Thousands of hackers from around the world are meeting in Hamburg for the 38th Chaos Communication Congress. The first day of the Congress with the motto “Illegal Directives” started with a deep premonition from the organizers and participants were given tips on how to resist data octopuses and repressive governments. But specific hacking topics, from leaked patient files to do-it-yourself medications and the VW data leak, were also on the agenda.
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The introductory lecture paints a dark picture
In the opening lecture, Gabriel Bogac painted a gloomy picture: “We are living in difficult times,” said the experienced hacker. One goal of Congress is to give society the tools to fight back. Opposition to authoritarian rule is not in vain.
CCC expects more than 14,000 participants at its annual conference, with more than 140 presentations. In addition to the presentations, there are a lot of interesting things to do for hackers, people interested in technology, activists and philosophers. Every corner of the CCH (Congress Centrum Hamburg) is occupied, with hundreds of project stands ranging from Lockpicking to the OpenStreetMap project to the Center for Political Beauty.
There was a lot of activity in the corridors and exhibition halls: thousands of guests came to CCH to discuss projects, software, open source and the digital society.
VW Leaks, DIY Medicines and Insecure Voting Software
The lectures were also well attended on the first day of the Congress – Hall 1, which has a capacity of three thousand people, was packed to the last seat in the morning. If you didn’t want to miss any lectures, you needed some seating. It was rewarded with various lectures:
- Shortly before the nationwide launch of the electronic patient file, Bianca Kastel and Martin Tschirsich disclosed serious vulnerabilities that could allow unauthorized people to access the data of 73 million insured people.
- Mixel Swann Laufer explained to the audience how his “Four Thieves Vinegar Collective” sells expensive drugs for the benefit of those in need,
- CCC spokesmen Linus Neumann and Thorsten Schröder gave a pitiful report to the German software for evaluating election results
- Flupke evaluated the VW data leak with data journalist Michael Creil. With the maps hand-painted for data protection reasons, the hackers showed that even secret service employees and VW board members could be seamlessly monitored through their vehicle data.
Felix “Fefe” von Leitner entertains late night audiences in Hamburg’s largest seated hall Traditional Fnord News ReviewHowever, anyone who wanted to hear it had to wait until 1 am.
The 38th Chaos Communication Congress will take place at the Congress Center Hamburg until 30 December. The event is sold out.
(CKU)
