![]() Flight tickets and the Black Hat registration were simply too expensive. In early 2019, “later” looked more likely. I returned home, knowing that I will come back sooner or later. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to stay for DEF CON and for the rest of the camp. Needless to say, this was an outstanding experience, especially as this was my first trip to the States. In summer 2018, I had the incredible honor to present at Black Hat USA part of my thesis research about virtual assistants. degree in Software Engineering, and I currently study for a Master's degree in Computer Science. In case you overlooked this in my LinkedIn profile, my name is Yuval Ron, age 22, and I'm a student at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. Because one thing is sure – I certainly will try to be there again. I hope you'll enjoy the article, and that some of you will join me in Las Vegas next summer. Forgive me for providing some basic details, but they might come in handy for the next novice. This being my first summer camp, I wanted to share my experience and the things I learned along the way with you. This year, more than 30,000 hackers and researchers gathered at this tremendous cyber festival, and luckily, I was one of them. ![]() Both conferences are the centerpieces of what is known as the "Hacker Summer Camp" - a week full of hacking activities and events: breakthrough talks, workshops, CTFs, and of course - parties. (Editor’s note: Some names have been removed due to the sensitivity of the Air Force cybersecurity mission.Two weeks ago I attended the world-class cybersecurity conferences Black Hat (7-) and DEF CON (8-) in Las Vegas. “How cool of a dialogue is that? Our presence shows others what we’re trying to do – protect the nation.” ![]() “As I look around I see that our Air Force is represented on over half of this floor, including and an F-35 simulator,” Thompson said. ![]() That’s what our jobs are all about.”Īccording to Thompson, the conference provided many opportunities to showcase the Air Force’s advances in aviation and cybersecurity. When you don’t have the answer you have to break the problem down and figure it out. “All in all this builds a lot of confidence. “Competing can be frustrating at times, but when you’re brought up against a challenge, you have to have an attitude to beat that challenge before moving on to the next challenge,” the master sergeant said. At one point first was just barely out of reach, but when the competition wrapped, the team placed third overall. The master sergeant’s team held the second place position within the Industrial Control Systems CTF for much of the competition. It’s a very good form of training that’s hard to replicate anywhere else.” “Some of us work together, but some don’t, so the CTFs gives us the opportunity to come together, build on our skill sets or learn new skills. “This helps build our comradery as a unit, similar to a temporary duty assignment or deployment,” said a 67th Cyberspace Wing CWO master sergeant. According to one participant, there was plenty more to gain from competition than just the first place “black badge” – a lifetime’s free admission to DEF CON. Not too far away Air Force cyber warfare operators competed against some of the nation's best hackers in several CTFs. “It was great because it gave us the chance to talk about the importance of Industrial Control Systems and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition across the Department of Defense.” Will Roper, (assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics),” Thompson said. The 90th COS Airmen presented BIL to thousands of attendees, including dozens of reporters and one distinguished visitor. “This cyber-physical interface provides the ground truth for our operators.” it causes an effect on the model itself,” he explained. The reason for this automation is simple, or rather, Thompson puts it simply. “On it you can see approach lights, runway lights, taxiway lights. “What we have is a toy brick model of an Air Force base,” said Scott Thompson, 90th COS systems engineer. The 90th Cyberspace Operations Squadron showcased their “Bricks in the Loop” cyber-physical display. Of those in attendance were several Air Forces Cyber Airmen who presented their technologies or participated in cyber competitions. Throughout the four-day event, attendees could learn new skills from industry professionals, test those skills during capture-the-flag competitions, network with others, interview for jobs and test out products and simulators, among other things. Spread across several hotels on the Las Vegas strip, nearly 30,000 cyber enthusiasts gathered for the 27th annual DEF CON Hacking Conference, Aug. ![]() JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas (AFNS). ![]()
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