance.

While DEF CON always takes place in Las Vegas, the hotels used may vary. DEF CON is often able to secure a group buy rate on hotel rooms, and the booking link is present on the DEF CON website.

Due to the popularity of our village swag, most of it is gone the year that it is made. We do have some select items in storage: if you are looking for something specific, we may be able to work with you on a case by case basis.

Yes, we absolutely can, and have done this in the past. These types of challenges take time and effort to produce, so production discussions generally take place outside of the sponsorship process.

Maybe. Generally speaking, we go to great lengths to make sure sponsors are happy with their presence on all our standard placement. That being said, we have produced custom branded swag in the past, as time allows. Please note, however: the Packet Hacking Village takes a massive amount of work to set up and operate each year, so we can’t always guarantee the extra cycles for additional merchandise development.

If this is something your company is interested in, we recommend reaching out sooner rather than later. The more lead time we have, the more likely it is that we will be able to fulfill your request.