The Cyber Sopranos: High-Tech Hitmen Converge at Las Vegas Convention
Texas Technology, April 2001

The popular HBO original series The Sopranos has capitalized on America's fascination with organized crime, becoming one of the most popular programs on television. This should come as no surprise – our country has long has a fascination with organized crime and the peculiar personalities that surround it. Computer hackers – people who illegally gain access to electronic systems – are no exception. Hackers and mobsters have a lot in common when you think about it. Both have been known to laugh in the face of illegality, slosh around in bathrobes and deal in large sums of cash. And both have inconspicuous and undocumented relationships with the business community. So what better place than Las Vegas for these under-bosses of the Internet to hold a hacker's convention?

High Tech High Rollers

Each summer, Las Vegas hosts this collection of computer crackers at an event called DEF CON. The first DEF CON convention was held in 1993 at the famous, but since destroyed, Sands hotel. The event's organizers – known only by public nicknames such as Uncle Ira – tout DEF CON as an underground party for hackers; an opportunity to meet others who share an interest in hacking, learn new things about the trade, and do a little networking. With last year's attendance at just over 4,000 people, it's the world's largest convention of its kind.

And it's just as intense as anything Mario Puzo has written.

For the world's cyber-soldiers, this event offers a host of activities. Participated attend speeches on technical areas, such as, "How to Evade Network-based Intrusion Systems" and "Building a Backdoor Binary." Last year's DEF CON convention even held a session entitled "Number Theory, Complexity Theory, Cryptography and Quantum Computing".

So, just who are the hackers? They can be broken down into three categories: a computer criminal (black hat, a defender (white hat) or an innocent bystander. Black hat hackers steal money or information, and can damage the victim's computer system.

Corporate America holds a mixture of lust, fear and contempt for the hacking community. In terms of industrial espionage, hackers are a dirty secret. Organizations often employ hackers to obtain information on competitors – risking legal ramifications in their quest for competitive advantage. And the hackers themselves can't resist the lure of earning obscene sums of cash in a single sitting. Like mob informants flipping on their coworkers, those caught in the act of Internet improprieties often wind up working for the government. Those who don't often have promising careers as network security specialists (once they do their time, that is).

White hat hackers are security professionals – members of the business community who safeguard the computer systems of their client's organizations from the harmful efforts of black ht hackers. White hat hackers may work as system administrators for a company or work for an agency that specializes in ensuring network security. Think of them as the Internet's version of the Untouchables. Their only mission in life is to beat the bad guys at their own game (even though they probably used to be one themselves).

The rest of us fall into the growing category of clueless potential cyber-victims, innocent bystanders whose households and corporations are easy prey to the whims millions of black hat trouble-makers.

Internally, hackers can cause a panacea of problems for their employers. Current employees may steal personal information on company employees, steal proprietary information for sale to a competitor, purposely damage computer systems or steal information in order to strike off on their own. In Houston, Compaq recently accused a competing firm, RLX Technologies (founded by a Compaq co-founder), of using intellectual property and trade secrets to fuel what they call their "server mafia".

Viruses have also become increasingly popular, being created by thousands of demented digerati in an attempt to redeem their 15 minutes of fame. Viruses gain entry to a computer system and cause damage ranging from mildly annoying to catastrophic. Other online attacks are initiated to make a political statement (coining the phrase hacktivism).

As esoteric as these activities seem, the dealings of those attending shows like DEF CON are affecting us all. In March of this year, the FBI uncovered an Eastern European organized crime operation that was stealing credit card and other confidential information from over 40 financially-enabled Web sites. Earlier in the year, hackers broke into a computer at a Navy research facility in Washington, D.C., absconding with the source codes to a missile guidance program. And, closer to home, the I Love You virus cost an estimated $10 billion in aggregated damages.

Byte-a-Bing

The opportunities for cybercrime are expanding faster than preventive measures. The best way to keep your company or household from becoming a victim is to eliminate ignorance about security issues. In an attempt to do just that, a diverse cross-section will be converging in Vegas this summer -- from grungy underground teen developers to squeaky-clean Fortune 500 execs. All with an interest in staying connected.

The DEF CON convention will be held at the Alexis Park and Resort from July 13-15. For more information, visit www.defcon.org.

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