Page 15 - Cyber Warnings

Patrick remarked that we’re lucky in Australia to be able to come together as individuals, as an
industry, and with Government “spooks” to learn, discuss and shape the discourse of cyber
security in a positive way. And he’s spot on.

The main theme of Patrick Gray’s keynote was a fascinating exploration of the motivations of
whistleblowers. He provided an honest and refreshingly accurate assessment of figures like
Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning, amongst others.

The care and compassion that Patrick showed in the way he spoke about Chelsea Manning,
and how he explained her background and mistreatment was impressive. I spoke with several
attendees afterwards and we all agreed we now have a deeper appreciation for what she was
subjected to and an insight into the possible motivations for what she had done, thanks to
Patrick.

Patrick’s attendance at BSides was capped off by recognition of his significant contribution to
the industry with a Lifetime Achievement award from the conference organizers – which he later
quipped made him feel far too old.

BSides Canberra CTF - School Students Finding Zero-Days!

One of the features of any good hacker’s conference is a Capture the Flag (CTF) competition,
and this year the BSides Canberra CTF revealed some surprises.

The biggest surprise that also made the news was a group of local school students who
discovered a zero-day
vulnerability in the equipment
being used to host the CTF
challenge!

Canberra Grammar’s Code
Cadets led by teacher Matthew
Purcell signed up for the BSides
th
CTF and the team took out 4
position, which was quite the
accomplishment for these young
contestants.

It was so encouraging to witness
first-hand the brilliant minds working in this young CTF team. Their accomplishments already
prove that we’re in very capable hands for up-coming generations.

Hardware Hacking, Lock picking and Workshops

BSides offered many other activities for attendees to roll their sleeves up and get involved in
technical wizardry, starting with the delegate badge that required extra soldering to get it fully
working – a deliberate ploy to get people interested in the hardware hacking village, and it
worked.

15 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – April 2017 Edition
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