In the electric chaos of DEF CON—where dial tones, solder smoke, and hacker legends collide—one figure stands out: John Aff, aka PANDA.A veteran in the hacker community, he moves effortlessly between challenge design, telephony wizardry, mesh networking experiments, and the culture that surrounds it all.Behind the reputation is a journey that started with game hacking, shifted into enterprise security, and evolved into a life built around creativity, community, and technical obsession. It’s also a story of identity—of finding a place where personal expression and professional skill finally intersected.This conversation pulls back the curtain on a mind shaped by curiosity, lived experience, and a deep love for the craft.CHAPTERS00:00 - Introduction to Barcode Podcast00:24 - Meet Panda: Cybersecurity Icon01:47 - Panda&#39;s Journey into Cybersecurity10:12 - Creating Interactive Challenges for Conferences22:11 - Badge Building: The Art and Science28:00 - Lessons from Offensive Security for Defenders30:11 - Winning the TeleChallenge: A Team Effort35:10 - Nostalgia in Gaming: The Phone Verse Experience37:30 - Understanding LoRa and Mesh Networking43:20 - Real-World Applications of MeshTastic Technology49:14 - The Intersection of Furry Culture and Cybersecurity56:54 - Community Building and Future Aspirations in TechLINKSTeleFreak – <a href="" target="_new" rel="noopener">https://telefreak.org </a> Home of the legendary TeleChallenge and a cornerstone of phreaking culture at DEF CON.DEF CON – <a href="" target="_new" rel="noopener">https://defcon.org</a> The world’s largest hacker conference and the backdrop for many of Panda’s stories, competitions, and breakthroughs.RedSeer Security – <a href="" target="_new" rel="noopener">https://redseersecurity.com</a> The security practice Panda supports on the defensive and strategic side.Assura, Inc. – <a href="" target="_new" rel="noopener">https://assurainc.com</a> Where Panda leads offensive security operations and continuous testing programs.MeshTastic – <a href="https://meshtastic.org" target="_new" rel="noopener">https://meshtastic.org</a> Open-source long-range mesh communication project central to Panda’s community work.Comms For All – <a href="" target="_new" rel="noopener">https://commsforall.com</a> Panda’s initiative focused on mesh networking, LoRa radios, and community education.B-Sides Jax – <a href="" target="_new" rel="noopener">https://bsidesjax.org</a> Conference where Panda built the interactive phone-based badge challenge.HackSpaceCon – <a href="" target="_new" rel="noopener">https://hackspacecon.com</a> The first conference where you and Panda crossed paths; a major Florida hacker gathering.JLCPCB – <a href="https://jlcpcb.com" target="_new" rel="noopener">https://jlcpcb.com</a> PCB manufacturing service used for producing custom badge hardware.EasyEDA – <a href="https://easyeda.com" target="_new" rel="noopener">https://easyeda.com</a> Design tool Panda uses to create the multilayer art and circuitry for badges.Vectorizer.AI – <a href="https://vectorizer.ai" target="_new" rel="noopener">https://vectorizer.ai</a> The AI-powered tool Panda relies on to convert artwork into vector format for PCB badge design.KiCad – <a href="https://kicad.org" target="_new" rel="noopener">https://kicad.org</a> Open-source PCB design suite used for laying out circuits and prototyping badge hardware.Adtran – <a href="https://www.adtran.com" target="_new" rel="noopener">https://www.adtran.com</a> Telecom hardware vendor whose legacy gateways were used in the BSides Jax phone challenge.QueerCon – <a href="" target="_new" rel="noopener">https://www.queercon.org</a> Long-running LGBTQ+ hacker community at DEF CON that collaborated with Panda on early badge projects.National Cyber Games (NCA Cyber Games) – <a href="" target="_new" rel="noopener">https://nationalcybergames.org</a> Competition platform where Panda designed MeshTastic-based CTF challenges.UNF Osprey Security – <a href="https://www.unf.edu" target="_new" rel="noopener">https://www.unf.edu</a> University of North Florida’s student security group that runs CTFs and collaborated locally with Panda.HackRedCon – <a href="" target="_new" rel="noopener">https://hackredcon.com</a> Security conference where Panda volunteers and participates in community events.Jax2600 – <a href="https://2600.com" target="_new" rel="noopener">https://2600.com</a> Local chapter of the classic 2600 hacker community, part of Panda’s long-term involvement in grassroots infosec groups.Backdoors & Breaches – <a href="" target="_new" rel="noopener">https://blackhillsinfosec.com/projects/backdoors-breaches</a> Incident response card game Panda used for blue team development and tabletop exercises.

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