Announcements – Hello Hackers

Hello Hackers,

I am thrilled to start on this exciting journey about cybersecurity history and culture. We will venture into the history of hacking and how everything we now know started, learning more about the hackers who shaped the environment we live in, and have tons of fun along the way. I hope you take away the essence of being a hacker.

This course will go through the good and the evil that gave cybersecurity its modern structure. Ultimately, I hope to have motivated you enough to become a hacker and keep the culture alive.

Happy Learning and Hacking!

Hey Everyone,

As you all know, I mentioned in the last class that CactusCon would be a nice field trip to show you how CTFs work. CactusCon will replace our class on 4th February.

You need to get the free student tickets here: https://www.cactuscon.com/student . Please register before the deadline to get the free tickets, which end at 10 pm on Thursday, February 5th.

As the event is on February 6–7, 2026, in Mesa, AZ, which is on Friday–Saturday of the first week of February, the attendance and participation points will be replaced by going to the event and checking in with me. There will be no class on 4th February due to the event.

You can find out more about CactusCon on their website here: https://www.cactuscon.com/ .

See you all on Wednesday when we learn about lockpicking.

Hey Everyone,

As we discussed at the end of the class, having a Discord for communication would be nice. Please join the pwn.college Discord server and let me know your Discord IDs by either emailing me (prathamgupta@asu.edu) or joining the server and DMing me @Alchemy1729 to get access to our class-specific channels.

Discord Server Link: https://discord.gg/pwncollege

I also mentioned the vulnerability in WhatsApp and Signal. If anyone wants to read more, here are the links:

GitHub: https://github.com/gommzystudio/device-activity-tracker
Paper: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2411.11194

See you all at CactusCon. Again, there is no class next week, and we are going to CactusCon instead.

Hey Everyone,

As CactusCon starts tomorrow, I wanted to give more information about it. I will be there tomorrow and Saturday from 9 AM to 5 PM. To get the attendance, you just have to check in with me.

The best way to communicate would be through Discord. If anyone has not joined the Discord server and gotten access to our class specific channel (by sending me a DM on Discord), please do so before the con.

Discord Server Link: https://discord.gg/pwncollege

Also, if you have not registered for the student tickets, the deadline is 10 PM today. The next assignment would be based on your visit to CactusCon, so make sure you read the instructions before going to the con.

CactusCon Registration: https://www.cactuscon.com/student

See you all tomorrow!

Hey Everyone,

I know a lot of you have already checked in with me. I just wanted to let others know that I will be at the Con till 5 PM, near the concession stand.

If you come by and don't see me, then you can DM me on Discord (@Alchemy1729). The attendance for this week is replaced by checking in with me at CactusCon.