Earlier this month, I published “My Unofficial NaClCON FAQ” talking about a new security conference (NaClCON) that I am excited for. It’s still a bit surprising to myself that I am interested in one at all. I fully thought I was done with them, but here we are! After participating on the Call For Papers (CFP) team to help select speakers, I wanted to highlight some talks that sound great.
First, the organizers managed to get Lee Felsenstein to keynote! For those not familiar with the name, he is an engineer that was critical in the development of personal computers. Talk about some great history! He will be talking about the Homebrew Computing Club, which he was an original member and moderator for during meetings. He’ll share his stories about developing those first personal computers and the history of hacking, by the original definition.
The second keynote will be by Chris Wysopal, also known as Weld Pond. He was an early hacker and longstanding member of L0pht Heavy Industries. His talk, titled “The Accidental Cyber Think Tank: How the L0pht Forced the World to Take Software Security Seriously” will cover those stories that took a small hacker collective and helped turn it into a serious force for influencing computer security and more.
Another name that is likely recognized is Richard Thieme who has been speaking at conferences for over 30 years. A frequent DEF CON speaker, his topics cover an incredible range from sociology to security to intelligence to aliens. Richard, who is a friend of mine, is an odd duck of sorts, but the kind that will likely mean you two engage in fascinating dialogue. About what you ask? Yes! That’s the fun part of it. As former clergy, he has that rare ability to listen, be receptive to your thoughts, and respect you for them.
Johnny Shaieb, who is a friend and likely to be a co-author on a book with me, will be speaking. He’s giving a talk which is right up my alley and I have collaborated on with him to a small degree, titled “Axiomatic Events that Evolved Vulnerability Databases”. Basically, the history of vulnerability databases but this talk focuses primarily on the foundation, creation, and evolution of the CVE ecosystem. That includes MITRE’s CVE and the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) National Vulnerability Database (NVD). This is the topic he chose for his PhD dissertation.
And a quick plug for a talk that Edison Carter and myself will be doing titled “Life in an Early 90’s Hacker Group”. We will share stories and pictures from our days as members of The New Order, a small hacker group based in Denver in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Fun tales of hacking, phreaking, trashing, and all the fun projects we worked on. While a ‘war stories’ talk, we bring a few receipts and also dive deeper into the personal and social dynamics of hacker groups.
Heidi and Bruce Potter, the founders of ShmooCon, will be doing an ‘Ask Me Anything’ (AMA) session and talk about their history in the scene, creating their conference, and a lot more. Both are terrific speakers that are engaging and fun to talk to. Open and honest, between the two they have an incredible amount of experience in many topics.
Jamie Arlen will be presenting “FAIL: An epic career of doing all the wrong things and somehow still being right”. Another engaging speaker, he has been an advocate for being open and honest, and maintaining integrity in our field. B.K. DeLong (McIntyre) is giving a talk about the history of web defacing, which builds off the Attrition Defacement Mirror that I created and maintained with a few friends. Then he’ll pivot into what happened since then and how the practice endures to this day, especially in the geopolitical realm.
Josh Corman and Casey John Ellis will present “Smashing the (Policy) Stack for … Public Safety & (Not) Profit?!” This one promises to be interesting as it goes over the history adjacent to hacking but how it can influence policy at a greater level. This is a talk everyone should see to understand that importance and how we as hobbyists and professionals can actually help effect change.
It’s not too late to register! Hotel rooms are still available at the convention rate, which is heavily discounted, making this an affordable conference. In addition to the main stage talks, there will be literal fireside chats on the beach. No recording allowed, so you may hear some fascinating stories with details that have never been shared by some absolute legends in the hacker world.
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