DEFCON begins today. DEFCON is an annual convention for people involved with internet and computer security. The attendees range in interest from people working for NSA to the friendly neighborhood teenage hacker. Skill levels run from the people who probably really did invent the internet (Sorry Al) to those who know how to turn on a computer (my spot). The sessions can be happy jargon love-fests, projection of technology trends or exploring the political moves to control technology.
I believe DEFCON has always met in Las Vegas but it is continually changing, or shall we say getting chased out of, hotels and convention centers. They drink a lot and party hard. They take anything with wires and electric current as a challenge. If you have ever heard of the college pranks of stuffing telephone booths or swallowing goldfish, this is the modern computer chip version of that. For instance one elevator I was on always stopped at the eighth floor and the button stayed lit up. One of the hackers got into the controls and made it happen. Why? Good question. Unfortunately the only answer is “Because they could.”
For me it is an annual ritual with my geek son. He has been paying our way for twelve years now. It gives us a lot of time to talk and issues to examine.
It should be a good weekend.
homo unius libri
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