The rain had somewhat subsided as Deviant, M and I pulled into the parking lot of Sushi Factory at 21:00 hours. Indeed, we were somewhat tardy for the events that were about to unfold inside a small, local restaurant—for we were attending SushiCon—one of the unofficial events of DefCon, the world's largest underground hackers convention.
Had I not known better, I may have fallen into the dark abyss of stereotypes and sensationalism that is so prevalent from the mainstream media and society in general. After all, I was surrounded by roughly 20 hackers in an unassuming location, with an abundance of raw fish and miso soup. The stakes were high, and the consequences could have been brutal. They could have hacked into my soul, into my cell phone, into my .... Unagi and California rolls! Yet, there is always more lurking beneath the surface, and the reality of DefCon 13 and hackers in general would drive that point home as I embarked on a weekend of dynamic proportions that would expand my horizons and leave me with more than I ever thought possible.
For 13 years, DefCon has served as a gathering of computer hackers worldwide for a weekend of exchanging ideas, socializing, intellectual debate, partying and ruthless debauchery. All of these elements combined at the Alexis Villas resort and a myriad of activities that accompany it (lock-picking contest, beer cooling contest, QueerCon and Spot the Fed, to name a few) leave much for the mind to ponder.
At any given moment, something completely fascinating or absolutely ridiculous is occurring. There are different parties going on at the pools of the resort, and speakers giving talks on many topics, including how to hack into Google, gender differences in hacking, legal issues in computer security, question-and-answer forum for "Meet the Fed," asymmetrical digital warfare and cartography and hacking.
On Thursday, July 28, local hacker organization DC702 put on a fundraising event called the DC702 Summit at the Ice House in order to contribute to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and defending the digital rights of the public. According to Robert Imhoff-Dursham, member of DC702 and organizer of the Summit, "For DC702, the Summit was a serious role in DefCon and the positive things that we can do for the computer security industry and for digital rights and freedoms ... We wanted to get all these great security minds together ... for people to learn more about what they do," he said. The result was $4,200 raised that evening at the Ice House, including $2,200 in online contributions, $1,000 from a security network organization known as the Shmoo Group, and the rest made at the door.
Another fundraising occasion was at DefCon called the Dunk Tank.
Basically, individuals would sign up for the tank, and attendees could pay anywhere from $1 for a faraway shot to $25 to hit the button and "dunk the geek." Frank Sanborn, organizer for the Dunk Tank and fellow attendee since DefCon 2, said that the Tank accumulated about $5,500 for EFF.
Formerly affiliated with Microsoft, Sanborn discussed the aspects of technological advances in developing countries that he traveled to, where some of the villages had no running water but had a satellite in the middle of the village. "The American westernized culture has expanded worldwide in ways that most people never even comprehend. As you start looking at what our digital freedoms mean here in the United states, you really need to look at it as what it means for the entire world," he said.
Although hackers generally receive a bad rap in more ways than one, The Hacker Foundation is an example of hackers acting in a positive manner and contributing to the community both nationally and internationally, working on a project called Hackers For Humanity (H4H). Treasurer of the Hacker Foundation Nick Farr, as well as Regional East Africa Coordinator Jim Schuyler have collaborated with others for H4H. The Hacker Foundation has done significant work with projects, including the neighborhood Boys and Girls Club in Chicago that barely had Internet access and possessed dilapidated and obsolete software and hardware. The Hacker Foundation quickly went to work, and managed to succeed beyond their expectations by even setting up Wi-Fi Internet access outside for the kids to play. Also, if a parent and/or guardian missed a game due to work, he/she could log onto the Internet with a special password and watch the kids at the game live from their computer. Recently, Schuyler has been on location in Uganda in a project called Ugandan Computer Initiative (UCI). UCI is an umbrella organization of the Hacker Foundation, and Schuyler has spent time in Uganda with Internally Displaced Persons in villages, refugee camps and schools, teaching children and adults how to type, how to use Microsoft Excel, and how to use databases, among many other skills.
"We are trying to promote positive advocacy and public awareness for the hacker community, and we are using every available independent way to get funding. It is a struggling, uphill battle," said Schuyler.