Defcon Kids, new hacker conference for 8 to 16 year olds

www.tomsguide.com...

www.reuters.com...

"Reuters reports that the first-ever Defcon Kids conference will take place this August in Las Vegas, and will teach children ranging from ages eight to sixteen the basics of computer hacking, and how to protect themselves against cyber attacks. It will also serve as a recruiting farm for U.S. federal agents looking for the next-generation of "digital crime fighters.""

Wow the indoctrination is spreading. This could seriously hamper the next generation of programmers if they are just taught the status quo instead of letting there natural curiosity and creativity fuel there work. I'm all for the young one getting together, networking there skills, and learning from each other. But I just can't get past the fact that big brother is peaking over there shoulder.

reply to post by wiandiii


Some of these young kids could grow up to be a strategic resource for the US as cyberterrorism is seen as a possible current and future threat to the US,

It seems like now the feds wait until a young hacker does something illegal, then coopts them into service to avoid prosecution.

Identifying kids with potential at this conference may give them a way to recruit youngsters before they do anything illegal.

But I have a question for you:

CyFi," a 10-year-old Girl Scout whose identity has been stolen twice, is helping to organize the conference. Her personal agenda is to network with other young hackers, advance her lock-picking skills and meet real federal agents while she's there.

How do you get your identity stolen twice by the time you're 10 years old? That must take some doing.

I wonder what these Defcon Kids hacking rewards will look like?
The Nazi' s recruited kids like this too...

Flag of the Hitler Youth
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/e1b6b67d0340.png[/atsimg]

reply to post by imitator


What ? The Nazis recruited young computer hackers to hack the non existant military cyberware of the British and American armed forces? Nope, just future Popes and other lack wits.

The recruitment methods used in this field are no different from those used in sports selection, military training, and in the feild of the artisan. Early potential is measured and weighed against various factors, and approaches made, grants offered, and so on and so on. There is no difference between this , and a football scholarship, except who is offering the scholarship, and what the implications are.

reply to post by imitator


Defcon is largely a computer security convention. The fact that they are bringing kids into the mix shouldn't surprise anyone, and it should be labeled some kind of Nazi training tool.

Cyber security is a very important aspect of military readiness. But it isn't just for the military or the government in general. It's for the private sector that needs new and young talent now more than ever.

reply to post by projectvxn

An old friend of mine was an IT security specialist. He had some interesting clients. Essentially though he was a hacker. Only a very good hacker is worth hiring if security is mission critical.

Imagine much do you think he is worth to the people who wish to hack his clients or the NSA? He could leave vulnerabilities only he knows how to penetrate. Without guys like him, the NSA will always have blind spots.

reply to post by wiandiii


S&F,

Thanks for the post. This is hilarious, and kind of scary at the same time.
Hysterical is a good word...

A hacker conference for children is controversial even in the DEFCON community.

Prime targets for criticism include lock picking and social engineering, the art of manipulating people into revealing sensitive information.

“Everyone is up in arms that we are going to teach kids to be evil, but that is not the case,” said Chris Hadnagy, who trains companies to guard against slick-talking hackers and runs the website social-engineer.org.
www.chinapost.com.tw...

Where is Big Sis and the DHS?

reply to post by wiandiii


I think this is awesome! If i had the resource right now i would be sending my 11 year old over for training as apposed to trying to make time myself to teach him.

Hacking is not all bad.. if it were not for the original hackers back in the day.. there would not have been as many advancements in the field of operating systems as we have seen in the past 40 years.

HACKZORZ FTW!!!!!

reply to post by Arbitrageur


hehehe.. thats down to parents not watching whats their kids are doing online.

thats the problem nowerdays.. people trust the computer like they trust a nanny and dont have a clue what they do on there or how to investigate what they HAVE BEEN doing.. its funny and scary at the same time.

My boy knows that he would have to learn some pretty serious moves to get past me in a hurry. I hope he learns them as it will give him soo much in the way of development in this field.