The Sport of Hacking

Hackers love networking with each other almost as much as they love computer networks themselves! Each summer, in the sweltering heat of Las Vegas, young hackers of every description descend on DEFCON, a convention the hackers themselves consider the Super Bowl of hacking. The party is held at the Alexis Park Resort. You'll never see a more outlandish array of black T-shirts, the de rigueur hacker uniform. Anyone over voting age, like me for example, stands out like a sore thumb. The hackers, mostly males in their teens to early twenties, already know each other from DEFCONs past, hacker user groups or by reputation. They're not nerdy, shy types, either. They're outgoing, gregarious, and as Dwain's nolite edere flavam nivem indicates, hackers have an urbane wit all their own. I call it hacker rap and a few T-shirts from Jinx Hackwear (http://www.jinxhackwear.com/) illustrate it!

At DEFCON, you're nothing unless you have something to brag about. That's what these kids are here for ”bragging rights! The highlight of each DEFCON (2003 was number 11) is a contest, a digital variation of Capture the Flag. DEFCON's organizers, elite hackers and security experts in their own right, fortify a Web server with the latest security and antihacking technology. Then the hackers, each of whom has a laptop, split up into teams and attempt to crack the secure server. The first team that cracks the DEFCON server wins the contest, no small feat because most of these kids are extremely talented!

Figure 8.2: DEFCON Web site

Winning the DEFCON challenge gives the winning team members more than mere bragging rights. It's a gold star on the resume of any budding-security expert. Winning the DEFCON challenge can help a winning member secure employment in computer security. Just like a high school jock dreams of a professional athletic career, high school hackers dream of becoming security experts when they grow up.

Before you can secure a computer network you must learn how to exploit and crack one. Before you can prevent computer viruses from spreading you must know how to write worms and viruses. That's the spirit behind DEFCON! The hackers come to learn and share what they know. There might not be a security slot for every hacker here, but there are occupational opportunities in technology for all those with hacking skills. Hacking is the minor leagues for every technology profession. The kids attending DEFCON today will be the architects of tomorrow's technology. As you can see from the DEFCON XI photo gallery, the pilgrimage is a hacker rite of passage.