Hackers met in Leipzig to push tech’s boundaries in the name of creating a better society. Personal privacy, big data and sexual harassment were the hot topics.

(Source: dpa) Lit in Leipzig.

It’s been a year of reckoning for the tech industry. The Wannacry virus locked up 200,000 computers for bitcoin ransom at the start of the summer. Women in the tech industry are increasingly speaking up about harassment and the pay gap. Growing interest in the ethics of big data and artificial intelligence is spawning a new generation of tech criticism.

Our lives are increasingly centered around our data. Trafficking in personal data has become big business, both legal and illegal. As much as good things can come from quantified lives — improved health treatment, more efficient production — bad actors are also at the ready to eavesdrop, manipulate and repress.

The theme of the Chaos Computer Club’s 34th annual gathering is #TuWat, or “do something” in English. That theme extends to issues like protecting data, but also, as with so many other industries this year, to confronting sexual harassment. The largest hacker convention in Europe will draw about 15,000 attendees through Saturday to Leipzig, a city in eastern Germany, about a two-hour train ride south from Berlin. The technologists have taken over the city's main conference hall, creating a wonderland of crazy projects and collective actions.

Almost every year, the official and self-organized sessions of the convention reveal tech vulnerabilities that make news, many of which are available to watch on the Chaos Computer Club website. In 2015, it was details on how exactly Volkswagen cheated emissions tests.

One revelation at this year's hacker convention, also known by its acronymn 34c3, was the insecurity of online banking applications. Vincent Haupert, a doctoral candidate at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, demonstrated how he compromised 31 mobile banking services, including apps by Commerzbank and German savings banks, known as Sparkassen. The security hole was found in the services of Norwegian cybersecurity company Promon, which has since updated its software. No banks have reported any instances of misuse as of yet. Mr. Haupert's suggested solution is to use two separate devices when enabling two-factor authorization for sensitive apps.

(Source: dpa) Hack the planet.

Germans are perhaps less likely to give up their personal data in exchange for convenience. European privacy law is also much stricter than in the United States, which has led to increasing frustration with the overwhelmingly American tech giants, such as Google and Facebook. While protecting personal data sometimes feels like a Sisyphean task, internet privacy activists and cybersecurity experts at the congress don’t want people to give up the fight.

Hackers, who are by their nature a rule-defying people, are also looking inwards, scrutinizing the community's spirits of “fight the power” and “anything goes” with well-known female technologists taking a stand against the congress’ lack of a code of conduct. If a conference wants to be welcoming to people of color, women and gender nonconforming people, it is expected that they codify a zero-tolerance discrimination policy and hold people accountable for their actions. The CCC’s official policy “welcomes all lifeforms” and encourages them to “be excellent to each other,” which critics see as a cop-out. This year, a person asked 34c3 organizers to prohibit a man who assaulted them from attending the conference, even providing evidence of the pending charges and hospital records. The request was denied, and backlash on social media is ongoing.

(Source: dpa) From Moscow with love.

Nor does the congress shy away from political controversy. Like South by Southwest in the United States, the tech event draws attendees from industry and government as well. This year, exiled American whistleblower Edward Snowden, a controversial but popular figure in Germany, made an appearance at 34c3 via videocall from Russia.

“This year proved how important our skepticism is,” he told the audience. “Our work has never been more important.” When Mr. Snowden first brought the revelations about NSA spying capabilities to light in 2013, he was housed for a time in Hong Kong by a number of refugees, who are now seeking asylum themselves in Canada. Green Party politician Hans-Christian Ströbele, who was part of Germany’s own inquiry into the NSA, was also at 34c3 and expressed his support for Mr. Snowden.

Mr. Ströbele is hardly the only outspoken German politician advocating greater protections for data privacy. It is all but certain that the question of what the digital future looks like, and what governments and hackers alike can do about it, will carry on into 2018.

Video: Sönke Iwersen, the Handelsblatt reporter who spoke with the refugees who hid Edward Snowden, introduced the whistleblower and his protectors. He explained that since then, they have faced persecution so Mr. Snowden set up a fund to provide support. For more information: https://fortherefugees.com.

