The world's best hackers are taking over Vegas at DEF CON 24
On Thursday, a group of the world’s brightest, most dangerous nerds will spend three days in the sweltering Las Vegas heat (well, inside of an air-conditioned ballroom at the Paris Hotel) to take part in the 24th annual DEF CON hacking conference.
You know all of those stories about hackers being able to trick subway turnstiles to get free rides or taking over cars’ diagnostic systems? Those all came from DEF CON.
So just what is DEF CON? Well, it’s one of the largest and oldest hacking conventions in the world. It started in 1993 and has been held in Vegas every summer since.
And before you ask, no, everyone there isn’t dressed in long black trench coats like Neo from “The Matrix” or whatever kind of weird Vulcan-surfer hybrid thing Angelina Jolie had going on in “Hackers.” These are academics, professionals, government officials, and yes, some really, really, really impressive hackers.
DEF CON isn’t nearly as stuffy or formal as your average tech convention. It’s actually, well, fun. The entire event is based around hackers and researchers giving talks on topics ranging from hacking hotel rooms to cats being used to help hack your neighbor’s Wi-Fi network.
The show brings hackers together so they can hang out in real life, knock back a few drinks and trade information on their latest hacking accomplishments. It’s also a place for hackers to test their abilities against their fellow attendees and the hapless Vegas vacationers who are completely unaware they’re in the midst of thousands of accomplished hackers who can take over their phones, tablets and laptops with ease.
In fact, to prepare for attending DEF CON, it’s a good idea to completely disconnect from the internet or any other wireless device. That means when you’re on-site, you need to turn off your phone’s Wi-Fi, cellular connection, Bluetooth and other radio that can send and receive signals.
Why? Because if you don’t, your device will without a doubt be hacked. That’s not some kind of hyperbolic warning meant to keep you safe, either. That’s the absolute truth. I’m heading there this week, and I’m going to have a burner phone with me to ensure my real phone doesn’t get hacked. And if I do get hacked, well, that’ll make a pretty great story.
The vast majority of hackers don’t attend DEF CON to hack into attendees’ devices and steal their information. They largely do it for the thrill and to simply know that they can.
This year’s DEF CON coincides with DARPA’s Cyber Grand Challenge event, where seven teams will compete to see if software they developed will be able to find and fix security vulnerabilities in a computer program. If successful, it would prove to be an incredible step forward in cyber security.
But don’t expect the hackers at DEF CON to throw up their hands if the CGC results in self-protecting software. If anything, they’ll welcome a new challenge.
So if you see me on Twitter next week posting tweets that seem to be more ridiculous than normal, I’ve probably been hacked at DEF CON. I can’t wait.
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