r00tz thanks and until next time !

It’s been an interesting and challenging few years since r00tz IX in August of 2019, and we have some bitter-sweet news to share with you all.

For over a decade, our mission has been to provide a safe haven for kids to learn ethical hacking via hands-on workshops, talks, and contests.

When we first thought of starting r00tz (formerly known as DEFCON kids) in 2011, it was unheard of to bring kids to DEFCON. It took our hacker community a bit to embrace the idea and now, 10+ years later, these young r00tz hackers are as much of a part of the DEFCON experience as any adult. The DEFCON community has welcomed these kids with open arms to participate in all the villages and conference activities, not just those created especially for the younger generation.

Our volunteer team at r00tz Asylum is incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished through the years, but some good things do indeed come to an end. Due to the continuous COVID pandemic, among other personal factors, we’ve decided that we will no longer run our r00tz events.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank all our amazing kids, volunteers, speakers, workshop leads, parents+guardians and DEFCON for helping us make r00tz Asylum such a huge success, for so long!

The good news is DEFCON will launch DEFCON Kids and are looking for people to carry it on❤️.

To all our r00tz and DEFCON families, keep hacking all the things and paying it forward. We can’t wait to see what you build!

See you around!

—the r00tz asylum team