Grace Dobush is an editor with Handelsblatt Global in Berlin. Ina Karabasz writes about telecommunications, IT and security issues for Handelsblatt. To contact the authors: [email protected] and [email protected]. </s> Protesters have injured a police officer while trying to block the hotel in Cologne where the nationalist Alternative for Germany party is holding a two-day convention.

Hundreds of demonstrators are trying to keep AfD party members from entering their convention centre - leading to a a massive police presence.

Around 50,000 left-wing protesters are expected and about 4,000 police officers are on the ground in Cologne to prevent a violent escalation of anti-populist rallies.

The convention takes place days after AfD's co-leader Frauke Petry, who is Germany's best-known nationalist politician, said that she won't be her party's top candidate in the September general election.

The decision appears to reflect a growing split among its leading figures. </s> BERLIN (AP) - Protesters have injured one police officer while trying to block the hotel in Cologne where the nationalist Alternative for Germany party is holding a two-day convention.

The German news agency dpa reported Saturday that AfD party members could enter their convention center only with massive police protection because hundreds of demonstrators tried to keep them out.

Around 50,000 left-wing protesters are expected and about 4,000 police officers are on the ground in Cologne to prevent a violent escalation of anti-populist rallies.

The convention takes place days after AfD's co-leader Frauke Petry, who is Germany's best-known nationalist politician, said that she won't be her party's top candidate in the September general election, a decision that appears to reflect a growing split among its leading figures. </s> Secretive Bilderberg Group to talk Russia, Trump & ‘war on information’Many of the world's most powerful people are gathering for the annual meeting of the mysterious Bilderberg Group this week. Russia, the Trump administration and ‘The war on information’ are among key topics up for discussion. This year’s gathering takes place in Chantilly, Virginia, less than 30 miles from the White House, and goings on in the Oval Office are top of the agenda for the 131 people who’ve confirmed they’re attending. Many top White House figures will be at the four-day event, including the Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, National Security Advisor HR McMaster and Assistant to the President Christopher Liddell. </s> Berlin’s clubs and clubbers brought their thumping techno to the streets on Sunday to go head-to-head with a rally organized by the right-wing political party Alternative for Germany (AfD).

The AfD rally of around 5,000 marched from the city’s central station to the Brandenburg Gate, but found themselves outnumbered five to one, and their chants of “we are the people” drowned out by the 25,000 counter-protesters and sound systems blasting music. The counter-demonstration was organized by the “Stop the hatred, stop the AfD” alliance, a broad collection of political parties, unions, and civil society organizations.

The AfD, which is virulently anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim, swept into Germany’s parliament for the first time after the general election last September. It is now the third-largest party in the Bundestag. It initially said it expected a turnout of 10,000 at its “for the future of Germany” march on Sunday, but later revised that number down to 5,000. Around 2,000 police kept the peace Sunday, with just one minor injury reported.

Around 100 clubs organized the “Bass Away the AFD” demonstration, with DJs playing on trucks and floats on the Spree river. Berlin has long been known for its dance club culture, and the atmosphere was not unlike the famous German love parade techno festival, which originated in the city. But this time the message was serious: The AfD, with its racism and hatred, has no place in Berlin.

“The Berlin club culture is everything that Nazis are not,” the group said in a statement. “We are progressive, queer, feminist, anti-racist, inclusive, colorful, and we have unicorns.” </s> Police said that 65,000 people marched through Brussels, Belgium, on December 2, demanding action on climate change. The march was to mark the start of the 24th United Nations Climate Change Convention in Poland. The conference was to have a special focus on carbon neutrality. Credit: Phil Meert via Storyful </s> THE WAY has been paved for the staging of the Arima Race Club’s annual general meeting. It has been set for August 11. The staging of the club’s AGM was set for May but was cancelled because of an injunction filed by Robert Bernard and John O’Brien on May 25.

