DEF CON 10 - Simple Nomad - Widdershins: The Hacker Nation
Channel: DEFCONConference
Date: 2014-02-21

Simple Nomad - Widdershins: The Hacker Nation
Post 9-11 knee-jerk legislation such as the U.S. Patriot Act. Calls for new legislation requiring ISPs to retain 90 days worth of email. The European Union collecting Internet communications. The continued fall of the nation state, and continued rise of the transnationals. Echelon. Carnivore.

Last year's Widdershins talk outlined a need for hackers to band together, put aside petty differences, and start thinking about what we can do as not just hacker but humans to help the war on privacy. It appears to many that the war may be over, and we seem to have lost.

This year we have to face the fact that the playing field has shifted. We can no longer stand on the sidelines. The time is now. The ability to communicate privately and securely on the Internet is rapidly dwindling. Therefore NMRC will be announcing and recommending some new software to help answer the threat to our online privacy.

Simple Nomad is the founder of the Nomad Mobile Research Centre, an international group of hackers that explore technology. By day he works as a Senior Security Analyst for BindView Corporation. He has spent years developing and testing various computer systems for security strengths. He has authored numerous papers, developed a number of tools for testing the security and insecurity of computer systems, a regular lecturer at popular hacker and security conferences, and has been quoted in various media outlets regarding computer security.