Alright, thread time. A couple months ago I asked FBI for files on their surveillance effort of @defcon between the years of 1993 and 1997. Let's step through it! https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/defcon-fbi-1993-1997-93069/

In case anyone needs it, @FBI has provided an authoritative list of all of the dates and locations for each year of @defcon since 1993

Loving this still redacted list of foreign attendees to @defcon. Year unspecified.

You can barely read it smashed against redaction boxes.

Oddly, most of the responsive documents given are for Defcon 00 which took place in 2000. So I guess I'll skip right to those?

Kind of weird that @fbi had been aware of @defcon since its inception, but only had a routine report like this on DEFCON 00. I wonder what that's all about.

"...to aggressively determine any ______ in this "hacker" conference."
Y i k e

Okay, it's starting to make sense why FBI was so fixated on @defcon 00. FBI had a community informant

@FBI 's CI was ringing alarm bells for some reason. Any guesses?

lol. Yes.

FLASH: OSINT indicates that @defcon sells out the venue's hotel.

I just want to take a one-post break here and say; I'm so thankful to have FOIA. If we didn't have this mundane bureaucratic process, how would we ever be able to laugh at FBI reports?
Moving on...

Here it is, everyone. A note on @fbi's internal messaging on @defcon's "spot the fed" game.

I got your deep fried DEFCON memes covered.

This file just got super fuckin meta

You aren't true OG until you've read @defcon notes to feds from an internal @FBI case file you got through FOIA as a private citizen. I don't make the rules.

Personal note: I'm bummed that I haven't yet found the 3-2-1 rule enshrined in government case notes yet. I'm holding out hope.

Okay, back with some more details: It looks like Chicago and Washington Field Offices (distinct from FBI HQ in the hoover building) were interested in reporting from agents and CI's at DC00.

@fbi opened an entire investigation into DC00 alone. Cray.

How sour, the irony of technology failing @fbi's case management process when logging confidential informant leads on a hacker conference

It's slowly becoming clear to me that DC00 had an unusually heavy @fbi presence due to an open investigation that had been happening at the time. All of the details that could indicate the nature of the investigation have been withheld.

It also seems that @fbi had an interest in withholding information on which local investigative support units were involved.

LV FBI field office closed the case on 8/4/2020

Remind me to challenge the exemptions in these files in 6 years.

Defcon 12 in 2004 seems to have raised the interest of FBI Counter Terrorism.

Shoutout to @fbi agents present from the Miami and Phoenix field offices who showed out for Defcon 12.

Tag yourself.
No...seriously.
FBI's list of DC12 speakers. Here's a few I recognize offhand:
@mudge @Grifter801 @gdead @joegrand @cyberbgone @dakami @bascule

omg wait. don't tell me that FBI opened a CT investigation because @defcon included a list of RNC candidates and where they were staying in 2004. I kind of jumping to a conclusion here, but this was included in the CT file.

Alright, that was fun. That's all I've got on this one for now, thanks for reading!