However, asked about the new AGM date, ARC president Baskaran Bassawh declared, “They have to refund the money to the 36 new members. I did not set any date. I saw an email from a member informing the other management committee members of the date. I could tell you that date is illegal. Today is when we were supposed to decide on that. I am looking at tentatively for 18th August.” </s> Police said that 65,000 people marched through Brussels, Belgium, on December 2, demanding action on climate change. The march was to mark the start of the 24th United Nations Climate Change Convention in Poland. The conference was to have a special focus on carbon neutrality. Credit: En finir avec les poignées d’amour via Storyful </s> Tensions run high as thousands descend on Cologne to protest against conference of far-right, anti-immigration party.

More than 50,000 demonstrators are expected to descend on Cologne on Saturday to protest the far-right populist, anti-immigration politics of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), as the party holds one of the most important conferences in its four-year history.

The AfD is hoping to enter parliament for the first time in Germany's general election on 24 September.

About 4,000 police officers have been deployed to avert clashes on the city's streets between anti-AfD protesters and party supporters. Scuffles broke out early on Saturday between police and anti-AfD demonstrators.

 

Around 600 AfD delegates are expected to attend the conference. The central city hotel, where the conference is being held, has made arrangements to allow staff members to stay overnight in the hotel to minimise problems with gaining entry to the venue.

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Hannelore Kraft, state premier of North-Rhine Westphalia, where the conference is taking place, and Green party leader Cem Ozdemir are due to speak at an anti-AfD rally on Saturday.

The two-day conference comes just days after AfD leader Frauke Petry ruled herself out of spearheading the party's campaign for the September election.

Her dramatic move brought to a head a long-running internal party power struggle, which pitted Petry against the party's right-wingers.

The AfD delegates attending the conference are likely to sign off on the party's election manifesto but will have to set aside months of tensions and turmoil to agree on a team to lead the campaign.

Petry has also placed a controversial motion before congress calling on the party to adopt a realpolitik approach, with the aim of transforming the AfD into a mainstream party open to coalition.

Founded in 2013 on a eurosceptic platform, the AfD has railed against Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to let in more than one million refugees to Germany since 2015.

In May 2016 AfD backed an election manifesto that says Islam is not compatible with the German constitution and the party also supported a call to ban minarets on mosques and the full-face veil.

AfD made huge gains in a state election in September, receiving about 21 percent of votes in the eastern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern region, beating Merkel's party to take second place.

Rising anti-refugee rhetoric has been matched by rising violence against refugees in Germany.

The interior minister said in February that Germany recorded more than 3,500 attacks in total against refugees, migrants and their shelters in 2016, amounting to nearly 10 acts of violence a day: a sharp rise on previous years.

But AfD's populairity has declined as the number of new refugee arrivals has dwindled, mainly due to border closures on the Balkan overland route and an EU deal with Turkey to stem the flow.

All of Germany's mainstream parties have ruled out working with the AfD should it clear the five-percent hurdle to representation in the election. 

 

Opinion polls show the AfD at between seven and 11 percent, a steep drop from the 15 percent support it drew only late last year.

Al Jazeera's Paul Brennan, reporting from Cologne, said it was questionnable whether the AfD would make it into parliament in the upcoming elections.

"In recent months they've had internal divisions, which have hamstrung them a little bit," said Brennan. "And the other thing is that, as they have grown, opposition against them has also grown."

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Brennan said that, while the party as a whole has generally tried to avoid controversy, many individual AfD members have publicly taken positions that many find offensive.

"The feeling among many critics is that individuals within the party are essentially neo-Nazis, and clearly in Germany that's a very sensitive issue," Brennan said.

Some scuffles had already occurred on Saturday between protesters and police - most of whom are in full riot gear - as tensions were high in the city, which is regarded as widely liberal.

"People are very angry that the AfD are here, they are determined to try to stop delegates reaching the hotel. It's going to be a very tense day," Brannan said.
The Chaos Computer Club holds their 35th Chaos Communication Congress, a hacker convention, in Leipzig, Germany.