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CNET Warns 'Everything Looks Like A Hack' At DEFCON (cnet.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the hackers-in-town dept.

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."

23 of 45 comments (clear)

  1. all out war against what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    knowing most security experts, probably all out war against basic hygiene and quality interpersonal communication skills

    1. Re:all out war against what? by ErichTheRed · · Score: 1

      I think it varies...the scary-smart ones are borderline autistic and have the fresh-from-mom's-basement air about them. You need that in order to have the concentration and mental ability to solve the most complex puzzles to find new vulnerabilities. Even in the brogrammer web startup hustler era, deep below everything there really are a bunch of nerds holding the world up.

      Every place I've worked that bothered with a security team worth more than the 2 "experts" the consulting company gave them has a split between the actual hardcore types and their handlers. The handlers are the medium-level folks and range from the really smart systems and dev guys who actually know and care about security stuff, the telephone sanitizers who send out the "don't click on obvious phishing links" emails to the boss/CISO who has to go beg the board to please please PLEASE care about security and give them some money to help protect the company,

    2. Re:all out war against what? by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      I'm old enough to remember Comdex, the town's all-IT ultimate nerdfest. Vegas loved Comdex because it filled every single hotel room, but at the same time hated it because it meant a full week when the tables were deserted and the girls went lonely. But it did bring a large contingent of Asian slot players.

    3. Re: all out war against what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Oh please. You all get paid the same because you're all average at best. There's a whole other world, where highly skilled and intelligent professionals without social disorders do very complex work and are paid accordingly.

  2. Obviously by nospam007 · · Score: 1

    "During these next few days, hackers are going to have their fun,..."

    And the hotels will have much more secure networks.
    Afterwards.

    1. Re:Obviously by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 1

      Last time I went to Vegas ~2 years ago my hotel had the most secure network of all.

      One on one could get on. When you could get on it was near dialup speeds. I have no idea how they host tech conferences.

  3. getting on the slot network is the big score by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    getting on the slot network is the big score even more so when you can print your own tickets off.

  4. Hooray nerds by Robert+Goatse · · Score: 1

    Vandalism is so cool. Sounds like a bunch of douche bags to me. Has Defcon even been worth a shit in the last 10 years?

    1. Re:Hooray nerds by rogoshen1 · · Score: 1

      when companies like symantec start showing up, it's officially 'uncool'.

  5. Maybe they should have used APK's hosts file by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Maybe they should have used APK's hosts file engine.

  6. Re:Marketing? by Nethemas+the+Great · · Score: 1

    Since it's still online, my confidence in it being a marketing game is very high.

    --
    Two of my imaginary friends reproduced once ... with negative results.
  7. E-mail can have malware, but by bv728 · · Score: 1

    Sure, e-mail can have malware, but who wants to bet maintenance agreements and business insurance care way more about the presence of an industry standard virus scan in the loop? Laugh all you want, hackers. It's not a technical control, it's a business control.

  8. If this is a problem, ban them by known_coward_69 · · Score: 1

    The hotels can refuse to host the convention

    1. Re:If this is a problem, ban them by Highdude702 · · Score: 1

      Hacking a website is nothing. One year, I want to say 07 or 08 when the RFID credit cards came out.. Was the highest amount of bank fraud in a one month period or so the local news claimed.

  9. Fuck CNET and their autoplay, notification site by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I don't want your notifications so don't ask. That and your autoplay video drove me away. Fuck your site.

  10. Oh, Great. Burning Man for Quote Hackers Unquote by RobotRunAmok · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.

  11. Anybody actually read this? by FilmedInNoir · · Score: 4, Informative

    Because it was clear about the fact it wasn't a hack but part of a planned advertising campaign.

    --
    Sig. Sig. Sputnik
  12. CNET update: Turns out it wasn't a hack by Nicopa · · Score: 4, Informative

    It was a a unrelated ad campaing...

    Quote:

    Hakkasan, which hosts the event at MGM Grand, said the "vandalism" was part of the cheeky advertisements for a seasonal bikini contest it's been running since 2015. The "all-out war" is between the models in the competition, not between hackers and clubs. Hakkasan's spokeswoman said nothing on its network has been compromised. So maybe not everything online in Las Vegas is getting hacked this week, and this n00b learned to calm down the hard way.

  13. Re:typical dorks by Highdude702 · · Score: 1

    Might fuck around and end up in prison then. I was in with a few people that came on vacation.. Ended up with multi year sentences.

  14. What the hell did I just read? by campuscodi · · Score: 3

    What the hell did I just read? Is this one of those marketing pieces disguised as news articles. I knew Black Hat and DEF CON are in a competition to get the coolest talks, but didn't know it was this bad that they need to hype hacking conferences now. OMG the DEF CON hackers are here. Hide yo' kids, hide yo' wife!

    1. Re:What the hell did I just read? by 101percent · · Score: 1

      I thought the exact same thing, from the headline to TFA. I suppose it's the obligatory CNET Defcon article.

  15. Read the original article... by XSportSeeker · · Score: 2

    ...because the poster apparently didn't.
    It wasn't a hack at all.
    https://www.cnet.com/news/ever...

    1. Re:Read the original article... by Shimbo · · Score: 1

      That isn't the original article:

      Correction, 11:04 a.m. PT: This article initially misrepresented the nature of the "vandalism" on Wet Republic's website.