Sometimes people who have never been to a BSides conference — never been to any kind of tech conference — reach out to ask what they should bring to be prepared for the day. So we put this list together with some suggestions, feel free to reach out on Bluesky or LinkedIn if you think we missed anything.
Playing The CTF? If you’re planning on participating in the Capture The Flag contest, you might want to pack a laptop with a Kali VM or some other hacking tools loaded on it. Yes, there will be lab computers you can borrow, but you might feel better with your own rig. And this year there are going to be some Meshtastic challenges as well, if you have one of those radios, bring it along.
Something to share? Do you have some stickers you made? Patches? Coins? Some cool little art thing that you want to share with the other hackers? We’ll have a sticker swap table, feel free to add or take anything you like!
Soldering projects? Do you have a soldering kit or project that you’ve been meaning to start? We’ll have the lab open all day long, no reason you can’t bring it with you and bounce ideas off of the experienced folks at the conference.
Business networking? If you’re looking to make connections, might want to bring some business cards and maybe a paper notebook to write down names and numbers.
Water bottle? There will be coffee in the morning and afternoon and soft drinks at lunch, but there are also bottle filling stations in the venue, all the better to keep yourself hydrated.
Old locks? Have an old padlock or lockbox you’ve been trying to open? Maybe bring it in and let the experts in the Lockpicking room take a crack at it.
Anything you think we missed? Let us know!