Def Con to Feds: Don't Come (over Snowden)

[cali]

The annual Def Con hacking convention has asked the U.S. federal government to stay away this year for the first time in its 21-year history, saying Edward Snowden's revelations have made some in the community uncomfortable about its presence.

"It would be best for everyone involved if the Feds call a 'time-out' and not attend Def Con this year," conference founder Jeff Moss said in an announcement posted Wednesday night on the convention's website.


An irreverent crowd of more than 15,000 hackers, researchers, corporate security experts, privacy advocates, artists and others are expected to attend the Las Vegas convention, which begins on August 2.

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Last year, four-star General Keith Alexander, head of the NSA, was a keynote speaker at the event, which is the world's largest annual hacking conference.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/11/us-hackers-feds-idUSBRE96A08120130711

[tridim]

1. Apparenly the Def Con folks forgot to read the news during the entire Bush Administration. nt

[frylock]

2. they never liked obama's nsa

[mick063]

3. I don't either

Bravo to Def Con

[galileoreloaded]

9. Bush admin standards of governance are now progressive. Got it. Nt.

[AnnieBW]

4. And the news the Monday after DefCon will say...

"Attendance at DefCon Drops By Half".

Seriously, where do you think Agent Mike, or high-school dropouts like Snowden, learned to hack?

[HipChick]

6. Snowden isn't a hacker..

you don't need hacking skills to steal powerpoint slides from a server that you have access to..

[JaneyVee]

5. The NSA shows up every year at Def Con with job applications.

[HipChick]

7. I wish more women would attend..

Everytime I go, its been like be hit-on-by-a-Nerd-Fest

[AnnieBW]

8. Word that.

Actually, the year that I went, the male-female ratio was surprisingly good. Most of the girls reminded me of Claudia from "Warehouse 13", though. Only with more piercings. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But I had more of a wait than the usual computer/tech conferences that I used to attend when I went to DefCon.

The reason that I went once and not again was the crowds. I got a lot out of it, but it was just too damn crowded for me. I went when it was at that nasty-ass Riviera Hotel, though. I'm hoping it's better now that it's at the Rio.

[HipChick]

10. It's a little better at the Rio..

[usGovOwesUs3Trillion]

11. NSA loses the nerds,

Toast