Hackers to feds: Stay out of our Defcon (for now)

When hackers and spooks met, sparks often fly. But given the revelations about NSA spying courtesy of Edward Snowden, the atmosphere this year is ripe for conflagration.

Jeff Moss, founder of the two largest hacker confabs on the planet, Black Hat and Defcon, has politely asked the feds to stay away this year. In a brief post to the Defcon site this week, Moss (aka TheDarkTangent) requested a “time-out” to avoid ugly confrontations between pierced and PO’d hackers and the Brylcreem and Brogans brigade.

He wrote:

When it comes to sharing and socializing with feds, recent revelations have made many in the community uncomfortable about this relationship. Therefore, I think it would be best for everyone involved if the feds call a “time-out” and not attend DEF CON this year.

This will give everybody time to think about how we got here, and what comes next.

That inspired a lively conversation on Twitter. Some Twitter cynics see this as a pure marketing ploy:

Others noted Moss’s own connections to his Big Brother — he’s a member of the Department of Homeland Security’s advisory council — and ask, what constitutes a fed, exactly? As a contractor for Booz Allen Hamilton, which received nearly $6 billion in federal funds last year, wasn’t Ed Snowden also a fed?

While not exactly BFFs, the relationship between the hacker community and the society of spooks has warmed up over time. Feds have attended Defcon every year since it began in 1992, though it took them a few years (goaded by the event’s popular “spot the fed” contest) to come out of the closet. The reason is simple: That’s where the talent is. And our government desperately needs tech talent, for good or ill.

Black Hat, Defcon, and the NSA: A bizarre love triangle

As Ars Technica’s Dan Goodin notes, last year’s Defcon keynote speech was delivered by General Keith D. Alexander, director of the NSA. I guess the general isn’t invited this time around. But you can find him at Black Hat, the conference that always precedes Defcon each year in Vegas at the end of July, with many of the same attendees. He’ll be giving the keynote there. One reason: Moss no longer has any association with Black Hat, a much more corporate affair than Defcon. But I can’t imagine many of the Black Hatters will be happy to see the NSA on display.

In a blog post, telecom security analyst Kyle Maxwell notes that tensions between the government and private sector security wonks has been mounting for some time, and nobody knows what’s coming next:

The proper balance or relationship between privacy, security, and liberty are being redefined in ways that no one person has been able to fully grasp until now. Trotting out lines from be loved fingers [sic] like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson may make us feel better, but is not a substitute for real thought and consideration of the nuances and complexities of the 21st century.

Certainly our civil liberties are under assault. The entire Bill of Rights has come under fire due to perhaps overzealous authorities whose motives in some cases actually do reflect their concern for public safety — and other cases their own desire for power. Do not mistake this for typical partisan posturing. Within the United States, neither major party has anything like a clean record in this area. We live in a William Gibson cyberpunk novel — or perhaps a Philip K Dick dystopia.

I doubt Moss’s warning, which I think was given with the best of intentions, is likely to keep any spooks out of the audience. But I suspect they will do their best to stay undercover, lending a new challenge to the “spot the fed” contest.

My guess is spot the fed will quickly turn into “hack the fed,” with attendees competing to see what virtual revenge they can wreak on their Uncle. Fasten your seat belts, it’s about to get bumpy.