Started in 1992 by the Dark Tangent, DEF CON is the world’s longest running and largest underground hacking conference. It’s held yearly in Las Vegas, Nevada every July.

The security industry is a $100B market. As the database of our entire world’s information goes online, software is the the fabric that connects it all. However, where there is software there are vulnerabilities.

In addition, where there are people, there are vulnerabilities. This is where I come in. I’m not a ‘hacker’, or an engineer, sys admin, or programmer. I am in communications. I’m a translator, a chameleon, and an advocate for people, projects and products that I feel are doing things differently.

I decided to go to DEF CON for the first time this year to put myself “in the room” and get a sense of the community, the people and their nuanced archetypes.

I wanted to hack the hackers. All it took was one $65 golf shirt from the Caesars’ Gift Shop and I navigated the entire conference for free.

Here’s how I did it:

1. Walked the perimeter to locate the entry and exit points

Thursday evening when I arrived, I scoped out Caesars. I walked in, located the conference registration, ran into a few friends and walked around to get the lay of the land. I saw where the big talks were going to be held, mapped out all the elevators, escalators and exits for rooms and hallways. Then, it was time to test my theory: could I walk around the entire conference without a badge?

As I was walking into one of the main elevator rooms I was asked once by a Caesars employee, “excuse me, ma’am, where is your badge?” I replied quickly and softly, “Oh, yes, so sorry. I’m looking for the information booth, it’s this way right?” She nodded, and I continued right past and into a different talk. I always like knowing how to quickly escape if needed.

2. First penetration test: asking for the conference program book

Thursday evening, I walked over to registration and told the lovely staff that I had misplaced the schedule book, could they give me another one? “Yes, no problem!” a volunteer mentioned as they handed one over to me. Great, now I have the schedule and an idea of how strict they are on badges, as well as how well-trained the volunteer staff was.

I always look for the elevators at hotel conferences since it’s always faster than taking the stairs or escalators. On the first day I walked right past registration and took the elevators up to the talks. It was low key, not many talks, so no hassle.

3. Camouflage

I was in need of a fresh shirt after my flight into Vegas and didn’t have time to check into my room at the Flamingo. Trying to find my way around DEF CON, I walked past the Caesars gift store. There it was…. the perfect shirt. A black v-neck Caesars golf shirt. It was professional enough to look official, but casual enough to make me look like a mid level employee. I purchased the shirt for $65, and combined with my black pants and dress shoes the look was complete.

The Caesars shirt was the perfect balance. It was enough to override the DEF CON “goons” since I assumed they were instructed to not mess with hotel staff. It was also perfect to pass by the Caesar’s staff since they were there to focus on maintaining order for the DEF CON attendees, not the hundreds of random Caesars staff members.