One thing that sort of irks me is when people mistake DEFCON 5 as worse and crazier and insane and severe than DEFCON 1. I know more always sounds better but it’s not. That has nothing to do with the world’s largest hacking conference, DEFCON, but I just wanted to put it out there. DEFCON: The Documentary shows what goes on behind the world’s largest hacking conference.
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The annual hackers’ conference, DEF CON, wrapped up yesterday, but one of the weekend’s many great mysteries still persists. The images above are an encryption puzzle ("Encryption is Key") that was printed on the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s fundraising t-shirts from the event. As of Sunday morning, no one had solved it, so here’s a hint, straight from our friends at the EFF.
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It’s not like Toyota hasn’t already faced its fair share of Prius braking issues, but it appears that even more headaches are headed its way at Defcon this week. Famed white hats Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek are preparing to unleash a 100-page paper at the annual hacker conference in Las Vegas, and notably, hacks that overtake both Toyota and Ford automotive systems will be positioned front and center. The information was gathered as part of a multi-month project that was funded by the US government, so it’s important to note that the specifics of the exploits will not be revealed to the masses; they’ll be given to the automakers so that they can patch things up before any ill-willed individuals discover it on their own.
Using laptops patched into vehicular systems, the two were able to force a Prius to “brake suddenly at 80 miles an hour, jerk its steering wheel, and accelerate the engine,” while they were also able to “disable the brakes of a Ford Escape traveling at very slow speeds.” Of course, given just how computerized vehicles have become, it’s hardly shocking to hear that they’re now easier than ever to hack into. And look, if you’re really freaked out, you could just invest in Google Glass and walk everywhere.
Filed under: Transportation, Software
Source: Reuters
The NSA director, General Keith Alexander, is coming under scrutiny after he told a crowd gathered at the Def Con hacker conference that the spy agency “absolutely” does not collect data from and maintain files on American citizens. A former official stopped just shy of calling Alexander a liar, accusing him of playing a “word game.” William Binney left the department in late 2001, when it became apparent to him that it planned to use the terrorist attacks on September 11th as an “excuse” to launch a data collection program that was already in the planning stages. Alexander for his part maintains that any data, be it web searches, Twitter posts or emails, collected from American citizens is merely incidental, and associated with intelligence gathering on foreign entities.
Of course, Binney rejects this claim and testimony from Qwest CEO James Nacchio regarding the NSA’s wiretapping program would seem to contradict it. ACLU attorney Alex Abdo, who was on the panel with Alexander, cast further doubt on the director’s denial. He noted that loopholes in the law allow the NSA collect vast amounts of information on Americans, without them being the “target” of the surveillance. Since the agency can hold on to any data collected, it can retroactively build dossiers on citizens, should they eventually become the focus of an investigation. For a few more details, hit up the source link.
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Former NSA official says agency collects Americans’ web data, director denies charges originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jul 2012 14:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Every year, the world’s hacker population descends upon Las Vegas to trade notes, sit in on informational talks and compete in friendly contests — all in the name of Defcon. But this time out, it’s the conference’s ever-evolving smart badges that’ve caught our eye, owing mostly to what lurks beneath. Designed by Ryan Clarke — the mastermind behind the gathering’s Mystery Box challenge — these hackable IDs, issued according to status (Press, Human, Goons, vendors, etc), come embedded with an LED, a multi-core processor, IR transmitter and accompanying hieroglyphic graphic. But that’s not all that makes these high-tech tags so special. Turns out, each one contains a game, buried within its open source software, that’s encoded with several cryptographic, linguistic and mathematical layers.
Shying away from hardware-focused hacks of the past, Clarke built this year’s scavenger hunt-like game to be more inclusive of attendee skills, as it’ll force conference-goers interested in cracking its code to break down social barriers and collaborate with other highly-specialized nerds. What’s the end game, you ask? Well, according to Clarke, the puzzle is a continuation of last year’s secret agent story (played out by a real-life actor) involving “a [mysterious] society of computer elites.” It’s not the sort of payoff we’d be after — something greener and covered with a certain Ben Franklin’s face would suffice — but it sounds intriguing enough. Click on the source below to read more about the makings of this geek sport. And may the pastiest neckbeard win!
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Software
Defcon 20 badges meld hieroglyphs, circuitry and cryptography for hacker scavenger hunt originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 12:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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