Kiwicon
Encyclopedia
Kiwicon is an all-ages computer security
conference
(Hacker con) organised by members of the hacker
and computer security community of New Zealand
.
Kiwicon provides a venue for hackers and computer security professionals as well as other interested parties to get together and share knowledge, war stories and to consume a startling amount of beer. In the spirits of H.O.P.E.
and DEF CON, Kiwicon intends to bring together the best and brightest from academia, the computer security industry, the hacker underground, those who manage critical infrastructure and law enforcement.
The conference format allows for talks of various lengths on a wide range of subjects of interest, informal discussions, socialising and competitions. In the past there has been free coffee, free breakfast, and always a healthy amount of free beer.
The first Kiwicon was held during the weekend of 17-18 November 2007 at Victoria University of Wellington
. Approximately 200 people attended the two-day event in 2007, many travelling from near and far to attend. There was a notable lack of attendance from the major corporates, which may not have been such a bad thing. The local security community came together for the first time to the first real Hacker con in New Zealand
. The calibre of speakers was excellent with a great amount of media coverage as shown below and it was also the release of iKat the Internet Kiosk Attack Tool.
Kiwicon 2k8 was held on the 27th and 28th of September, once again at Victoria University of Wellington
with an attendance of over 250 people. A much broader range of attendees arrived this year, with presale tickets selling out before the doors opened. People were greeted with an array of video phone captures that proved that video conferencing systems are insecure by default, and Ben Hawkes released his updated research into Vista heap exploitation techniques.
Kiwicon 2k9 was held during the weekend of 28th-29th of November 2009 at Victoria University of Wellington
for the third year running, in Wellington, New Zealand. The event sold out with an attendance of over 350 people.
Kiwicon IV was once again held on the weekend of 27th-28th of November 2010 at Victoria University of Wellington
, and sold out even earlier than in 2009. The title was a play on the term Four Horsemen of the Infocalypse
.
On August 29, 2007, persons associated with Kiwicon spoofed the NZ Herald
website with a simple XSS attack. No actual pages on the server were altered. This event was reported on the rival newspaper site Stuff.co.nz
.
Nick Breese's Crackstation talk on PlayStation 3 password cracking also generated extensive media coverage:
Ben Hawkes talks Vista heap exploitation
General Media
Computer security
Computer security is a branch of computer technology known as information security as applied to computers and networks. The objective of computer security includes protection of information and property from theft, corruption, or natural disaster, while allowing the information and property to...
conference
Meeting
In a meeting, two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal setting.- Definitions :An act or process of coming together as an assembly for a common purpose....
(Hacker con) organised by members of the hacker
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
and computer security community of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Kiwicon provides a venue for hackers and computer security professionals as well as other interested parties to get together and share knowledge, war stories and to consume a startling amount of beer. In the spirits of H.O.P.E.
H.O.P.E.
HOPE is a conference series sponsored by the hacker magazine 2600: The Hacker Quarterly. Held biennially in the summer, there have been eight conferences to date with the next scheduled for 13 - 15 July 2012.- HOPE: Hackers On...
and DEF CON, Kiwicon intends to bring together the best and brightest from academia, the computer security industry, the hacker underground, those who manage critical infrastructure and law enforcement.
The conference format allows for talks of various lengths on a wide range of subjects of interest, informal discussions, socialising and competitions. In the past there has been free coffee, free breakfast, and always a healthy amount of free beer.
Kiwicon V
For its fifth year, Kiwicon took place on 5th and 6th of November 2011, at a much larger venue, the Wellington Opera House.Past Conferences
The first Kiwicon was held during the weekend of 17-18 November 2007 at Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
. Approximately 200 people attended the two-day event in 2007, many travelling from near and far to attend. There was a notable lack of attendance from the major corporates, which may not have been such a bad thing. The local security community came together for the first time to the first real Hacker con in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The calibre of speakers was excellent with a great amount of media coverage as shown below and it was also the release of iKat the Internet Kiosk Attack Tool.
Kiwicon 2k8 was held on the 27th and 28th of September, once again at Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
with an attendance of over 250 people. A much broader range of attendees arrived this year, with presale tickets selling out before the doors opened. People were greeted with an array of video phone captures that proved that video conferencing systems are insecure by default, and Ben Hawkes released his updated research into Vista heap exploitation techniques.
Kiwicon 2k9 was held during the weekend of 28th-29th of November 2009 at Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
for the third year running, in Wellington, New Zealand. The event sold out with an attendance of over 350 people.
Kiwicon IV was once again held on the weekend of 27th-28th of November 2010 at Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
, and sold out even earlier than in 2009. The title was a play on the term Four Horsemen of the Infocalypse
Four Horsemen of the Infocalypse
The Four Horsemen of the Infocalypse is a term for internet criminals, or the imagery of internet criminals.A play on Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, it refers to types of criminals who use the internet to facilitate crime and consequently jeopardize the rights of honest internet users...
.
Competitions
Kiwicon hosts hacking competitions. Every second year is Tokémon, where hackers race against each other to exploit as many vulnerabilities as possible in the target systems. The first Tokémon was in 2008, with Tokémon 2 for Kiwicon IV in 2010. Kiwicon 2k9 saw the "Skid wars" event take place on the Saturday evening; with ~16 entrants hacking into virtual machines that been set up with known vulnerabilities left unpatched, using of script kiddy tools (hence the name). Kiwicon V involved a combined simulated attack on a power company called Operation Lights Out.Advertising
The first year that Kiwicon was run, a tradition of advertising the conference through Cross Site Scripting attacks on high profile sites was started. Usually these are not reported in mainstream press.On August 29, 2007, persons associated with Kiwicon spoofed the NZ Herald
The New Zealand Herald
- External links :* * *...
website with a simple XSS attack. No actual pages on the server were altered. This event was reported on the rival newspaper site Stuff.co.nz
Stuff.co.nz
Stuff.co.nz is a New Zealand news website owned and operated by Fairfax New Zealand, a subsidiary of the Australian company Fairfax Media. Stuff hosts the websites for Fairfax's New Zealand newspapers, including the country's second and third highest circulation daily newspapers The Dominion Post...
.
Media coverage
Beau Butler (Oddy)'s wpad talk garnered extensive media coverage due to its public disclosure of a years-old supposedly fixed security flaw in major browsers and operating systems:- Kiwicon demo exposes serious Microsoft security flaw
- Microsoft Fixing "Fixed" Flaw
- Five-year-old design flaw found in all Windows versions
- Ethical Hacker Keeps Microsoft Busy
- Flaw leaves Microsoft looking like a turkey
- Kiwi Finds Ripe Flaw In Windows
- Five year old Windows bug resurfaces
Nick Breese's Crackstation talk on PlayStation 3 password cracking also generated extensive media coverage:
Ben Hawkes talks Vista heap exploitation
General Media