ROOTCON Blog

ROOTCON is managed by like minded InfoSec professionals across the Philippines.
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Las Vegas, Nevada (CNN) -- Dear hackers: The U.S. government wants you.

Or, at the very least, the Department of Defense's research wing wants to pay you to help it block cyber threats, a project manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency said Thursday.

Former hacker Peiter Zatko announced the start of a fund-the-hackers program, called Cyber Fast Track, in a keynote talk at the Black Hat conference, which is aimed at hackers and computer security experts. The program began officially late Wednesday, he said.

Experts say the government has done a lousy job in the past of getting money to security researchers quickly enough for them to actually help mitigate cyber threats. Or the feds have avoided dealing with hackers entirely.

"One of the ways I see fixing it is bridging the gap between the government and the hacker community," said Zatko, who goes by the handle "Mudge."

By "hacker," he doesn't mean criminal. He's referring to people who try to break computer systems with the goal of making them more secure. These people are sometimes referred to in the security industry as "white hats," as opposed to nefarious "black hats."

"We have all sorts of other criminals, be it in politics or finance, and those elements may be bigger than the criminal element in the hacker community," he said.

Other wings of the government appear to be courting the hacker community as well. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service both have booths set up on the expo floor here at Caesars Palace. Federal agents are so commonplace at this hacker conference -- and at another, called DEF CON, which happens later this week -- that some of the hackers have held a "Spot the Fed" contest, with T-shirts as prizes.

Law enforcement and hackers don't always play well in these arenas. Speakers at past Black Hat and DEF CON conferences have been threatened with injunctions aimed at stopping them from explaining how to hack into certain systems.

The hackers say they're making public such exploits for the public's own good. If they can find the bugs, then bad guys who want to steal information and make money could, too.

In an interview after his talk, Zatko declined to say how much money DARPA will put into the new program, or how big the individual grants will be.

The goal is to fund independent security researchers, who currently do much of their work on nights and weekends without pay, in hopes that they will help make the Internet safer.

One of those hacker-researchers is Dino Dai Zovi, who says his girlfriend gets annoyed that he spends almost all of his free time on his computer.

"Look at the bags under my eyes -- I never stop working," he said.

Dai Zovi said the DARPA program will help hackers actually get paid for their work.

The stakes for the new program are also high.

Zatko, the hacker-turned-DARPA official, said the number of malware attacks continues to increase even as government agencies spend more money to stop them.

In 2000, he said, there were about 1,400 "incidents of malicious cyber activity." Nine years later, that number had jumped to more than 71,000.

Current computer systems are needlessly complicated, he said, which leaves them more open to malicious hacking. He suggested that researchers work, for example, to simplify Microsoft Word with its list of 3,000 fonts and many potential exploits.

Zatko, whose notable life as a hacker has been the inspiration for fictional characters, said he's trying to change how the government works from the inside.

"I hope the old Mudge of 1999 is looking at the current Mudge of 2011 and saying, 'Yeah, you're wearing a pocket square and you don't have long hair,' " he said, " 'but, yeah, you're still remaining true to the cause.' "

Source: CNN

ROOTCON is managed by like minded InfoSec professionals across the Philippines.
All rights reserved. Designated trademarks, brands and articles are the property of their respective owners.

Las Vegas, Nevada (CNN) -- Joseph Horman already had seen the lock-picking videos on YouTube. But it was a different thing entirely for the 13-year-old puzzle-lover to get lessons in lock picking and computer hacking at an event sanctioned by adults.

The world's largest gathering of computer hackers -- DEF CON, which is happening this weekend at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas -- held its first-ever hacking classes for kids this year, at an event appropriately called DEF CON Kids.

Sessions in hacking were designed for kiddos ages 8 to 16.

A common parent's reaction to something this might be: They're teaching them what?! But hear these hackers out. Their intentions are good.

Take Horman's uncle, Adam Steed, a computer security professional in Salt Lake City, Utah, who brought his nephew to these training sessions because he already was fascinated with games and coding. (He actually has written his own computer game, called "Blooks," in which players "try to build as many buildings as you can while avoiding enemies," he said.)

"You can watch lock-picking videos on YouTube, but where do you hear the ethical side of this?" said Steed, the uncle. "Not on YouTube."

He added: "I would rather someone learn in a controlled environment. They're going to learn it anyway."

Horman, the video game-writing nephew, sat attentively in the second row of a small classroom on Saturday, fiddling with a Rubik's Cube during sessions with titles like "Secrets Revealed," "Meet the Feds" and "Google Hacking."

