Jean Privat
NorthSec's official competition write-up index credits Jean Privat for the 2025 Conference badge and Soldering village challenge writeups.
SourceNorthSec 2025 · Canada · 2025
NorthSec 2025 Badge
ESP32-C3 conference and CTF badge with SAO and IR pairing
NorthSec 2025's official badge repository documents an ESP32-C3-WROOM-02-N4 badge with eighteen NeoPixel RGB LEDs, five buttons, an IR pairing connector, two SAO v1.69bis connectors, USB-C or AAA battery power, and separate conference/CTF firmware builds.
EventNorthSec 2025
SeriesNorthSec
LocationBonsecours Market, Montreal
CountryCanada
Image Provenance
- Asset
- optimized WebP from repository render
- Status
- licensed original repository render
- Source
- hw/2025/badge2025.png
- License
- MIT License
- Attribution
- NorthSec nsec-badge repository contributors
- Notes
- Original 593x584 RGBA PNG downloaded from the public nsec/nsec-badge repository and published as the optimized WebP delivery asset without generated content. The repository LICENSE is MIT, and .reuse/dep5 marks hw/* as MIT-licensed NorthSec material; this is an official transparent repository render rather than a documentary field photo. 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
Team badge of NorthSec
The README credits Team badge of NorthSec for the 2025 badge.
SourceIterateMe
Listed in the NorthSec 2025 badge README credits.
SourceSvieg
Listed in the NorthSec 2025 badge README credits.
SourceTheKGBSpy
Listed in the NorthSec 2025 badge README credits.
Sourceabdelq
Listed in the NorthSec 2025 badge README credits.
Sourcelle
Listed in the NorthSec 2025 badge README credits.
Sourcemjeanson
Listed in the NorthSec 2025 badge README credits.
Sourcenyx0
Listed in the NorthSec 2025 badge README credits.
Sourcep0ns
Listed in the NorthSec 2025 badge README credits.
Sourcepadraignix
Listed in the NorthSec 2025 badge README credits.
Sourcesylemieux
Listed in the NorthSec 2025 badge README credits.
SourceNorthSec
Official publisher of the NorthSec 2025 event page and nsec-badge source repository.
Source20th and jgalar
Listed in the NorthSec 2025 badge README special-thanks line.
SourceWhy It Mattered
It adds Canada to the worldwide compendium with a rights-cleared official raster render and a modern North American badge that connects conference identity, CTF firmware, add-on hardware, and social/IR interaction.
Hardware
The repository README and KiCad sources document an ESP32-C3 core, 18 RGB LEDs, five buttons, IR pairing, two Shitty Add-On connectors, USB-C power, 3xAAA battery support, KiCad hardware files, BOM data, panelization material, and a one-page schematic PDF.
Software & Apps
The firmware is built with Espressif IDF through PlatformIO, with separate conference and CTF build/upload environments, USB serial monitoring at 115200 baud, reset guidance through DTR, and source trees for badge firmware and CTF components.
Lore
NorthSec's 2025 ticketing page places the event at Bonsecours Market in Montreal from May 10-18, 2025. The badge repository credits Team badge and preserves an official image, source, and hardware release immediately in the public project tree.
Lifecycle
Add-ons & Upgrades
firmware lifecycle
archived
Conference and CTF PlatformIO firmware
The repository documents separate PlatformIO build/upload environments for conference and CTF firmware on top of Espressif IDF.
Source
firmware reverse engineering
first-hand writeup
Conference badge firmware exploration
Jean Privat's 2025 writeup documents USB-C/esptool firmware dumping, ESP32-C3 detection, partition extraction, factory-app identification, firmware strings for badge-network and persistence components, and attempts to patch the original firmware.
Source
firmware workflow
archived
USB serial 115200 debugging workflow
The README documents USB serial monitoring at 115200 baud plus reset-through-DTR guidance for firmware development and debugging.
Source
hardware architecture
source-backed
ESP32-C3 NeoPixel badge core
The README documents an ESP32-C3-WROOM-02-N4 badge core with eighteen NeoPixel RGB LEDs and five attendee-facing buttons.
Source
hardware expansion and interaction
source-backed
Dual SAO and IR pairing hardware
The badge exposes two Shitty Add-On V1.69bis connectors and an IR pairing connector, giving attendees both add-on and badge-to-badge interaction surfaces.
Source
soldering challenge
first-hand writeup
Soldering village eight-LED challenge add-on
The 2025 soldering-village writeup documents an add-on challenge with eight LEDs, polarity/defect debugging, VCC and pin behavior, SAO table context, scrambled code recovery, and final flag submission.
SourceOperational history
Issues & Camp Impact
field-writeup scope caveat
note
The 2025 Conference badge and Soldering village writeups document practical reverse engineering and challenge solving from an attendee perspective, but they are not a complete official challenge archive or manufacturing release.
