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The Road to POLICY @ DEF CON 32 // Blog Series
"Meet the Fed" Memories from a Policy Goon
In 1998, while working for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, I began attending various cybersecurity conferences. Of those in Las Vegas, I initially only attended Black Hat. But, the more I learned about DEF CON the more I appreciated the difference in the skills, attitudes, and talent, compared to more traditional industry conferences. I realized that I could learn a lot from the different ways of thinking at DEF CON.
I first spoke at DEF CON 13 in 2005, as the acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration and DoD Chief Information Officer. In 2005, the con cost $80 cash to get into Alexis Park Resort. There were contests, vendors, and movies, but no villages at that point. I recollect that the track 2 space ("the tent") on day 2 was largely filled for the talk.
According to the schedule, I was the only listed government speaker, but there also was a "Meet the Fed" panel led by the DoD Cyber Crime Institute. The panel included representatives from the DoD, IRS, USPS, FBI, and NSA. Feds with known affiliations were fairly rare in those days, as evidenced by the spirited "Spot the Fed" competitions. Since I always wore a coat and tie, I guess I was too obvious a target and no one ever called me out.
I didn't detect any strong anti-government attitudes in my early DEF CON sessions (most of which predated the global surveillance disclosures of the 2010s). In fact, many of the attendees seemed interested in engaging with us. Many seemed surprised that we were doing interesting and important work (rather than just bureaucratic activities) and that we were proud of it, felt that we were contributing to a cause greater than ourselves, and were interested in the hackers' points of view. I valued the energy, talent, and expertise in the room and, so long as they hadn't crossed the line to felony misbehavior, we welcomed their interest in government service.
I started serving as a goon at DEF CON 16 and have since completed 15 tours as a goon--13 with Press and 2 with Policy. I have both greatly enjoyed, and have benefitted from, my experiences with DEF CON and look forward to continuing to connect the government and hackers.
Lin Wells (Naugha)
"Meet the Fed" Memories from a Policy Goon
In 1998, while working for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, I began attending various cybersecurity conferences. Of those in Las Vegas, I initially only attended Black Hat. But, the more I learned about DEF CON the more I appreciated the difference in the skills, attitudes, and talent, compared to more traditional industry conferences. I realized that I could learn a lot from the different ways of thinking at DEF CON.
I first spoke at DEF CON 13 in 2005, as the acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration and DoD Chief Information Officer. In 2005, the con cost $80 cash to get into Alexis Park Resort. There were contests, vendors, and movies, but no villages at that point. I recollect that the track 2 space ("the tent") on day 2 was largely filled for the talk.
According to the schedule, I was the only listed government speaker, but there also was a "Meet the Fed" panel led by the DoD Cyber Crime Institute. The panel included representatives from the DoD, IRS, USPS, FBI, and NSA. Feds with known affiliations were fairly rare in those days, as evidenced by the spirited "Spot the Fed" competitions. Since I always wore a coat and tie, I guess I was too obvious a target and no one ever called me out.
I didn't detect any strong anti-government attitudes in my early DEF CON sessions (most of which predated the global surveillance disclosures of the 2010s). In fact, many of the attendees seemed interested in engaging with us. Many seemed surprised that we were doing interesting and important work (rather than just bureaucratic activities) and that we were proud of it, felt that we were contributing to a cause greater than ourselves, and were interested in the hackers' points of view. I valued the energy, talent, and expertise in the room and, so long as they hadn't crossed the line to felony misbehavior, we welcomed their interest in government service.
I started serving as a goon at DEF CON 16 and have since completed 15 tours as a goon--13 with Press and 2 with Policy. I have both greatly enjoyed, and have benefitted from, my experiences with DEF CON and look forward to continuing to connect the government and hackers.
Lin Wells (Naugha)