That last class title is a bit misleading, since instructor-hacker Johnny Long focused more on non-technical hacking -- looking at people's laptops over their backs in airports; picking locks with toilet paper rolls and pen caps; and digging social security numbers out of corporate trash bins -- instead of actual search-engine hacking.

Long went to great lengths to remind the kids in attendance that the point of the class was to teach them what bad guys might be doing -- and how to avoid breaches in their own security or privacy.

"Don't let me catch you guys stealing toilet paper and breaking locks," he said. "If you do, it's not my fault."

Horman said he would only pick a lock if his family got locked out of their own house or car. That's happened before, he said, so that skill might be handy.

"Our family has had some trouble with locks," he said, smiling. "Let's say the younger ones love playing with the key and slipping them under the door."

In the "Meet the Feds" session, representatives from NASA, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Security Agency and the Navy told the kids they were smart to pick up hacking skills early because the government needs employees who can hack.

Several kids raised their hands to ask about hacking as a career path.

Part of the potential confusion about DEF CON Kids comes from the very term "hacker," which people here use to refer to anyone who has the skills needed to modify computer software and hardware. Some hackers extend the domain further, to locks and such.

Those skills could be used for criminal activity, but quite a few DEF CON attendees are actually computer security professionals -- the "good guys" trying to make the Internet less vulnerable to attacks by computer criminals.

Still, all this talk about malicious hacking made 10-year-old Dennis Mikhaylov a bit nervous.

"I'm getting a locker next year," he said after one of the class sessions. He's about to start middle school. "I thought it was cool, but now I'm afraid someone might open it."

Mikhaylov said he'd deal with this by keeping any valuables, which he defined as anything with his address on it; textbooks; and his Nook e-reader, which he apparently carries around all the time, out of that school locker.

The DEF CON Kids event also included a competition, where kids went around the hacker conference trying to break codes and solve puzzles.

Isabel Holland, 10, made up one-half of a team called "Sonic Death-Monkeys," a name she says is "weird" but went with because the boy who was her partner chose it.

"You have to, like, find people, and it's really hard because they're all over the place," she said of one piece of the challenge which required her to search out hackers.

Her dad, Bo Holland, from Austin, Texas, said it's cool for kids to get a chance to see how the technology and video games they use all the time actually work.

Ultimately, it will make the kids safer, he said, especially in this age of social networking, when the collective memory of the Internet has no expiration date.

"You're building up your reputation and it's not going to go away. If you do bad things, that's going to stick with you," he said.He added: "You can say, 'Oh, we don't want to hear how this (hacking) stuff works and that's scary ... but it's really important kids know how to protect themselves."

Source: CNN

ROOTCON is managed by like minded InfoSec professionals across the Philippines.
All rights reserved. Designated trademarks, brands and articles are the property of their respective owners.

Dear Friend,

We are happy to inform you that the Early Bird rates for “ROOTCON: 5th
Philippine Hacker Conference and Information Security Gathering”
happening on September 9 – 10, 2011 at Parklane International Hotel,
Cebu City is extended until July 20, 2011 (Wednesday).

Here’s the list of companies and universities who registered to
participate ROOTCON 5:

- Aboitiz Equity Ventures
- Secure DNA
- TrendMicro
- Hewlett-Packard
- GFI Software, Inc.
- InfoWeapons
- iComm International Inc.
- Pilmico Foods Corporation
- Academic Taking Forward
- National Computer Center
- Department of Science and Technology Region XI
- Yoshii Software Solutions Philippines Corporation
- PhilWebServices Global Solutions, Inc.
- Blue Blade Technologies
- University of San Jose Recolletos
- Global Reciprocal Colleges
- St. Paul University Manila
- Alliance Software, Inc.
- Golden Prince Hotel & Suites
- Voice Fidelity Technologies
- Advanced World Systems, Inc.
- Alphasys PTY LTD
- Logica
- Top Shelf Solutions


and more to mention!


REGISTER NOW!!! because we certainly value your presence to advance your
career, socialize with other professionals and help reshape (enhance)
the security policy within your organization.

Complete synopsis of our topics and speaker’s bio can be viewed at:

http://www.rootcon.org/xml/rootcon5/tracks
http://www.rootcon.org/xml/rootcon5/speakers

Follow our fine tradition with expert speakers, top-notch technical
sessions and an overall outstanding unique security conference
different from any ICT events you attended in the past.

This is your EVENT you don’t want to miss!

ROOTCON 5 published on "The Freeman" Cebu newspaper, dated June 19, 2011 (page 5)

Finally. We were able to publish our first advertisement on “The Freeman” Newspaper, dated June 19, 2011.

