The Basics:

What: A password cracking contest sponsored by KoreLogic.

Where: DEFCON 20 at the Rio in Las Vegas.

When: The contest lasts 48 hours:
12:09 AM PDT July 27 -
12:09 AM PDT July 29, 2012.

Who: Teams with at least one team member attending the conference.

Why: To help push the envelope of password cracking techniques / methodologies and win a prize while you are at it.

Winning: Prizes will be awarded for first, second, and third place for cracking the most passwords, and also for being the first to crack various encrypted files.