LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – When Jeff Moss founded the Def Con hackers convention in 1993, he never imagined that two decades on, one of the key speakers at the annual Las Vegas event would be four-star General Keith Alexander, head of the U.S. National Security Agency.

Once known as an excuse for computer geeks and social misfits to drink cheap beer, create mischief and party all night Sin City-style, Def Con has transformed itself into a venue where elite and amateur hackers alike debate serious security issues with experts from the public and private sectors.

LAS VEGAS, July 28 (Reuters) – A hacking expert has launched
a $200 password-cracking tool that makes it easy to decipher
Internet traffic sent through a widely used method for securing
businesses communications.

Moxie Marlinspike, one of the world’s top encryption
experts, unveiled the tool on Saturday during a presentation at
the Def Con hacking conference in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Children can easily open some portable safes for hand guns with a light bounce or by inserting paper clips and straws, security experts at a hacking convention in Las Vegas warned on Friday.

“This is really scary. The manufacturer never contemplated this,” said Marc Tobias, one of three lock security expert who demonstrated how to open the safes.

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – The head of the government’s secretive National Security Agency took the unprecedented step on Friday of asking a convention of unruly hackers to join him in an effort to make the Internet more secure.

In a speech to the 20th annual Def Con gathering in Las Vegas, four-star General Keith Alexander stressed common ground between U.S. officials and hackers, telling them privacy must be preserved and that they could help by developing new tools.