Does a "time-out" mean that they're discouraged from attending or that they won't be issued badges?
Feds, We Need Some Time Apart
21–30 of 260 posts
Re: Feds, We Need Some Time Apart
#22Entry (since the site is down): "Feds, we need some time apart. Posted 7.10.13 For over two decades DEF CON has been an open nexus of hacker culture, a place where seasoned pros, hackers, academics, and feds can meet, share ideas and party on neutral territory. Our community operates in the spirit of openness, verified trust, and mutual respect. When it comes to sharing and socializing with feds, recent revelations h…
Will this actually affect the feds ability to attend or will they just attend in plain clothes? Or will they be able to attend as feds and just be looked down upon?
It basically means that spot the fed will be more eventful this year.
Re: Feds, We Need Some Time Apart
#23The feds have all the 0 day and privileged access now. What do they need Def Con for anyway? Well, I guess they'll miss out on getting drunk.
Re: Feds, We Need Some Time Apart
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
Will this actually affect the feds ability to attend or will they just attend in plain clothes? Or will they be able to attend as feds and just be looked down upon?
Feds always attend in plain clothes so this effectively does nothing. I also wonder if a Fed only means investigative or law enforcement type Feds or also includes federally employed IT peoples.
I don't think the intention is to create a moat around the conference. Things have been getting quite cozy between these two [1]; I'm sure recent revelations don't play well with this conference's attendee base.
[1] https://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9229756/NSA_chief_as...
Re: Feds, We Need Some Time Apart
#25The feds have all the 0 day and privileged access now. What do they need Def Con for anyway? Well, I guess they'll miss out on getting drunk.
Recruiting?
Re: Feds, We Need Some Time Apart
#26My understanding is that the overwhelming majority of Federal employees on official duty from FBI, DHS, DOD, NSA, etc.. that attend DEFCON (and related conferences) are actually not agents at all, but rather low ranking analysts whose job at the conferences are to assess the material presented and report back. This is opposed to, say, recruiting CIs or surveilling targets. Source: I asked a Fed.
This is more about making a statement than anything else. Will the information still reach the feds? Sure. But the request is deliberately creating a delineation: the government is no longer for the people or part of the people, it exists for it's own sake. Will the government understand and ramp itself down? Whatever you thought about Ron Paul, his politics would have prevented all of this. All of the wars. All the…
> Whatever you thought about Ron Paul, his politics would have prevented all of this. All of the wars. All the foreign aid. And we would live in paradise ;)
This made me laugh. Considering how much Republicans and Tea Partiers are ostracized for making cuts, just imagine how much people would come down on a fiscally conservative basically Libertarian candidate in 2016 (even if he runs as a Republican).
Re: Feds, We Need Some Time Apart
#27The feds have all the 0 day and privileged access now. What do they need Def Con for anyway? Well, I guess they'll miss out on getting drunk.
It's probably a worthwhile recruiting venue, even if they just get one every year or two.
Re: Feds, We Need Some Time Apart
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
Will this actually affect the feds ability to attend or will they just attend in plain clothes? Or will they be able to attend as feds and just be looked down upon?
It basically means that spot the fed will be more eventful this year.
Literally, with like paintball guns or some other form of humiliation.
Re: Feds, We Need Some Time Apart
#29Entry (since the site is down): "Feds, we need some time apart. Posted 7.10.13 For over two decades DEF CON has been an open nexus of hacker culture, a place where seasoned pros, hackers, academics, and feds can meet, share ideas and party on neutral territory. Our community operates in the spirit of openness, verified trust, and mutual respect. When it comes to sharing and socializing with feds, recent revelations h…
Will this actually affect the feds ability to attend or will they just attend in plain clothes? Or will they be able to attend as feds and just be looked down upon?
There is nothing to mark them as feds, payments are in cash and everyone is in plain clothes. I think this will make very little difference to who attends.
It is also worth mentioning that Black Hat (the two days preceding DEF CON) has reportedly seen a drop in registrations due to lack of funding for federal employees to attend (I have no source for this other than industry rumor). There was a suggestion that some would still attend DEF CON and save on the registration cost for Black Hat, but many were planning to stay away anyway.
I feel that this is more public relations than anything else, the feds will still be there but DEF CON can present the image of being underground hackers fighting "the man". Some of the smartest people that I have met at these sort of events work for governments around the world, either directly or through private companies.
The reason the lines have blurred between the two groups over the past decade is as much to do with money as it is to do with diplomacy or a shared enemy. I think that this statement goes against one of the core values of DEF CON: that everyone is welcome, regardless of background or ability.
Re: Feds, We Need Some Time Apart
#30My understanding is that the overwhelming majority of Federal employees on official duty from FBI, DHS, DOD, NSA, etc.. that attend DEFCON (and related conferences) are actually not agents at all, but rather low ranking analysts whose job at the conferences are to assess the material presented and report back. This is opposed to, say, recruiting CIs or surveilling targets. Source: I asked a Fed.
"low ranking analysts whose job at the conferences are to assess the material presented and report back."
And maybe those people should go home and rethink their lives.