Hacking 44CON’s Pricing Model (5 Different Ways)

It seems like it was only two weeks ago when we announced the early bird tickets, but sadly all 50 have been snapped up. Still, being the great folks we are, we wanted to show you 5 different ways to hack the 44CON ticket pricing model because, well, basically we’re good guys like that. After all, we taught you how to game the 44CON CFP and that worked well. In the words of every security researcher everywhere, “What could possibly go wrong?”

Understanding Our Pricing

Traditionally our ticket scheduling has gone Early Bird -> 44CON Standard Ticket. This year, our pricing is a little different. We now have:

  • Early Bird: £299
  • Standard Ticket: £349
  • On the door: £399

You can buy a standard ticket here, but read on for our hacks.

In addition to this we’ve run a free registration Wednesday night event. This year we’ve invited the ManyHats Club to run our Thursday night session, so our free registration ticket gets you in to both evenings instead of one. The free ticket also gets you into our CTF space so you can take part in the CTF. These tickets aren’t out yet, so keep an eye out on the socials and make sure you’re subscribed to our newsletter.

We’ve also redesigned the main hall with more of an expo feel based on a village concept. This means we’re going to offer expo tickets that give you access to the hall. These tickets are only going to be available to certain groups and will be limited.

Hack 1: Exploit Discounts

We run discounts with groups such as the ISSA, OWASP and CREST. Please do use them, that’s what they’re there for. If you book a training course for any of our March, June or September 2019 training you’ll get a discount on tickets equivalent to Early Bird pricing up to but not including tickets bought on the day.

Hack 2: Apply for Assistance

Last year we ran an assistance programme for those who otherwise wouldn’t be able to come. We’ll do the same this year. Assistance tickets include full event entry and accommodation. It’s the cheapest way to get to 44CON. You’ll need to qualify for a ticket, and we haven’t yet launched 2019’s programme. It’ll probably launch in the late spring, so around May/June but it’s going to come down to this years’ sponsors, such as the awesome wire security.

The criteria for this year’s assistance tickets are yet to be determined but we’re mainly focused on deprived areas of the UK outside London and people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds or situations.

Hack 3: Apply to Join the Crew

The crew work extremely hard to make 44CON what it is, but on the plus side there’s a lot of love amongst the crew. You’ll get to see some of the talks and, of course, you’re crew with all the crewdos that brings (Ouch – Adrian). If that sort of thing floats your boat, crew applications will be up later this year.

Hack 4: Split a ticket

We don’t track your identity while at the event. If your friend has a full ticket, you have an expo ticket and want to swap, then by all means feel free to swap tickets if there’s a particular talk you want to see. We just ask that you don’t abuse it – sharing with a couple of mates is fine. Sharing with heaps of randos, taking the mickey and selling access to talks is a violation of the house rules.

Hack 5: Ask!

If your hackerspace, hacking society or club would like a discount code, email us for one. This is really handy when used with Hack 4.

If there’s something you’d like to run at 44CON inside the event, let us know. We have community spaces for groups like OWASP, the ISSA and CREST amongst others. Some of our sponsors are also looking for help on their stands. Keep an eye out for announcements on our mailing list and pounce when you get the chance.

stevelord

Steve co-founded 44CON with Adrian in 2011, running our quarterly training programme and the Call For Papers processes. When not running training Steve likes building hardware, breaking software and writing at https://thedorkweb.substack.com.