![]() The exploits disclosed at the event are shared with the offending companies before being made public. But, back in the regular world where we're not surrounded by hackers, there's very little stopping nefarious folks from exploiting the vulnerabilities found in our everyday technology. I've taken extreme precautions because of the environment. I'm using my computer, but still tethering to the MiFi (Verizon seems to be working at the airport) and while I've placed my SIM back in my iPhone, Bluetooth and WiFi are still turned off. They are having difficulty signing into the airport's free WiFi. A family sits down and they immediately plug their iPad into one of the charging stations. It was a great experience, but now you just want to get some of the ickiness off of yourself and rest.Īs I get ready to board my delayed flight back home, a woman calls her bank and reads off her date of birth and the last four digits of her social security number. Tomorrow, I'll wipe the Chromebook and BlackBerry before they get access to any home or work wireless network and change all the passwords of accounts I accessed while at the conference. I'm currently at paranoia level: Howard Hughes. When I return, the tape is still in place and hasn't been broken. So I attach a piece of tape to the door and doorjamb as I leave for food. I've declined all housekeeping attempts because I don't want anyone in my room. I also don't feel comfortable leaving all my gear in my room. I don't feel like lugging my gear just to grab some complimentary scrambled eggs and lukewarm home-style potatoes. If they get hacked, it's not that big of a deal. Okay not really, but this is why I have these burner accounts. ![]() Both devices are burners and I'm connecting directly to the towers (I hope), so I'm feeling pretty safe. ![]() Still, I've started tethering my Chromebook to my BlackBerry during sessions. However, Engadget maintains full editorial control, and Verizon will have to pry it from our cold, dead hands.) (Disclaimer: Verizon has acquired AOL, Engadget's parent company. Later in the day, I wander into a talk about spoofing GSM towers, which amplifies my concern about the cell-tower spoofing I heard about the night before. I do know that tethering my BlackBerry Q10 with T-Mobile works fine. I've been unable to get a strong mobile connection with my Verizon MiFi since Friday night. Yeah, I'm adequately paranoid and I change my password. I also noticed during a presentation that a less-than-scrupulous attendee was peeping my keyboard whenever I typed my password. The words "shit design" are actually uttered. I also learn from an attendee whose job it is to build enclosures that keep items safe from wireless intrusion that my fancy RFID-blocking wallet isn't very good. So maybe I'm just the right amount of paranoid. I feel like I'm being overly paranoid - then I find out later that there are folks spoofing cell towers. ![]() I call her and ask, "Did you send me a message that just said 'Hi Robbie'?" She starts to giggle and says yes. I unplug my computer from the MiFi and shut it down. I log in to iCloud and check her phone's location. Has my iCloud account been hacked? Has her account been hacked? She's gonna be super pissed if her account gets hacked. My wife has never sent me a message like this and I start to panic. Especially them, with their awesome stories socially engineering me to tell them what I do. Even the really nice old couple that talked to me on the plane. While Vegas is definitely a hostile environment, it's good to remember that hackers will also be flying to Def Con and hanging out in the airport. Later on, not so much.īefore I leave the house to catch my flight, I turn off WiFi on all my devices. I'm feeling pretty good about my wallet choice. So I stop by a travel store and pick up an RFID-blocking wallet. Still, not having my ID or credit cards with me while walking around Vegas seems like a bad idea. I've already been warned to bring cash to Vegas and that I should treat all the ATMs near Def Con as compromised. But I still need to buy stuff while on the show floor. Wickr is nice enough to give me two Faraday sleeves to keep my cards and iPhone in while back in my room. In addition to securing my devices, I also need to protect my credit cards and work gear while it's back in the room.
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