The Dark Tangent Interviewed at DEF CON 5
ZDnet interviews DEF CON founder Jeff Moss at DEF CON 5 in 1997, capturing the conference's original mission and early hacker community ethos.
Summary
Historical Archive: DEF CON 5 Interview
This archival video, courtesy of ZDnet, features an interview with Jeff Moss (The Dark Tangent) — founder of DEF CON — filmed on location at DEF CON 5, held at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas in July 1997.
DEF CON's Origins
Moss discusses how DEF CON began in 1993 as a small party for friends in the hacker community and grew organically into a major annual gathering. At the time of DC5, DEF CON was four years old and attracting hundreds of attendees — a fraction of the tens of thousands who would attend in later decades.
The Early Hacker Ethos
The interview captures the culture of the mid-1990s hacker community: curiosity-driven exploration, a mix of system administrators, phone phreakers, security researchers, and early internet pioneers gathering to share knowledge in an era before formalized security industry norms.
Growing Legitimacy and Government Interest
Moss reflects on increasing government and law enforcement attention to the conference, including early Spot the Fed contests that emerged from awareness that federal agents regularly attended DEF CON. The interview provides a historical window into hacker-government relations before the formal collaborations that would emerge in later years.
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