Hackers just arrived at DEF CON and they’re already breaking Vegas

It’s 107 degrees outside, and a disturbing number of people charging down the sidewalk are wearing black jeans. 

That seemingly incongruous fashion choice, more than the blinking digital badges swinging from the necks of every mohawk-sporting passerby, clues the confused tourists into the reality that this week in Las Vegas is different. Yes, this week is DEF CON, and the hackers are very much in town.

And you better believe they’re already breaking Vegas. 

Thursday was the official start of the 26th annual DEF CON hacker convention, this year spread out between Caesars Palace and The Flamingo. As typical, the first day of the four-day affair started slowly — the hacking villages where people practice remotely hijacking cars and breaking into voting machines are still getting set up, and the few opening talks cover decidedly non-technical tricks like how to lose your police tail. 

But DEF CON is so much more than the official talks and villages. Indeed, a huge draw of the annual cybersecurity pilgrimage is getting the chance to meet up with your brethren from around the world who just so happen to share a likeminded inclination to see what they can get away with.

The answer? A lot.

Like, for example, beating the heat in your hotel by using the VIP override on your room’s thermostat. 

Or, if that’s a little too private for you, how about trying to hack The Flamingo’s elevator?

Of course, you could always really make a statement and blue-screen-of-death a Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory-themed digital gambling machine. 

But maybe, just maybe, you want to be sneaky. Like, trick-someone-into-plugging-a-virus-laden-USB-into-their-computer sneaky. DEF CON’s got that for you, too. 

However the classic move, the one those same confused tourists are likely to see as they step out of the heat for a quick pull of the slot lever, is — just like those aforementioned jeans — a Windows error message in a place it definitely doesn’t belong.

These tell-tale signs point to a hacker convention gearing up for the long weekend ahead, and the throngs of attendees couldn’t be more excited — even if their hotel hosts may view this entire experience in a rather different light. More ordeal than summer camp, say.

But hey, what’s a trip to Vegas without a little regret? It just so happens that when DEF CON rolls into town, the casinos and hotels are the ones left with the (digital) hangover.