US spy agency chief set to attend hacking party
Source: Agencies |
July 22, 2012, Sunday
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Print Edition
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COMPUTER geeks attending the world's largest annual hacking party in Las Vegas this week will have a rare chance to rub shoulders with the head of the US National Security Agency.
General Keith Alexander, director of the spy agency, will speak at the Defcon conference, marking the highest-level visit to date by a US government official to the colorful gathering. Organizers expect some 15,000 hackers this year as they celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first United States hacking event that was open to the public. The Pentagon disclosed the visit on Friday.
"We're going to show him the conference. He wants to wander around," said Jeff Moss, a hacker who organized the first Defcon conference while working for a Seattle law firm. He now sits on an advisory committee to the Department of Homeland Security.
Alexander may choose to talk shop with the techies. He holds four master's degrees, including ones in electronic warfare and physics.
Still, Moss said he expects there could be some controversy over Alexander's presence among the diverse hacker crowd that attends the conference.
The NSA plays both offense and defense in the cyber wars. It conducts electronic eavesdropping on adversaries, in addition to protecting US computer networks. "I expect some people will say 'You are a sellout for having someone from the NSA speak'," said Moss, who is known as the Dark Tangent in the hacking community.
General Keith Alexander, director of the spy agency, will speak at the Defcon conference, marking the highest-level visit to date by a US government official to the colorful gathering. Organizers expect some 15,000 hackers this year as they celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first United States hacking event that was open to the public. The Pentagon disclosed the visit on Friday.
"We're going to show him the conference. He wants to wander around," said Jeff Moss, a hacker who organized the first Defcon conference while working for a Seattle law firm. He now sits on an advisory committee to the Department of Homeland Security.
Alexander may choose to talk shop with the techies. He holds four master's degrees, including ones in electronic warfare and physics.
Still, Moss said he expects there could be some controversy over Alexander's presence among the diverse hacker crowd that attends the conference.
The NSA plays both offense and defense in the cyber wars. It conducts electronic eavesdropping on adversaries, in addition to protecting US computer networks. "I expect some people will say 'You are a sellout for having someone from the NSA speak'," said Moss, who is known as the Dark Tangent in the hacking community.
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