Computer hacking is a cult and culture that runs the gamut from people who view themselves as civil libertarians with an obsession about privacy to those who live to prove there is no such thing. DEF CON celebrates the craft of hacking in all its forms.

In the past, it has drawn a ubiquitous group of hackers, phreaks, hammies, crackers, cyberpunk wannabees, civil liberties groups and futurists as well as undercover law enforcement from all over the globe. It’s also known for its open discussion of all ideas and the free environment to make new contacts. “Suits” (government/corporate people) are free to mingle and get a taste of the scene. What better place to recruit computer security personnel?

The event is always held in Las Vegas — for the atmosphere as well as the ease of transportation. DEF CON 9 took place July 13 to 15. For the third year in a row it was held at the Alexis Park Hotel which was chosen intentionally because of it’s non-gaming status. That eliminates the problem of the hundreds of underage attendees breaking any Nevada gaming laws.

This isn’t to say there wasn’t any partying, because there definitely was. But in spite of the large number of script kiddies — immature teenagers with rank amateur programming skills — in attendance, the overall event had a more businesslike, commercial tone. Even the usual trade show which has traditionally hosted a small number of vendors of hackwear, underground books, programming tools and used equipment, took on a much more mercenary attitude with its expansion.

The CON, as originator Jeff Moss (AKA Dark Tangent) calls it, has evolved from the early days of the internet when news of what was an underground happening was only circulated by word-of-mouth, e-mail, and computer news groups dedicated to the craft. It’s now a mainstream event.

With no advertising of any kind, anywhere, attendance this year topped 5,000. There was full blown national network news coverage including the likes of CNN, MSNBC and ZDnet, as well as real time streaming video over the Internet.

But where is it heading? Moss asks the same question in a thoughtful open letter posted on the DEF CON Web site, www.defcon.org.

He laments the problems of dealing with the size of the event, the costs involved, the problems of increased professional security and the necessary commercialism.

He points out the fact the original intent is being lost, as what he termed “core attendees,” “...people who come to the show to pow wow about computer security and the lack thereof. The people who have attended DEF CON for 4 years or more — who won’t view DEF CON solely as one giant rave for music, drugs and sex and know that the party atmosphere is simply a fringe benefit to the original intent of the show,” are showing up in much smaller numbers. Meanwhile, the number of script kiddies continues to increase.

Moss, who is from the Seattle area, also discusses the evolution of the technology underground and it’s impact on the event.

“When I started the show there were no real jobs for people our age in computer security. Long distance phone calls were expensive, UNIX was not free, the only people with good Internet access were universities and businesses, and PCs still cost quite a bit of cash. The Web was not sprouting up “Teach me how to hack” sites every other minute, and there was a considerable amount of misinformation surrounding hacking floating about,” he writes.

“Now things are exactly the opposite. Money entered the underground scene around DC 4, and since then, things have changed rapidly. There are plenty of good and bad books teaching computer security, and there are thousands of Web sites dedicated to hacking. If you don’t have a felony and are dependable you can get a job in computer security. Long distance calls are cheap, all the Internet you can eat is about $20, UNIX-style operating systems are free, and computer prices are so cheap that you can build and attack your own network for very little money,” he adds.

But he nails the problem by saying, “The mentoring process of the “old school” underground is mostly gone now. The original motivations of breaking into a university to get Internet access have changed and with each new age group of kids, using a computer becomes more of a key role of the educational process. Hackers and computer geeks are no longer a small niche in society but now the norm, resulting in an even more fragmented community, generating an entirely new set of definitions for ‘hard core’ and ‘mainstream.”

Everything evolves — even a party like DEF CON. It can either evolve into a real, “professional” conference like the Black Hat Briefings which take place in the days immediately preceding it, or become a script kiddies wet dream weekend.

Will there be a DEF CON X? Yes. What shape it will take remains to be seen. Perhaps the fact Moss is 10 years older — and a decade more mature — than when he started the CON has prompted his questions.

Either way, it’s been fun, and in the five years I’ve attended, I’ve learned a hell of a lot. Thanks Jeff.