Pancakes Con: Cyber + Interests = The Best Con (ever?!)

If you’re looking for an extremely wholesome conference to attend, look no further than PancakesCon. This conference requires speakers to talk about 2 things: (1) a brief talk about any cybersecurity topic and (2) a brief talk about something which is not IT-related. As you might imagine, this leads to some great talks! Some of our favorites from this year included:

Collaboration Required: Threat Intelligence Sharing & Coop Board Games (Grace Chi)

Grace led us through why sharing in CTI matters (spoiler alert: it's how we all win) and some of the best coop games (Spirit Island, anyone?!) around to play with family and friends.

‍Playing with Exploits in Metasploit & Playing with Ideas via Clowning (Tina Coleman)

Extremely talented performer Tina live-demoed Metasploit shenanigans (bless the demo gods) and shared her experience as a semi-professional Clown!‍‍

‍Dry Cup: A Primer on Cybersecurity in China (and also Baijiu) (Jonathan Reiter).

‍Jonathan gave an incredible and nuanced background on what cybersecurity looks like in China (with some Mandarin to boot). We also got educated on the customs of Baiju, a Chinese fermented grain alcohol best shared with friends. 

We were also lucky enough to talk a little bit about our hobbies and cyber investigations.

‍OSINT & Oreos: Using OSINT to uncover a network of “House Hunters” (while trying to make homemade oreos)

3 years ago on a Sunday afternoon, I was baking when I got a call from an out-of-state number inquiring to buy a house I owned. Except, I don't own any house. Since then, I have received dozens of calls inquiring about the property and I have always wondered - why me? Who is the owner? Why do people want this house so badly? I got to explore this and more, all while sharing my best tips for weekend baking with Oreos. (or uh generic chocolate wafer cookies). (Why Oreos? It rhymed!) 

Dio9sys: Fancy Nails and Fancy Rails: how to make “smart” NFC fingernails and the Trans Travel Guide to Amtrak

Brianna has a keen eye for fashion (and hardware) and has combined this into the ultimate manicure - “smart” NFC nails. Bri took nail “tip taps” to a whole new level with a true DIY demo. Beyond that, we got a firsthand fan-girl account of the American rail system - the true way to get your fill of adventure in a safe and comfortable environment!

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A major thank you to Lesley Carhart, and the entire PancakesCon organizing committee & volunteers - you made the internet feel a little cozier this weekend!