Panda

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.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Introduction to Barcode Podcast

00:24 - Meet Panda: Cybersecurity Icon

01:47 - Panda's Journey into Cybersecurity

10:12 - Creating Interactive Challenges for Conferences

22:11 - Badge Building: The Art and Science

28:00 - Lessons from Offensive Security for Defenders

30:11 - Winning the TeleChallenge: A Team Effort

35:10 - Nostalgia in Gaming: The Phone Verse Experience

37:30 - Understanding LoRa and Mesh Networking

43:20 - Real-World Applications of MeshTastic Technology

49:14 - The Intersection of Furry Culture and Cybersecurity

56:54 - Community Building and Future Aspirations in Tech

LINKS

TelePhreak – https://telephreak.org An informatione trading post for the computer enthusiast (the hacker), telephony technophiles (the phreak), radio junkies (the HAM).

DEF CON – https://defcon.org/ The world’s largest hacker conference and the backdrop for many of Panda’s stories, competitions, and breakthroughs.

RedSeer Security – https://redseersecurity.com The security practice Panda supports on the defensive and strategic side.

Assura, Inc. – https://assurainc.com Where Panda leads offensive security operations and continuous testing programs.

MeshTastic – https://meshtastic.org Open-source long-range mesh communication project central to Panda’s community work.

Comms For All – https://commsforall.com Panda’s initiative focused on mesh networking, LoRa radios, and community education.

B-Sides Jax – https://bsidesjax.org Conference where Panda built the interactive phone-based badge challenge.

HackSpaceCon – https://hackspacecon.com The first conference where you and Panda crossed paths; a major Florida hacker gathering.

JLCPCB – https://jlcpcb.com PCB manufacturing service used for producing custom badge hardware.

EasyEDA – https://easyeda.com Design tool Panda uses to create the multilayer art and circuitry for badges.

Vectorizer.AI – https://vectorizer.ai The AI-powered tool Panda relies on to convert artwork into vector format for PCB badge design.

KiCad – https://kicad.org Open-source PCB design suite used for laying out circuits and prototyping badge hardware.

Adtran – https://www.adtran.com Telecom hardware vendor whose legacy gateways were used in the BSides Jax phone challenge.

QueerCon – https://www.queercon.org Long-running LGBTQ+ hacker community at DEF CON that collaborated with Panda on early badge projects.

National Cyber Games (NCA Cyber Games) – https://nationalcybergames.org Competition platform where Panda designed MeshTastic-based CTF challenges.

UNF Osprey Security – https://www.unf.edu University of North Florida’s student security group that runs CTFs and collaborated locally with Panda.

HackRedCon – https://hackredcon.com Security conference where Panda volunteers and participates in community events.

Jax2600 – https://2600.com Local chapter of the classic 2600 hacker community, part of Panda’s long-term involvement in grassroots infosec groups.

Backdoors & Breaches – https://blackhillsinfosec.com/projects/backdoors-breaches Incident response card game Panda used for blue team development and tabletop exercises.