DEF CON 13 · United States · 2005

DEF CON 13 Human Badge

Public-domain photographed pre-electronic identity badge

A DEF CON 13 human badge documented by a public-domain Wikimedia Commons original photo and an official pre-conference DEF CON forum note that the 2005 badges were ready before registration.

DEF CON United States Human Badge Identity Artifact Public Domain Photo Las Vegas North America

EventDEF CON 13

SeriesDEF CON

LocationAlexis Park Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada

CountryUnited States

Image Provenance

Asset: optimized WebP from Wikimedia Commons photo
Status: public-domain original photo
Source: DC13 Badge.jpg
License: Public domain dedication by author
Attribution: Prosavage2600, Wikimedia Commons
Notes: Original 1600x1200 Wikimedia Commons photo downloaded from File:DC13 Badge.jpg and preserved in Public/images/source. The published WebP delivery asset keeps the same dimensions and is otherwise kept as the real public-domain badge photo. The Commons description identifies it as a DEF CON 13 badge photo by Prosavage2600; this is not generated content or a placeholder. The published badge.gallery delivery file is an optimized WebP generated from the rights-cleared local derivative/source with metadata stripped, WebP quality 82, and a maximum side cap of 1600 pixels when the source is larger; upstream source URL, license, and attribution remain unchanged.

People

Authors & Credits

DEF CON founder and announcement author

Jeff Moss / The Dark Tangent

The DEF CON forum announcement by Dark Tangent provides official pre-event evidence that DEF CON 13 badges were ready.

Source

public-domain badge photographer

Prosavage2600

Wikimedia Commons credits Prosavage2600 as the author of the DEF CON 13 badge photo and records a public-domain dedication.

Source

Why It Mattered

It closes an older North American DEF CON lineage gap before the DEF CON 14 electronic-badge era. The record shows what the compendium should do with early conference credentials: preserve real identity artifacts without inventing electronics.

Hardware

The cleared Commons photo identifies a DEF CON 13 badge and shows a physical human badge artifact. This record intentionally limits the hardware description to a non-electronic identity/pass badge because primary electronic-badge histories place DEF CON's first active electronic badges in 2006 at DEF CON 14.

Software & Apps

No software or firmware is claimed. The badge is modeled as an admission/identity artifact from the pre-electronic DEF CON badge era.

Lore

DEF CON forum posts before the 2005 event noted that badges were done and registration would hand out printed schedules. The later public story matters because DEF CON 14 changed the badge lineage from a credential into a hackable circuit board.

Lifecycle

Add-ons & Upgrades

Operational history

Issues & Camp Impact

image provenance note

The DEF CON 13 image uses Prosavage2600's Wikimedia Commons public-domain photograph of a DEF CON 13 badge.

The entry has a real rights-cleared documentary photo without introducing generated, placeholder, or uncleared imagery.

Confidence: Wikimedia Commons public-domain metadata
Status: cleared
Timeframe: current catalogue build
Source note: Wikimedia Commons File:DC13 Badge.jpg.

non-electronic scope note

DEF CON 13 is modeled as a non-electronic human identity badge because the public source trail proves a physical badge but places DEF CON's first electronic badge at DEF CON 14 in 2006.

The compendium preserves the pre-electronic artifact without inventing LEDs, firmware, microcontrollers, or a badge challenge for 2005.

Confidence: source-backed classification
Status: documented
Timeframe: 2005-2006 DEF CON badge transition
Source note: Wikimedia Commons DC13 Badge photo, DEF CON 13 forum announcement, VICE/Motherboard badgelife history, and Grand Idea Studio DEF CON 14 materials.

Resources

Badgelife history article · VICE/Motherboard history placing the first DEF CON electronic badge at DEF CON 14 in 2006, supporting DEF CON 13's conservative non-electronic classification. DC13 Badge Commons photo public-domain photo · Wikimedia Commons source for Prosavage2600's public-domain original photograph of a DEF CON 13 badge. DEF CON 13 event metadata event page · InfoconDB source for the July 29-31, 2005 DEF CON 13 event dates and Alexis Park Resort, Las Vegas venue context. DEF CON 13 is a GO! official forum announcement · Official DEF CON forum announcement where Dark Tangent says the program had gone to printers, badges were done, shirts and stickers were made, and final pre-conference updates were underway.

Sources

DEF CON Forums: DEF CON 13 is a GO! Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Official pre-event source stating that DEF CON 13 badges were done before registration and that printed schedules would be distributed at registration. InfoconDB: DEF CON 13 (2005) Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Event-context source for DEF CON 13 dates, schedule archive, and Alexis Park Resort venue metadata. VICE / Motherboard: A History of Badgelife, Def Con's Unlikely Obsession with Artistic Circuit Boards Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Secondary context source stating that DEF CON 14 in 2006 was the first electronic DEF CON badge, supporting the non-electronic classification of DEF CON 13. Wikimedia Commons: DC13 Badge.jpg Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Public-domain source image for Prosavage2600's original photograph of a DEF CON 13 badge; used for image provenance and identity-artifact evidence.