Gillis Software & Development, LLC’s Own World Champion Hacker:
(don’t worry, he’s on our side)
Each and every year security professionals, hackers, crackers, script-kiddies, and security groupies alike gather in Las Vegas for a series of conferences called The BlackHat Briefings (www.blackhat.com) and the infamous Defcon (www.defcon.org) convention.
The BlackHat Briefings is a deeply technical conference, focused on cutting edge security topics which in many instances don’t make it to the main stream for many weeks or months. Information security super-stars from around the world present on topics ranging from new protection mechanisms to system penetration techniques, and even new developments in information security related law.
At the end of the BlackHat Briefings, most attendees will then make their way to the Defcon convention hosted at the Alexis Park hotel. Defcon is a much more social event which draws a large range of information security geeks. There are security presentations (often by the same folks who presented at BlackHat), but more importantly there are competitive events.
Many events, such as “hacker jeopardy” have become a tradition unto themselves, but no single event is as revered as the “Capture the Flag” contest. Teams participate in a 3 day knock-down-drag-out hacking competition which is judged on the team’s ability to maintain the security of their own primary server system, while attacking the systems of the other teams. The rules for this real-world competition include every possible attack method, including spying and deal-making.
Capture the flag is the “holy grail” of hacking world-wide. Teams this year included a U.S. Navy “Red Team” (offensive hacking), a U.S. Air Force assessment team, and a host of teams from the underground and private industry. One of those teams (Team Digital Revelation) had recruited Gillis Software & Development, LLC’s own “visigoth” ( a.k.a. Damieon Stark) as an offensive weapon.
Over the course of the three-day contest, visigoth and the team captain “x30n” waged a sleep-deprived battle with the help of about 6 other team members, and in the end were victorious. Placing them firmly in the realm in the information security stardom, at least until next year when they must return to defend their title as world champion hackers…
