4 ms·

I think you are mostly safe at Defcon/Blackhat. I think you have to worry if you are a target for nation state / criminals (suspected of selling vulnerabilities

I think you are mostly safe at Defcon/Blackhat. I think you have to worry if you are a target for nation state / criminals (suspected of selling vulnerabilities at the con) then your room is probably going searched. https://twitter.com/thegrugq/status/367364810729472000 https://twitter.com/thegrugq/status/367364810729472000

Udo 11y ago
The victims seem to agree the search was sloppy because it was obvious, but I would argue the main value of searching your locked safe and leaving behind a mess is exactly in sending this signal, letting you know you're being watched. Over the years, this paranoia will add up, and some people do break down because of it.
- airza 11y ago
  He is a zero day broker, so I think they were after the goods on this one.
- uptownJimmy 11y ago
  Calling it sloppy assumes carelessness.
- ikeboy 11y ago
  If they were trying to intimidate they'd have taken his shoe. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/11673700/Muslim-campaigner-Zionists-crept-into-my-home-and-stole-my-shoe.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/11673700/Muslim-campaigner-Z...
  - graedus 11y ago
    Or worse, stacked them: http://i.imgur.com/a7app8J.jpg http://i.imgur.com/a7app8J.jpg
TACIXAT 11y ago
When you really consider what people are suggesting it's silly. My important apps use SSL, no one is going to waste an SSL break at DEFCON. Turning data off is just an inconvenience, though it does make the conference seem more excited for the uninitiated. Blackhat is so expensive that it's almost entirely government and corporate employees. Always struck me as a bit of a misnomer.
- fryguy 11y ago
  The thing is, it only takes one non-TLS web request to be harmed. There are a number of attacks that can be done that require MITM and/or local snooping that are easily done at a conference like this (the TLS export-level security downgrade recently, BREACH/CRIME, etc). There were a number a few years back before HSTS was around where it would hijack people going to http://google.com http://google.com and capture their cookies before it redirected to https://google.com https://google.com. These might seem trivial now, but what will people think 5-10 years ago about the things that are possible now.
- totony 11y ago
  It's actually a quite good place to monitor traffic that people think is encrypted, since the people here are quite high-profile
harmonicon 11y ago
Who is this guy and why are nation state/criminals interested in him?

Udo 11y ago

The victims seem to agree the search was sloppy because it was obvious, but I would argue the main value of searching your locked safe and leaving behind a mess is exactly in sending this signal, letting you know you're being watched. Over the years, this paranoia will add up, and some people do break down because of it.

airza 11y ago
He is a zero day broker, so I think they were after the goods on this one.
uptownJimmy 11y ago
Calling it sloppy assumes carelessness.
ikeboy 11y ago
If they were trying to intimidate they'd have taken his shoe. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/11673700/Muslim-campaigner-Zionists-crept-into-my-home-and-stole-my-shoe.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/11673700/Muslim-campaigner-Z...
- graedus 11y ago
  Or worse, stacked them: http://i.imgur.com/a7app8J.jpg http://i.imgur.com/a7app8J.jpg

TACIXAT 11y ago

When you really consider what people are suggesting it's silly. My important apps use SSL, no one is going to waste an SSL break at DEFCON. Turning data off is just an inconvenience, though it does make the conference seem more excited for the uninitiated. Blackhat is so expensive that it's almost entirely government and corporate employees. Always struck me as a bit of a misnomer.

fryguy 11y ago
The thing is, it only takes one non-TLS web request to be harmed. There are a number of attacks that can be done that require MITM and/or local snooping that are easily done at a conference like this (the TLS export-level security downgrade recently, BREACH/CRIME, etc). There were a number a few years back before HSTS was around where it would hijack people going to http://google.com http://google.com and capture their cookies before it redirected to https://google.com https://google.com. These might seem trivial now, but what will people think 5-10 years ago about the things that are possible now.
totony 11y ago
It's actually a quite good place to monitor traffic that people think is encrypted, since the people here are quite high-profile

harmonicon 11y ago

Who is this guy and why are nation state/criminals interested in him?