Bomb Threat Causes Mass Evacuation at DEF CON Hacking Convention (theregister.com) 45
A bomb threat against Caesars Forum, the main venue for this week's DEF CON hacking convention, led to the halls being cleared on Saturday evening and the building searched by fire crews and police officers. The Register reports: The timing was very bad, coming in the evening of the main party night for the event. The conference Goons, the red-shirted volunteers who serve as guides and organizers, were praised by attendees for managing the evacuation with aplomb, but when it became clear that the search for the suspect device was going to be hard to find, the DEC CON team cancelled the evening's festivities at Caesars, to the disappointment of thousands.
"Last night we were asked to evacuate the building due to a report of a suspicious package. Local police and fire departments conducted a thorough investigation and ultimately determined that the package was safe," the organizers said. "They also conducted additional sweeps of the building as a precaution before allowing our team to return and prepare for today's con. We are working quickly to keep the original schedule on track, but please check here for additional updates before arriving at DEF CON." The event kicked off on August 10 and wrapped up by August 13.
Presumably the hoax caller thought of themselves as a merry prankster, rather than the selfish idiot who ruined everyone's night - particularly the timing for those in the Track Four hall who were enjoying 2001: A Space Odyssey and who were forced to miss the crucial last 10 minutes of the movie. While tricks and pranks are something of a tradition, they only get respect if they are clever and intricate, not some fool showing they could use a telephone. It's not like security at the show wasn't heavy enough. The event was patrolled regularly by security guards in body armor with handguns, tasers, the occasional police dog, and a host of other equipment that was a bit of an overkill for a bunch of peaceable hackers. Dubbed by some as "Gravy SEALs," by the end of the show they were visibly warming up, and this hack saw several of them accepting stickers from attendees.
"Last night we were asked to evacuate the building due to a report of a suspicious package. Local police and fire departments conducted a thorough investigation and ultimately determined that the package was safe," the organizers said. "They also conducted additional sweeps of the building as a precaution before allowing our team to return and prepare for today's con. We are working quickly to keep the original schedule on track, but please check here for additional updates before arriving at DEF CON." The event kicked off on August 10 and wrapped up by August 13.
Presumably the hoax caller thought of themselves as a merry prankster, rather than the selfish idiot who ruined everyone's night - particularly the timing for those in the Track Four hall who were enjoying 2001: A Space Odyssey and who were forced to miss the crucial last 10 minutes of the movie. While tricks and pranks are something of a tradition, they only get respect if they are clever and intricate, not some fool showing they could use a telephone. It's not like security at the show wasn't heavy enough. The event was patrolled regularly by security guards in body armor with handguns, tasers, the occasional police dog, and a host of other equipment that was a bit of an overkill for a bunch of peaceable hackers. Dubbed by some as "Gravy SEALs," by the end of the show they were visibly warming up, and this hack saw several of them accepting stickers from attendees.
Oh... I see, when it's us, it's a problem? (Score:3, Funny)
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Re: Oh... I see, when it's us, it's a problem? (Score:3, Insightful)
Among others, there were a lot of us veterans there -- basically the diametric opposite of this kind of person. Vetcon had only started an hour before the bomb threat was called, and the line for it was HUGE.
Re: Oh... I see, when it's us, it's a problem? (Score:2)
That makes me think that it was a hacker type with a bone to pick with the military.
Some people I've known to go to defcon are absolutely that childish. And they all think they're smart AF.
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The thought strongly crossed my mind, I even stated as much to those around me. Either way, we all knew it was a bullshit threat the second we found out why they told everybody to leave.
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Wish I had mod points. This is the current InfoSec Community / Hacker, mentality to a tee.
Its funny, they deserve it, its their fault, etc, right up until happens to them and than its never ending bitch fest.
No bomb threats are not funny but frankly most 'public' social engineering exercises are not very funny and most 'clever exploits of human behavior' are only clever in the eyes of a room full of neck beards, because the rest of us professionals actually had already thought of it and the trouble it woul
Re: Oh... I see, when it's us, it's a problem? (Score:3)
I can't think of a single person I met there who would condone, let alone call in, a bomb threat.
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Defcon (Score:1)
Apparently some guy called Joshua called them up and asked them in a monotone voice "how about a game of thermonuclear war?"
Regardless of white or black hat... (Score:1)
Not the group I'd want to piss off by pulling some sort of stupid prank.
Outsider? (Score:4, Insightful)
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Given the massive numbers of us veterans there (the line was easily the longest line at the whole event,) and the fact that it was called in shortly after vetcon started, I'm leaning way more in the direction of an aging liberal hippie douche.
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Yes, because aging liberal hippies are so much into violence. /s
Re: Outsider? (Score:2)
https://southpark.fandom.com/w... [fandom.com]
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That would have involved guns.
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This has no creativity as noted above. Really not a hack at all. I wouldn't be surprised if someone outside the event called the threat in, just to mess with "Those evil hackers".
Lots of possibilities come to mind.
An outsider seeking to harm the group.
An insider with some mental complex seeking to harm the group.
An outsider over-reacting to a pelican case with a wire hanging out the side, but fully believing themselves of the possibility.
Perhaps even an outsider reacting appropriately. They haven't yet released details of the package in question.
I agree however there is next to zero chance this was a hack or a prank.
No one in their right mind could think it would be... although peo
Install Fluxbox from source (Score:2)
Was it a prank? (Score:3)
Or was it someone being genuinely concerned/paranoid about an object they found to be suspect?
Also, WTF is the US coming to that a convention in a hotel needs to be patrolled by armed thugs with Tasers and curs? The longer I'm out of the US, the more I appreciate that the rest of the world doesn't have to be that paranoid, since not every every nutter doesn't get to buy a boom-stick.
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Well considering US schools have monthly active shooter drills for elementary children I’m not surprised.
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"this hack saw several of them accepting stickers" (Score:3)
Dubbed by some as "Gravy SEALs," by the end of the show they were visibly warming up, and this hack saw several of them accepting stickers from attendees.
A prank phone call is not a hack.
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Well. . . (Score:1)
It was the NSA (Score:1)
... or the CIA. Sick of years of being undermined by blackhats, decided to blow them all up.
Hmmm, could have even been Microsoft. Wanting to stop people talking about the Azure leaks.
But I'm only half joking. It would be interesting to cross-check the timing of the call with any talks that were cancelled as a result.
Just Curious (Score:3)
How often do bomb threats involve actual bombs? If you want casualties then you don't call it in, and if you just want the building to go boom without victims you call it in at 10pm and blow it in up at 2am.
Like I understand why they have to evacuate, but it strikes me that there's not much overlap between people who would actually want to blow up a building and people who want to call it in during regular business hours.
Thousands of hackers (Score:1)
Security (Score:2)
It's not like security at the show wasn't heavy enough.
Seems to me that if the entire event could be shut down by a single guy with nothing more than a phone, then security was not heavy enough.
Oh the irony of it !! (Score:2)