* subscribe at http://techPolice.com Sunday July 15 1:06 PM ET Hackers Advised Against Life of Crime at Defcon Jamboree By Elinor Abreu LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - At the world's largest hacker convention -- a raucous and paranoid gathering of loners given to black T-shirts and wild pranks -- the veterans had a message for the younger, up-and-coming hackers: go straight. The opportunities of a career in business and the risks of a life of cybercrime was the serious subtext to the DefCon conference this week, where attendees are notorious for jamming hotel video systems, pouring cement down toilets, and getting the group banned from past venues. ``DefCon is a cross between a Star Trek convention and a Ramones concert,'' said Bruce Schneier, a regular speaker at DefCon, a cryptography expert and chief technology officer of a network monitoring firm, Counterpane Internet Security. This year's meeting, at the Alexis Park Hotel, featured sessions on how an interest in hacking can be parlayed into work as a security consultant and even the show's organizers announced that they had formed their own firm. ``I'd rather invest money in starting another business than putting it in the stock market,'' said Jeff Moss, who organized the first DefCon nine years ago and also puts on a conference that takes place right before DefCon, Black Hat Briefings. Black Hat, held at Caesar's Palace, attracted 1,300 earlier in the week and about 5,000 were expected at DefCon, where professionals and dedicated amateurs come to swap information about computer network vulnerabilities and how to fix them. Sessions covered the esoteric -- like microcontroller hacking and the use of intelligent agents in attacking and defending networks. Featured games included ``Spot the Fed,'' ''Hacker Jeopardy,'' and a ``Capture the Flag'' competition where contestants attempt to break into a secured test network. The competition ``helps you become a better systems administrator,'' said ``Graphix,'' a 17-year-old participant, who like many hackers prefers to be known only by a screen name. BAZARR FOR THE BIZARRE The event also featured a bazaar where vendors hawked books with titles like ``How to Hide in Public Places,'' ``Lip Reading Made Easy,'' and ``You and the Police.'' Despite its underworld image, DefCon is a place where veteran hackers can influence their younger colleagues in positive ways, attendees said. ``You have people who are here to see their idols and their idols are telling them to stop doing the bad hacking,'' said Eric Ohlson, a security consultant for Breakwater Security Associates, based in Seattle. Jack Holleran, who served as technical director of the National Security Agency's National Computer Security Center until retiring earlier this year, is one of several law enforcement personnel who volunteer at DefCon. ``I think like a parent,'' said Holleran, the father of five. ''Many hackers don't have socialization skills. It's my belief that they deal with people who can understand what they're talking about.'' Holleran said it is useful for federal agents to be involved in the show. ``It helps them (hackers) see that there are different ways of doing things,'' he said. ``That they may be able to do what they want to do without getting a felony conviction.'' ``SITTING ON A PARK BENCH ...'' ``Aqualung,'' 23, who sports an ultra-thin mustache and favors black clothing, said on the sidelines of the convention that he hopes to bank on his 14 years of computer experience to start a small consulting firm. Aqualung said he has advice he can give companies on the vulnerability of their networks to break-ins through employees dial-up connections, he said. The hacker has unearthed a lot of ``interesting stuff'' by doing so-called ``war dialing,'' setting his computer to automatically dial available local phone numbers to find open connections. With that kind of random probing, he was able to tap patient information from a veterans hospital in Long Beach, California, he said. ``I'm not the kind of person who goes in and breaks stuff,'' Aqualung said. ``I just go in and look around. I try to be ethical.'' Moss, the conference organizer, said helping educate younger, often socially isolated hackers to the consequences of illegal computer activity is one of the main reasons he continues to run the annual show. Earlier that day, Moss said he encountered one attendee hacking into an ATM cash machine in a hotel lobby trying to make its screens display ``DefCon.'' ``As long as they know the risks, my job has been done,'' he said. ``I don't want to see really bright kids in high school not be in computer security because they screwed up.'' ============================================================ TopOffers. The Smart Shoppers Savings Secret! Cool savings. Hot deals. Free Stuff. 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