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CNET Warns 'Everything Looks Like A Hack' At DEFCON (cnet.com)
From a CNET report:The hacker convention, which is in its 25th year in Las Vegas, typically has hotels on alert for its three days of Sin City talk, demos and mischief. Guests are encouraged not to pick up any flash drives lying around, and employees are trained to be wary of social engineering -- that is, bad guys pretending to be someone innocent and in need of just a little help. Small acts of vandalism pop up around town. At Caesars Palace, where Defcon is happening, the casino's UPS store told guests it was not accepting any print requests from USB drives or links, and only printing from email attachments. Hackers who saw this laughed, considering that emails are hardly immune from malware. But the message is clear: During these next few days, hackers are going to have their fun, whether it's through a compromised Wi-Fi network or an open-to-tinkering website.
NOTE: CNET also originally reported that the Wet Republic web site "had two images vandalized" with digital graffiti. But their reporter now writes that "my paranoia finally got the best of me, and it turned out to be an ad campaign."
NOTE: CNET also originally reported that the Wet Republic web site "had two images vandalized" with digital graffiti. But their reporter now writes that "my paranoia finally got the best of me, and it turned out to be an ad campaign."
Figures it'd be CNET (or Wired) or some other 90s giggly "tech media" remnant trumpeting this stunt. These counter-cultural events ceased being relevant about two years after these news outlets began covering them as part of the tech culture. The wannabes diluted the pool, and the legit players all vacated for greener pastures about which they now widely keep mum.