The catalogue uses them to enrich firmware and challenge behavior while keeping authoritative hardware-source claims tied to the official NorthSec repository.
- Confidence
- first-hand writeup
- Status
- documented
- Timeframe
- post-event writeup trail
- Source note
- NorthSec competition write-up index and Jean Privat's 2025 badge writeups.
hardware-source scope caveat
note
The public repository preserves README, KiCad, BOM, schematic, and firmware material, but this pass does not mirror every CTF challenge artifact, post-event solve, manufactured-board photograph, or field report.
The catalogue records verified hardware and firmware surfaces while leaving deeper NorthSec 2025 artifact archaeology for later work.
- Confidence
- source-backed but incomplete
- Status
- needs deeper post-event artifact inventory
- Timeframe
- current NorthSec 2025 pass
- Source note
- NorthSec 2025 badge repository, README, hardware tree, and schematic PDF.
official render caveat
note
The local image is the official transparent PNG render from the NorthSec badge repository, not a documentary field photo of a physically assembled attendee badge.
The record has a rights-cleared visual without implying that the image is conference-floor photography.
- Confidence
- repository audit
- Status
- documented
- Timeframe
- current catalogue build
- Source note
- nsec/nsec-badge hw/2025/badge2025.png, repository LICENSE, and .reuse/dep5.
Resources
NorthSec 2025 Conference badge writeup
first-hand badge writeup · First-hand writeup by Jean Privat documenting NorthSec 2025 badge exploration, ESP32-C3 confirmation, USB-C/esptool firmware dumping, partitions, factory app behavior, IR/social-credit context, LEDs, buttons, and firmware patching attempts.
NorthSec 2025 Soldering village challenge writeup
challenge writeup · First-hand writeup by Jean Privat documenting the 2025 soldering-village challenge add-on, eight-LED troubleshooting, SAO table context, scrambled code behavior, and recovered flag trail.
NorthSec 2025 badge README
source · Raw README source for ESP32-C3-WROOM-02-N4 hardware, 18 NeoPixel RGB LEDs, buttons, IR pairing connector, SAO connectors, power, PlatformIO, and firmware workflows.
NorthSec 2025 hardware tree
hardware source · Repository hardware tree containing badge KiCad files, BOM material, baseboard directories, SAO/add-on material, panelization, test firmware, and the official raster render.
NorthSec 2025 official badge render
image source · Official transparent PNG repository render used as the rights-cleared source for the local WebP badge image.
NorthSec 2025 schematic PDF
hardware source · One-page schematic PDF published in the official repository for component-level hardware reference.
NorthSec 2025 ticketing page
event page · Official NorthSec source for May 10-18, 2025 dates, Bonsecours Market venue, Montreal location, and event context.
NorthSec badge repository
source · Official public repository preserving the NorthSec badge firmware, hardware, README, license, and 2025 hardware tree.
NorthSec competition write-ups
official writeup index · Official NorthSec write-up index linking the 2025 Conference badge and Soldering village challenge writeups by Jean Privat.
NorthSec hardware REUSE metadata
license metadata · Repository REUSE dep5 metadata marking hw/* as MIT-licensed NorthSec material.
Sources
Hubert Hackin' / Jean Privat: Conference badge
Retrieved 2026-05-15 · First-hand badge writeup source for ESP32-C3 confirmation, USB-C/esptool firmware dumping, firmware partition inventory, factory application behavior, IR/social-credit references, LEDs, buttons, and firmware patching attempts.
Hubert Hackin' / Jean Privat: Soldering village challenge
Retrieved 2026-05-15 · First-hand challenge writeup source for the soldering-village add-on, LED polarity and defect troubleshooting, pin/VCC behavior, SAO context, scrambled LED code, and submitted flag trail.
NorthSec: NorthSec 2025
Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Official event source for dates, Bonsecours Market venue, Montreal location, and NorthSec 2025 context.
NorthSec: Competition's Write-ups
Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Official NorthSec index source for 2025 competition writeups, including the Conference badge and Soldering village challenge links by Jean Privat.
NorthSec / GitHub: NorthSec 2025 badge README
Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary technical source for ESP32-C3-WROOM-02-N4 hardware, RGB LEDs, buttons, IR pairing, SAO connectors, power, PlatformIO, conference/CTF firmware targets, serial monitoring, and team credits.
NorthSec / GitHub: nsec/nsec-badge hardware tree
Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary hardware-source tree for the 2025 KiCad design, BOM, schematic, panelization, add-on material, and official raster image.
NorthSec / GitHub: NorthSec 2025 schematic PDF
Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Repository schematic PDF source used to corroborate the public hardware-release scope.
NorthSec / GitHub: nsec-badge REUSE metadata
Retrieved 2026-05-15 · License metadata source for treating the hw/2025 badge render and hardware files as MIT-licensed NorthSec repository material.