AvengerCon

AvengerCon VIII

The February 28-29, 2024 AvengerCon edition in Augusta whose U.S. Army public-affairs article documents the first AvengerCon electronic badge, the 8-8-8 badge, as a scavenger-hunt and badge-hacking artifact.

Georgia Cyber Innovation & Training Center, Augusta, Georgia · United States · 2024

AvengerCon VIII 8-8-8 Badge

The AvengerCon VIII 8-8-8 badge was the conference's first electronic badge, documented by U.S. Army public-affairs coverage as a scavenger-hunt badge where attendees collected codes to light LEDs or hacked the badge to bypass the contest.

Lifecycle

Add-ons & Upgrades

AvengerCon VIII 8-8-8 Badge source-backed

badge challenge

Scavenger-hunt LED code path

The badge doubled as a scavenger hunt where attendees collected codes to light the LEDs.

Compatibility: AvengerCon VIII 8-8-8 Badge

AvengerCon VIII 8-8-8 Badge source-backed

challenge bypass

Hack-the-badge bypass path

The same public source says participants could hack the badge and bypass the contest altogether.

Compatibility: AvengerCon VIII 8-8-8 Badge

AvengerCon VIII 8-8-8 Badge source-backed

lineage milestone

First AvengerCon electronic badge

U.S. Army coverage identifies the 2024 8-8-8 badge as AvengerCon's first electronic badge.

Compatibility: AvengerCon VIII 8-8-8 Badge

AvengerCon VIII 8-8-8 Badge source-backed

production note

More-than-300 badge build

The Army article says Capt. Richard Shmel personally developed and made more than 300 electronic badges for AvengerCon VIII.

Compatibility: AvengerCon VIII 8-8-8 Badge

Operational history

Issues & Camp Impact

AvengerCon VIII 8-8-8 Badge note

missing rights-cleared image · local project policy · needs licensed original replacement

No AvengerCon VIII 8-8-8 badge image is published because this pass did not establish a reusable original badge photo or official raster render with source URL, license or permission basis, attribution, and processing notes.

The entry remains source-backed and image-free rather than copying Army article media, event photos, social posts, screenshots, or generated visuals.

AvengerCon VIII 8-8-8 Badge note

technical-source gap · source-backed but incomplete · needs deeper archive recovery

The public Army source proves the first electronic AvengerCon badge, 8-8-8 naming, scavenger-hunt behavior, hack-bypass option, in-person distribution until supplies ran out, more-than-300 build, and Capt. Richard Shmel maker credit, but it does not publish schematics, BOM, firmware, controller identity, protocol docs, or manufacturing files.

The catalogue records the verified badge lineage without inventing component-level details or open-source status.

Resources

AvengerCon history page official history · Official AvengerCon source for the lineage from the 2016 internal Fort Meade training event through the Augusta-era AvengerCon VIII and IX editions. AvengerCon VIII Army Cyber article public-affairs article · U.S. Army public-affairs source for the February 28-29, 2024 Georgia Cyber Innovation & Training Center event, first AvengerCon electronic 8-8-8 badge, scavenger-hunt behavior, LED-code path, hack-bypass path, more-than-300 badge build, and Capt. Richard Shmel credit.

Sources

AvengerCon: AvengerCon history Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Official lineage source for AvengerCon's 2016 origin, growth across U.S. Cyber Command units and partners, and the Augusta-era AvengerCon VIII and IX entries. U.S. Army: AvengerCon VIII: Army Cyber's homegrown hacker-con returns Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary public-affairs source for the February 28-29, 2024 Georgia Cyber Innovation & Training Center event, first AvengerCon electronic badge, 8-8-8 badge name, scavenger-hunt LED-code path, hack-bypass path, in-person attendee distribution until supplies ran out, more-than-300 badge build, and Capt. Richard Shmel maker credit.