LAS VEGAS – What do you get when you mix 6,000 hackers and hacker-wannabees with booze, gambling and some of the hottest temperatures in the history of Sin City?
Defcon, an annual gathering that holds the Alexis Park Hotel's all-time record for the most alcohol consumed by one group in a weekend.
Defcon has always been an event known as much for its intensive technical content – talks on "advanced buffer overflow techniques" are de rigueur – as its social opportunities, but this year it seems to have become more party than conference. Call it the new American geek holiday.
An example: Some 6,000 paid attendees showed up – organizers ran out of badges at 5,000 – but the hotel reports the three conference rooms used for Defcon hold a combined total of just 2,800 people.
The rest of the attendees seemed to be content occupying their time with poolside lounging, private parties in hotel rooms and, naturally, beer-tinged teenage high jinks.
Hotel staff patiently spent Saturday evening clearing smoke bombs and bubble bath from the three swimming pools – as well as concrete that reportedly was poured in at least one toilet.
At one point, when a few malcontents became even more rambunctious, conference organizer Priest had to warn the crowd. "If I find you, you will go to jail," Priest said. "You will go to jail for assault and trespassing."
But for the most part, Defcon was a way for a young audience – over half of the conference-goers seemed to be under 21 – to gather in person and quietly talk tech.
San Francisco criminal defense attorney Jennifer Granick – who is representing an increasing number of hackers accused of crimes – gave legal tips on Friday, while the MojoNation folks spoke about their new better-than-Napster software on Saturday.
Anyone who revels in arcane Apple II and Commodore 64 hacking trivia would love the two rounds of Hacker Jeopardy, hosted by longtime infowar alarmist Winn Schwartau.
One of the best-attended events had little to do with hacking but everything to do with subversiveness: an hour-long tutorial on lock picking.
"V1ru5" explained the finer points of the practice, starting with where to find picks (he recommended bristles from street-cleaner brushes) and how to cajole a recalcitrant lock. "Use graphite lubricant," V1ru5 advised.
This year, organizers estimated that 10-20 percent of attendees were law enforcement or intelligence community officials. Arthur Money, assistant Secretary of Defense, even spoke on a panel Friday morning.
The heavy, albeit low-key, presence of government officials seemed to make the longtime "fed spotting" practice somewhat passe.
Here's the way it used to work: "If you see some shady MIB (Men in Black), earphone, penny-loafer, sunglass-wearing Clint Eastwood ... type lurking about, point him out," conference founder "Dark Tangent" advises in the Defcon program. "Just get my attention and claim out loud you think you have spotted a fed."
Winners get the "I Spotted the Fed!" T-shirt, and the identified Fed gets the "I Am the Fed!" shirt.
