CNET Warns 'Everything Looks Like A Hack' At DEFCON

From a CNET report:The hacker convention, which is in its 25th year in Las Vegas, typically has hotels on alert for its three days of Sin City talk, demos and mischief. Guests are encouraged not to pick up any flash drives lying around, and employees are trained to be wary of social engineering -- that is, bad guys pretending to be someone innocent and in need of just a little help. Small acts of vandalism pop up around town. At Caesars Palace, where Defcon is happening, the casino's UPS store told guests it was not accepting any print requests from USB drives or links, and only printing from email attachments. Hackers who saw this laughed, considering that emails are hardly immune from malware. But the message is clear: During these next few days, hackers are going to have their fun, whether it's through a compromised Wi-Fi network or an open-to-tinkering website.
NOTE: CNET also originally reported that the Wet Republic web site "had two images vandalized" with digital graffiti. But their reporter now writes that "my paranoia finally got the best of me, and it turned out to be an ad campaign."

all out war against what?

[Anonymous Coward]

knowing most security experts, probably all out war against basic hygiene and quality interpersonal communication skills

Re:

[ErichTheRed]

I think it varies...the scary-smart ones are borderline autistic and have the fresh-from-mom's-basement air about them. You need that in order to have the concentration and mental ability to solve the most complex puzzles to find new vulnerabilities. Even in the brogrammer web startup hustler era, deep below everything there really are a bunch of nerds holding the world up.

Every place I've worked that bothered with a security team worth more than the 2 "experts" the consulting company gave them has a split

Re: all out war against what?

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh please. You all get paid the same because you're all average at best. There's a whole other world, where highly skilled and intelligent professionals without social disorders do very complex work and are paid accordingly.

Oh, Great. Burning Man for Quote Hackers Unquote

[RobotRunAmok]

Figures it'd be CNET (or Wired) or some other 90s giggly "tech media" remnant trumpeting this stunt. These counter-cultural events ceased being relevant about two years after these news outlets began covering them as part of the tech culture. The wannabes diluted the pool, and the legit players all vacated for greener pastures about which they now widely keep mum.

Re:

[Applehu Akbar]

I'm old enough to remember Comdex, the town's all-IT ultimate nerdfest. Vegas loved Comdex because it filled every single hotel room, but at the same time hated it because it meant a full week when the tables were deserted and the girls went lonely. But it did bring a large contingent of Asian slot players.

Obviously

[nospam007]

"During these next few days, hackers are going to have their fun,..."

And the hotels will have much more secure networks.
Afterwards.

getting on the slot network is the big score

[Joe_Dragon]

getting on the slot network is the big score even more so when you can print your own tickets off.

Re:

[0100010001010011]

Last time I went to Vegas ~2 years ago my hotel had the most secure network of all.

One on one could get on. When you could get on it was near dialup speeds. I have no idea how they host tech conferences.

Hooray nerds

[Robert Goatse]

Vandalism is so cool. Sounds like a bunch of douche bags to me. Has Defcon even been worth a shit in the last 10 years?

Re:

[rogoshen1]

when companies like symantec start showing up, it's officially 'uncool'.

Re:

[Highdude702]

Might fuck around and end up in prison then. I was in with a few people that came on vacation.. Ended up with multi year sentences.

Re:

[Nethemas the Great]

Since it's still online, my confidence in it being a marketing game is very high.

Maybe they should have used APK's hosts file

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe they should have used APK's hosts file engine.

E-mail can have malware, but

[bv728]

Sure, e-mail can have malware, but who wants to bet maintenance agreements and business insurance care way more about the presence of an industry standard virus scan in the loop? Laugh all you want, hackers. It's not a technical control, it's a business control.

If this is a problem, ban them

[known_coward_69]

The hotels can refuse to host the convention

Re:

[Highdude702]

Hacking a website is nothing. One year, I want to say 07 or 08 when the RFID credit cards came out.. Was the highest amount of bank fraud in a one month period or so the local news claimed.

Fuck CNET and their autoplay, notification site

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't want your notifications so don't ask. That and your autoplay video drove me away. Fuck your site.

Anybody actually read this?

[FilmedInNoir]

Because it was clear about the fact it wasn't a hack but part of a planned advertising campaign.

CNET update: Turns out it wasn't a hack

[Nicopa]

It was a a unrelated ad campaing...

Quote:

Hakkasan, which hosts the event at MGM Grand, said the "vandalism" was part of the cheeky advertisements for a seasonal bikini contest it's been running since 2015. The "all-out war" is between the models in the competition, not between hackers and clubs. Hakkasan's spokeswoman said nothing on its network has been compromised. So maybe not everything online in Las Vegas is getting hacked this week, and this n00b learned to calm down the hard way.

What the hell did I just read?

[campuscodi]

What the hell did I just read? Is this one of those marketing pieces disguised as news articles. I knew Black Hat and DEF CON are in a competition to get the coolest talks, but didn't know it was this bad that they need to hype hacking conferences now. OMG the DEF CON hackers are here. Hide yo' kids, hide yo' wife!

Re:

[101percent]

I thought the exact same thing, from the headline to TFA. I suppose it's the obligatory CNET Defcon article.

Read the original article...

[XSportSeeker]

...because the poster apparently didn't.
It wasn't a hack at all.
https://www.cnet.com/news/ever... [cnet.com]

Re:

[Shimbo]

That isn't the original article:

Correction, 11:04 a.m. PT: This article initially misrepresented the nature of the "vandalism" on Wet Republic's website.