This year’s Def Con is sure to be a wild ride, and if it’s your first time attending, you’re probably wondering how to survive it. Never fear, my hacker enthusiast friends, our trusted colleagues over at Tek Or Die have compiled a list of tips to help you make it through the whirlwind of usual Las Vegas shenanigans topped with tons of hacking demos. With these helpful hints, you’ll be able to protect yourself at 2022’s Def Con 30 while still creating plenty of crazy experiences that your great-great-grand kids will talk about.
Tip #1: Protect Your Phone At All Costs
Bring a burner phone to the conference or protect your personal phone if you end up bringing it. You can buy a burner phone at Walmart with a pre-paid SIM card already installed. Better yet, pay for the phone with cash to make it even less traceable back to you. And to further obscure things, don’t install anything on the phone that would tie back to your identity. Lastly, it’s best if you only use this burner phone for that weekend – hence why it’s a ‘burner.’ It sounds extreme, but some of the exploits that have been pulled off at Def Con against attendees would blow your mind!
If you use your own phone at all during the conference weekend, use a Faraday bag – also known as an RFID bag. These bags block all outgoing and incoming radio frequencies. Think of it like a physical version of airplane mode for your phone. The goal is to stop hackers from skimming sensitive data from your smartphone. You’ll also want to keep your credit and debit cards and any other RFID-enabled devices in your Faraday bag.
As an extra precaution, or if you’re not able to get a Faraday bag in time to take with you to the conference, turn Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on your phone off by using airplane mode and keep your phone in airplane mode while at the conference, your hotel, and nearby restaurants – basically anywhere you think your fellow hackers might be hanging out.
Tip #2: Erase Wi-Fi Networks
Erase all the Wi-Fi networks already saved on the phones, tablets, and laptops you bring to the conference. Why? You might reveal personal information to the hackers who are undoubtedly collecting packets around you. Your Wi-Fi-enabled device could give out sensitive information like your device’s MAC address or the name of every Wi-Fi network your device has connected to.
With this type of intel in their possession, a hacker could perpetrate a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack against you. They could also track you in real-time. Some of these exploits could be carried out against you just for fun and for the sake of seeing that it could be done. But there are conference attendees with no-so-great motives who might use that information to annoy, stalk, or harass you.
Tip #3: Don’t Use the Open Network
Public Wi-Fi networks will most likely be provided by the conference, but don’t do it! Based on what’s been provided at previous conferences, there might be an open network available with NO password.
This network is monitored for users who are cavalier or maybe just unwitting enough to log into email, websites, or other network services without using encryption. If you’re found committing this major cyber security faux pas, you’ll end up on the Wall of Sheep, which is Def Con’s version of a wall of shame. This wall displays the usernames AND passwords of those who haven’t protected themselves from getting hacked.
This method of publicly outing people sounds brutal, but it’s a profoundly memorable way of reminding everyone at the conference of the dangers of unencrypted communication.
These tips for surviving Def Con 2022 only scratch the surface. Check out the remaining tips from Tek or Die at this podcast episode (maybe while you’re en route to Def Con!):
About Tek or Die:
TEK or DIE advises on how to take advantage of opportunities in tech to as many people as efficiently as possible.
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