[deleted]
Secure Ideas will not be presenting at DEF CON this year
21–30 of 94 posts
Re: Secure Ideas will not be presenting at DEF CON this year
#22"We do not want to make this a "political" move" Bullshit, that's exactly what it is.
Exactly, if it was non-political they'd just call up DEFCON and withdraw their talk.
Re: Secure Ideas will not be presenting at DEF CON this year
#23Re: Secure Ideas will not be presenting at DEF CON this year
#24As a symbolic statement by DEF CON, I like the "no feds" thing. Pragmatically, it probably won't much much difference, since any Feds who want to attend can probably attend and just not identify themselves as feds. OK, yeah, Keith Alexander might be spotted, but the average run-of-the-mill FBI or NSA geek probably isn't all that recognizable unless they wear their official ID or something. BUT... looking at it from t…
My major problem with the PRISM debacle was less that the NSA stores and analyzes Internet traffic (although it's perfectly reasonable to be upset about it) and more that they were doing it secretively (mixed with some disgust at how much money, energy, and time must be wasted storing and sifting through unfathomable amounts of data).
With that in mind, it's kind of counterintuitive to close the door to conversation when silence was the issue in the first place. It almost seems like a melodramatic romance ("I just need to be alone right now."), which portrays the DEF CON organizers as reactionary and immature.
I also think it creates unnecessary hostility when you disinvite a group of people that everyone seems to know will attend anyway. In fact, it just creates more secrecy.
Re: Secure Ideas will not be presenting at DEF CON this year
#25Hey, look: Secure Ideas managed to advertise themselves through a blog post and save money by not presenting, all in one move!
What a stellar synergy of marketing and management!
Re: Secure Ideas will not be presenting at DEF CON this year
#26I don't agree with the statement that Secure Ideas makes; they are opting out because DEFCON is supposed to be an open collaboration place, but if the very netsec community doesn't have the balls to stand up to the extreme over-reach of the NSA, then we are farked. Yes, most of us have known for years the extent of the spying the NSA/USG does -- and I believe it's time to take back some individual sovereignty -- the…
> I have no respect for the NSA and its apologists, period.
Do you lack respect for those people, or their arguments?
Re: Secure Ideas will not be presenting at DEF CON this year
#27As a symbolic statement by DEF CON, I like the "no feds" thing. Pragmatically, it probably won't much much difference, since any Feds who want to attend can probably attend and just not identify themselves as feds. OK, yeah, Keith Alexander might be spotted, but the average run-of-the-mill FBI or NSA geek probably isn't all that recognizable unless they wear their official ID or something. BUT... looking at it from t…
My major problem with the PRISM debacle was less that the NSA stores and analyzes Internet traffic (although it's perfectly reasonable to be upset about it) and more that they were doing it secretively (mixed with some disgust at how much money, energy, and time must be wasted storing and sifting through unfathomable amounts of data). With that in mind, it's kind of counterintuitive to close the door to conversation…
Ordinary citizens talking to the NSA isn't going to stop them, it's more likely to get those same concerned citizens put on any number of watchlists. At the moment, I have some serious doubt that even Congress can stop the NSA and am quite sure they're not going to bother, aside from making a little noise so it looks like they're defending The Constitution.
What will put a stop to this is a Presidential Order, but that's not going to be forthcoming under any administration.
Re: Secure Ideas will not be presenting at DEF CON this year
#28Drama.exe
There's this thing called sequestration going on that's disrupting the budgets of all the federal agencies.
The feds are cutting budget for ridiculous things like the blue angels.
But they're totally going to be maintaining the budget for hacker cons in Las Vegas.
This is all about street cred for defcon & nothing to do with "taking a break." Jeff Moss is too sophisticated to be throwing away all those relationships. This is a stunt circle jerk.
Re: Secure Ideas will not be presenting at DEF CON this year
#29I don't agree with the statement that Secure Ideas makes; they are opting out because DEFCON is supposed to be an open collaboration place, but if the very netsec community doesn't have the balls to stand up to the extreme over-reach of the NSA, then we are farked. Yes, most of us have known for years the extent of the spying the NSA/USG does -- and I believe it's time to take back some individual sovereignty -- the…
> I have no respect for the NSA and its apologists, period. Do you lack respect for those people, or their arguments?
I have no respect for the NSA and those who work there who perpetrate this surveillance state. So those people who have built this.
Re: Secure Ideas will not be presenting at DEF CON this year
#30I don't agree with the statement that Secure Ideas makes; they are opting out because DEFCON is supposed to be an open collaboration place, but if the very netsec community doesn't have the balls to stand up to the extreme over-reach of the NSA, then we are farked. Yes, most of us have known for years the extent of the spying the NSA/USG does -- and I believe it's time to take back some individual sovereignty -- the…
> but if the very netsec community doesn't have the balls to stand up to the extreme over-reach of the NSA, then we are farked.
I would agree with this much more if they had previously had a statement suggesting that feds from oppressive foreign regimes were not invited. As a non-US citizen, there is a sentiment of "it was OK when we thought they were just doing it to foreigners" about much of this debate.
However, this isn't about standing up to anyone, it's a PR move by DEF CON.