ShmooCon Announcement
Howdy,
We're less than 3 months from the third ShmooCon. First off, the
important details:
When: March 23-25, 2007
Where: Washington DC
Who: about 1000 hackers, security pro's, and assorted others
What: 3 days of talks (4 tracks this year: Friday is a series of
short talks for all attendees, Saturday and Sunday have three tracks
similar to the last two years), contests, and parties
Who benefits: You, the attendee. Also, we run ShmooCon on a cost
recovery basis, so we only charge what we need to make the con happen
for you... the leftover goes to seed next year's con and donations to
various organizations.
More info: www.shmoocon.org
There's a lot going on this year, so here are some of the highlights
of the latest news:
==============
== Ticket Sales
==============
Tickets sales are being run differently than last year. There are
three sale cycles with _each cycle_ having $75, $150, and $300
tickets for sale. The first round of tickets went on sale Dec 1.
The cheap tickets were sold out in about 15 hours. The medium price
tickets lasted a couple of days. The next round of tickets go on
sale Jan 1 and the final round go on sale Feb 1. Check out the site
for more info, and warm up your "refresh" button.
==============
== CFP
==============
The CFP is still open (at least for a few more weeks... Jan 15 is the
last day CFP submissions will be accepted). We've had a large number
of submissions already, and have accepted a few talks. We'll be
doing the final round of acceptances in mid-January, so if you've got
an idea rattling around in your head, better get it on paper and send
it in. More info at http://www.shmoocon.org/cfp.html
==============
== ShmooCon Labs
==============
Every year at Shmoocon we put a ton of work into the design and setup
of our conference network. This year our NOC team is opening up this
project as a pre conference event. As a participant you will get
hands on time implementing cutting edge security tools in a real
world environment. As a vendor you will get a chance to implement
your gear in an untrusted, potentially hostile environment of 1000+
hackers.
This is not your normal vendor dog and pony show. We are building a
network that needs to be up and running in time for the conference so
be prepared to jump in the fire. During Shmoocon various aspects of
the network will be made available for attendees to hack on and all
vendors should expect their products to get looked over with a fine
tooth comb or a 20 pound hammer.
Shmoocon labs will run for the day and half prior to the start of
Shmoocon. Shmoocon starts in earnest on the afternoon of March 23rd.
The labs will start at the crack of dawn on the 22nd and have 36
hours to get the network up and running.
Registration for the labs is open to conference attendees but we are
limiting attendance to 30 people. Also, note that there will be a $50
charge to help us cover costs. There are no hard and steadfast
prerequisites, however we expect this event to be best suited towards
people with background as Network Engineers, System Adminisrators and
Security Engineers. We are looking for individuals who either are
experts in one of the areas outlined above or people that are
interested in learning more through hands on design, configuration,
and deploying of these technologies.
This is not a "first come, first served" event... rather we are
trying to find the right mix of individuals to make the network
usable and help as many people learn from this process as possible.
There is an application process for attending. If you are interested
in attending, please send the following information to
shmooconlabs@xxxxxxxxxxxx:
- Summary of work/academic experience
- Why you are interested in attending the labs
- If you feel you are able to serve as a lead in one of the
technology areas
- If you are able to show up a day early to help stage the lab
In order to cover our costs of running the lab, there will be a $50
fee for each attendee. This basically will pay for space, food, and
incidentals (zipties, cables, etc). On Feb 15th, we will finalize the
attendee list for the labs. If you have any question please email
shmooconlabs@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
==============
== Hacker Arcade
==============
We will be doing the Hacker Arcade again this year. Think of it as
Chuck-e-Cheese, but instead of paper tickets, you get cryptographic
tokens on a USB dongle that can be redeemed for prizes. Hacker
Arcade is a double-contest (if you will). First, the games available
in the arcade are made by con attendees. The best games gets
prizes... and even some of the more interesting games get prizes as
well. The winner last year was a Slash 'em game that utilized a home
grown coin slot that somehow made it through airport security even
tho it looked like a bomb. There was also a great double sided skill
crane that allowed both over the network and in person play.
Last year we had about 10 entries total. We're hoping for more. If
you're interested in bringing a game, or have questions about the
contest, check out http://www.shmoocon.org/arcade.html or contact
arcade@xxxxxxxxxxxx
The other contest is the players of the arcade. Just like Chuck-e-
Cheese, the more you play, the more you can win. So we will have
prizes that you can redeem your tokens for... but some of the prizes
will have limited quantity, so if you want one of the nicer ones, you
better play soon and play often.
Like last year, all the proceeds from the lab will go to the EFF.
==============
== Hack-or-Halo
==============
Do you have anti-social tendencies? Do you ever think "man, this
would be a great con, if only there weren't all these feds around,
and I could just start pwning stuff." Or maybe you've found your self
at a conference thinking "gee, I sure would like to shoot that guy in
the face." In the past you may have had to suppress these urges. But
not at ShmooCon! We understand your needs to compete, demonstrate
skills, and enjoy gratuitous violence. So, once again, we bring you
Hack-or-Halo!
Hack-or-Halo is the premier East coast hacking-plus-gaming event.
Bring your skills in Halo 2, or your ability to break into boxen
faster than your competitors, and you can win impressive prizes along
with bragging rights. Hack-or-Halo is two tournaments in one. You've
got your pick of high-speed drag race hacking, or quick rounds of
free-for-all slayer Halo 2.
==============
== Fin
==============
That's it. If you have questions about attending, sponsorship, or
just random praise, please email info@xxxxxxxxxxxx
See you all in DC!
later
bruce