The Anarchives Volume 3 Issue 13 The Anarchives Published By The Anarchives The Anarchy Organization The Anarchives tao@lglobal.com Send your e-mail address to get on the list Spread The Word Pass This On... --/\-- Hackers at the Holiday Inn / / \ \ a review of ---|--/----\--|--- Summercon 96 \/ \/ June 15 /\______/\ Washington DC -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ The path was followed far and wide this summer. Over the next little bit, reports will be flying in describing some of the experiences had by all. -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ Hackers at the holiday inn I checked into the hotel at 10pm on friday night. My arrival in Washington was met with a dramatic lightning storm, yet no rain, as the city itself harboured incredible humidity. As I chatted with the woman at the reception desk, she explained to me that the hotel's computers had been infected with a virus. As she said this, the other twenty-something also checking in turned to me and smiled. I wondered if the woman behind the desk knew that their hotel was hosting a hacker conference. As she handed me my digital key, I pondered the possibilities for mischief with dozens of young hacks running loose in the building. When i entered the elevator, all of the buttons were lit up, and remained so as i travelled up to the sixth floor. As it stopped on every floor, i noticed scores of teenagers running amok, darting between elevators, running through the halls, and generally getting themselves into all the technology they could access. After dropping off my bag in my room, I went for a stroll in greater georgetown, to get something to eat, and to see the streets on a friday night. Quite quickly i remembered that there is very little I dispise more than rich white drunk kids. I returned to my room by midnight, and promptly fell asleep, tired from the plane ride and related hullabaloo. I was sleeping soundly until about 4am when I was startled to hear a very loud fire alarm. At first I tried to ignore it, thinking instead of the joys of a relaxing sleep. However within a few moments I heard the distinct sound of fire engines screaming toward us, and decided the best thing was to just get dressed and leave the building. Outside in the parking lot the patrons of the hotel stood, many still half asleep, all wondering what was going on. Five fire engines promptly arrived, and the firemen quickly dashed into the hotel to find where the fire was, or why the alarms were blaring away. I crouched in the diagonal end of the lot, positioned to observe the hotel, and all those in the parking lot, as I began to ponder which one of the punks rigged the system. I was joined by a few other hacks who joined my speculation on whether or not the alarm was a hack. After 30 minutes the fire men concluded that there was no fire, and that it was now safe to re-enter the building. We were all frustrated and tired, but at the same time I almost expected as much. I began to wonder how much more of this I would have to put up with, as I noticed the official conference t-shirt, a picture of the unabomber with the caption 'practical unix terrorism'. The conference began at 10am, and the beer drinking began thirty minutes later. As the second presenter made the comment, 'we start in the heap, and we overwrite everything,' he held up his beer bottle in salute, as he initiated the conference festivities. From the very start the organizers of the conference demostrated complete and total political ignorance. Potentially the most political force in the current technological revolution, the hackers demonstrated a complete absence of any political bearings, preferring instead to brush aside the first and only political panel with a call for more beer. As the conference itself began to flow, the involvement, and interactivity of the audience increased. Hackers became hecklers as no words were sacred. Every comment made by a presenter was met with five smart alec remarks from the crowd. The group dynamic began to emerge as the hacker culture began to define itself as alcoholic, mysoginist, pedophiliac, and just plain ignorant. The room itself was completely dominated by technical power and testosterone. Fireflys from laser pointers darted across the room as hyper active boys demonstrated their inability to sit still for more than 10 seconds. Cabalistic cliques formed throughout the hall as hacker elite took their ranks, as who you know reinforced what you know. All the boys had shiny high-tech toys, as laptops filled the room, while wired wizards wore beepers, scanners, radios, and cellulars. Theoretically there was a program for the conference, however it frequently became subverted by the determined desire to get drunk. Virtually extended as far as technologically possible, alcohol acts as the numbing narcosis ensuring the continued immersion into the technological sensorium. Subjects covered ranged from the latest exploit for sendmail 8.6.12 to covert channels to avoid packet sniffers. Talks on buffer overflows were accompanied by belly overflow, as pizza and doughnuts were perpetually passed around the room. Perhaps the only valuable information that I received was a statistic from the GaO which stated that the DoD received 175,000 successful attacks over the last year. This number was met with a host of cheers and boasts, as hacks from all over tried to claim credit. Very few questioned the fact that the DoD spent over half of its budget on 'Information Warfare', and furthermore needed an excuse to continue increased spending on computer security. The hackers themselves were to busy getting drunk to realize their own status as scapegoats. -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ -=~ Jesse Hirsh - jesse@channel-zero.com jesse@lglobal.com -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.2 mQBvAzH0/A4AAAEDAOKOupTaWCwf9BAfwi1XSDFoBHBiiTHluzwMYK32McxLOzjr DsFojKh7BXQqfB2M4JbbwDO5BsFXcUgNxwRJFpbB+yYk4xlDHfuISiDmJ8gXbYjF tSqE4d03xsNoDv6PNQARAQABsAGHtB9KZXNzZSBIaXJzaCA8amVzc2VAbGdsb2Jh bC5jb20+sAED =PeFN -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- -------------------------------------------------------------- To receive the Anarchives via email send a note to Majordomo@lglobal.com with the message in the body: subscribe anarchives To get off the list, send to the same address but write: unsubscribe anarchives Also check out: http://www.lglobal.com/TAO/