WELCOME!

Remember when going to a security conference meant that you were going to sit around in a large room with 30 or so people watching presentations about subjects that contained highly sensitive information that usually was presented with some type of a legal disclosure?  Yeah, some of you weren’t even alive then and don’t remember a DEF CON without a LINE CON, but we promise, it DID exist!  And since DEF CON 16, Skytalks has been bringing you Old School DEF CON:  technical deep dives, off-the-beaten path discussions, early-access talks, cool technology, and plenty of shenanigans. We pride ourselves on a simple creed:  “No recording.  No photographs.  No bullshit.”

The Skytalks track at DEF CON is completely off the record – we do not allow cameras or recording.  This is for the safety of our presenters, some of whom have reason to be speaking “off the record”.  We also feel that this encourages a more intimate and collegial atmosphere.  We encourage interaction and discussion with our speakers, and we encourage them to be creative with their talks.  If you don’t come away wondering “what just happened here?” something certainly went wrong somewhere.

Skytalks is not sponsored by any company or organization.  We believe in content by the community, for the community.  We accept donations to help defray our costs, both in production of the speaking track and our parties, but we put a lot of time and money into this event because we want to present the best for you — not present whatever company has the deepest pocket this year.  And from popular response, we seem to excel in this, year after year.

So we invite you to bring your best, be it in technology, thought, rant, or deed.  Our CFP for this year is now open, and we look forward to making you part of the Skytalks experience.