Category Archives: Hacker Conferences

BSIDES 2023: That Wasn’t Guacamole…

Did you totally think that the green sauce was guacamole? Nope… it was pure jalapeño fire!!

The Brookstreet Hotel in Kanata hosted BSIDES 2023 and it was my third time attending. We stayed at the hotel which was so practical. The Brookstreet is a rather nice hotel and good luck getting back up after you lie into bed. Those bed are like quicksand!

Compared to HACKFEST QUEBEC, BSIDES OTTAWA caters more to people who protect critical infrastructure. I learned a lot of stuff about a lot of things I am unlikely to encounter. My sweetie was better served by these talks and he also discovered that he can pick locks! Again, the villages were very interesting and staffed by passionate and kowledgeable people always happy to answer my stupid questions.

I didn’t submit a CFP to any conferences this year because I cannot tell which category my latest research should be submitted to. I have been working with an analog system that doesn’t directly relate to computing.

When I gave a talk at BSides in 2018, I told the audience about hacking Haliburton inadvertantly. I was an end-of-day talk for after the bar opens! I only want to do humorous talks that poke fun at hacker culture or show unexpected examples of hacking.

Next Stop: NSEC 2024 with the Badgelife Museum and 35-station Soldering Village!

HACKFEST 2023: I stole $16,000 worth of merchandise from an IOT-connected warehouse!

I have been on a self-funded health journey for many years, and in October 2023 attended my first industry event since HACKFEST 2019. In 2019, I had run the BadgeLife Museum with the 35-station Soldering Village, and we got so much attention that 4 other conferences started making plans with us. All that was canceled a few months later. We will certainly do it again next year. I am already preparing our activities for the NSEC 2024 in Montreal. We have the largest private collection of badges in the world, with about 400!

During HACKFEST 2023, I was able to take in all the talks and try some of the activity villages. The standout activity was Fablab 4D, an immersive activity that features a 1:24 scale product warehouse of AliZon. This is an animated team building exercise with Francois Bedonant, who explains the connected devoces that make sure nobody steals the widgets!

Of course, the goal of this is to STEAL THE WIDGETS!

I was overjoyed that this puzzle offers challenges for all types of hackers, and all levels of criminals. It is fascinating to hear the ideas of everyone about how each security measure could be taken advantage of. I was able to succeed at the simplest way, but I will not disclose how! I sincerely feel like a 12 year-old could come up with the same hack I did which involves no breaking of anything!

When we host our own activity, we give all the participants a simple but cute electronic PCB with the components to turn it into a blinking wonder! The idea is for the project to be doable by a normal person over the age of 12. I have been accosted by many people who are so delighted with themselves for completing their project. They told me it made them feel competent. Most people will approach a Hacker conference activity with aprehension because they don’t feel like they could win. I admit that I see the star CTP teams consistently score twice the points of the noobs, and it seems like a big hill to climb.

The team building activity by Fablab 4D is so delightful and adorable!