security

I posted that I was going to Blackhat with nothing more than my iPhone. Since someone found that interesting (and linked to my article) I figured I’d throw out my fidings:

The Good:

There was Nothing I couldn’t do that I needed to. The iPhone provided me with entertainment (music, movies, books), kept me in the loop at work (email, appointments, IM) and kept me in touch with my other friends at the con (blew waaay through my 200 SMS cap). I flat LOVE this phone.

The Bad:

Blackhat/DEFCON is all about hacking. Being a security professional, It kinda sucked not being able to slurp evil packets with the rest of my comrades.When I return (and I WILL return), I’ll have a sacrificial lamb in tow for doing nasty networky things.

The Ugly:

Both conventions announced that schedule updates would occur via twitter. No problem, in fact, there’s a coulple of cool twitter iPhone apps. I downloaded twitteriffic and created an account.

My email is secure, I’m making sure I’m using https where I can, I’m making sure I have WiFi off when I use twitteriffic (it doesn’t appear to use a secure connection.) Guess what makes it to the sheepwall? Me! :O

Now, Racecar drivers know if you never ever wreck, you’re not racing fast enough. I’m not sure if that happens in the Security realm, but hey, I’ve seen and participated in enough ‘events’ that it doesn’t bug me much anymore. The account was a throwaway account, and the simple, easily cracked password was a gimmie. The Sheep Wall operators offer to take your name off the wall, but really, if THEY know your name and password, a dozen OTHER folks in the same room do too.

So, can a guy spend a week with an iPhone, the sync cable, and the USB charger? Absolutely. Would I do it again? Without reservations. Would I return to Defcon so equipped? Naw man, I wanna roll around in the mud with everybody else.