Thanks to our sponsors and partners:

- Mozcom Inc.
- Infosec Philippines
- Trend Micro
- InfoWeapons
- Parklane International Hotel
- Global Interactive Solutions, Inc.
- Third Team Media
- NodeZero
- DitoNa.com

Newspaper Ad #1 (June 19, 2011 - page 5)
"Let's Talk About Security"

Newspaper Ad #2 (June 2011)
Hackers love technology, but crackers love to break it. Which one is he?"

Newspaper Ad #3 (July 2011)
"Hackers Coming to a Website Near You"

Newspaper Ad #4 (July 2011)
"If only I have the source code, I could change the world!"

Newspaper Ad #5 (August 2011)
"P495,740,890.00 money transferred and counting..."

Newspaper Ad #6 (August 2011)
"Pinoy Hackers: They Do Exist!"

Newspaper Ad #7 (September 2011)
"Warning: You've been hacked!"

If you have whacky yet funny tag lines, post it here or email us at info@rootcon.org. What we posted above from newspaper ad #3 - 7 are not yet final. So you still have a chance to contribute or suggest a funny yet a bit serious tag line. :)

You want to volunteer for ROOTCON? Email us at info@rootcon.org. We love to hear you!

Don''t forget, early bird discount is until June 30, 2011.

Since the start of our campaign for ROOTCON 5, we’ve met several people whom I believe supports ROOTCON as the Philippine’s Leading Information Security Conference that is not a marketing event but a unique technical gathering for professionals. Meet ups here in Cebu and another meet ups in Manila – yeah!

So who is Ms. T?

Ms. T is originally from Cebu and obtained her BSECE from USC-TC. She moved to the US shortly thereafter, obtained her MBA there and has worked abroad for many years mainly in the US and Japan.

Currently she’s based in San Francisco, CA and she’s here in the Philippines for a short vacation and at the same time share what she know and give back – “Pay It Forward”.

She spearheaded and co-founded “Tech Talks”. She’s glad to see our talented folks and she hopes that we can all work together to foster start-ups and do what’s necessary to become globally competitive in our industry.

She’s an independent consultant doing business development and international recruitment for clients in the tech industry – in the areas of business continuity, disaster recovery, data storage, information security and related fields.

Ms. T is one of our sponsors and she’ll be in Manila on June 13 onwards to attend another event and meet up with other InfoSec professionals .

Thank you!

Related Blog:
Networking is essential to your career advancement and professional success

ROOTCON is managed by like minded InfoSec professionals across the Philippines.
All rights reserved. Designated trademarks, brands and articles are the property of their respective owners.

Determining what really sets ROOTCON apart from others and communicating it effectively is not an easy thing to do. Considering that ROOTCON was molded through our collective efforts, volunteers from across the country, invited guest speakers and seeking sponsors to support the whole event is and will always be a learning adventure.

Technically speaking, like what I said in my previous post - ROOTCON is not associated with any of the businesses or companies in the country. Thus we make it a point from the very beginning that all the topics in our seminar tracks are not disguised as a marketing tool.

Topics that we have in every convention are not recycled. These are topics approved by our committee through our "Call For Papers". We scrutinize our speakers and so with their topics if they are obsolete or updated. Now you know that our speakers are “The Experts” with solid experience on security.

Hacking contest is also available during the conference but the targets are local NOT public servers or your production network. We set up our own private network at the venue. We also put up an FAQ section for you to review.

When asked to support ROOTCON privately, my basic question was – “What makes ROOTCON different?” My discussion with the founder was a lengthy one and I guess by now you know why I’m giving my full support. We discussed about his plans, how to share that same passion to a bigger audience and change the security mindset in the country.

Being different gets you noticed and it's undeniably true. But creating value is another thing.

If we build ROOTCON around one company or one person, then it may not last – build ROOTCON around YOU and what we can offer to people who join us in any gatherings, then it will gain the credibility for all the fantastic trainings and support we can bring to everybody and your organization (and of course, you need to make sure that you do!)

To your success! Be it on personal level or career wise!

“Hackers love technology, but crackers love to break it. Which one are you?”

About the Contributor:

A self-confessed blogger minus the coffee. He maximizes his skills in consultancy, project management, professional networking, social media campaigns and very active in conceptualizing things. To date he already conducted several IT / Information Security events as his passion since 2007. Currently he's working as a Technical Support Specialist in a local company.

ROOTCON is managed by like minded InfoSec professionals across the Philippines.
All rights reserved. Designated trademarks, brands and articles are the property of their respective owners.