At the largest hacker conference in Europe geeks and nerds show their ethical side: it’s about decentralization, sharing information and free access. “The citizen has to be able to check on the State again”.

by Mirthe Berentsen – De Groene Amsterdammer, 5th January 2011

BERLIN – “It’s not like we want to take revenge at the ignorant civilization, because we have been bullied in the past, are more or less autistic, have long hair and wear glasses. It’s not science fiction dammit, I want you to listen for a moment and become aware of the dangers.” The Dutch Henk becomes agitated when I ask him whether the hackers at this conference are a new world power, because they can access information I have no clue about. “Of course it’s true that we, being hackers, can access certain information. But you do not have to be afraid. Every system administrator, no matter which company, has information others do not have. What is the use of making public that my boss is watching pornography for 10 hours per week on average? What is the use of that to me?”

There are a lot of hackers like Henk at the conference, ready to go to battle and convinced of the power of the internet as a foundation for a transparent future. For four days thousands of hackers, nerds, geeks and scientists gathered to attend lectures and workshops at Berlin’s most important hacker conference 27C3. Organized by Europe’s biggest hacker organization, the Chaos Computer Club which was established in 1981 in Germany. This years theme was “We Come in Peace”. Not an awkward choice in a time when hackers are being compared to criminals and when the lack of insight about hacking seems to increase.

There’s a diverse audience ranging from socially and politically aware hackers who want to change the world from behind their PC screens to boys who like to tinker with computer parts. While there’s a lecture ongoing upstairs about cognitive psychology for hackers and downstairs there’s someone talking about the vulnerability of the GSM signal, a Stradivarius is being played on the basis of music composed via HTML code. In the basement there are hundreds of boys busy picking locks and soldering all kinds of hardware which make lights flicker and spin.

A lot of attention goes to a demo on day three, organized by scientists, hackers and activists. A group which opposes the urge of governments to store more and more information about citizens. Since March of this year it is possible in Germany (just like in The Netherlands by the way) to retain all data relating to internet and (mobile) phone communication. The spokesperson (“Just call me Florian”) is of the opinion that it is of the utmost importance to make people aware of the dangers of this data retention by the government. Henk agrees with him: “One can compare it to the Panopticum of Foucault. Because the government can control you, you will conform to their rules and stop having a critical view regarding your own situation and whether you actually agree to everything. The information of citizens is lying in the streets so to say, while the citizen has little means of checking on the State. Think about debt registration in Tiel (The Netherlands) for example: when you’re a teenager and have not paid your phone bill, then that can cause problems if you want to arrange for a mortgage ten years later. This information has been obtained without you giving permission for that. That should not be possible in a free society, we have to act against that. The citizen has to be able to check on the State again.”

How exactly this could be realized is a difficult question according to Florian. “An organization such as WikiLeaks is a start but it needs to be done in an even better way. But what the Anonymous group went and did, by taking down all these credit card companies, that is really a no-no.” Anonymous, made up from many anonymous ‘so called’ hackers, was attacking MasterCard and VISA in December because they were blocking money transfers to WikiLeaks. “It’s a disgrace to the hacking trade. Real hackers have respect for technology, they want to crack codes not destroy it,” Florian says. Henk: “It does make a statement and will increase the publicity of your actions with a large audience. But let’s be honest here, taking down payment services has nothing to do with hacking.”

WITHIN THE HACKER COMMUNITY certain codes of ethics apply. The most important ones are: decentralization, sharing information, transparency, free access to the internet and through all this, making the world a better place. This ideal is especially being voiced by white hats. A concept that derives from the book ‘Six Thinking Hats’ which psychologist Edward de Bono had written in 1985. A management training aimed at ‘more effective thinking’ by putting on a certain hat and look at a problem from different perspectives. De Bono differentiated six types of hats; hackers only use two: the white hats and the black hats. (Not entirely correct, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_hat , ed. ) The white hat hacker is being regarded as an ethical hacker, the hacker that will hack into systems to make the owners aware of the security risks. They will promote an open and transparent internet. White hat hackers will never destroy or misuse a computer system, as opposed to the black hat hackers. These are the stereotype baddies: the hacker who will use his skills for criminal purposes such as hacking banks, stealing information to resell it on the black market or attacking networks of organizations for financial gain.

Companies like to make use of the services of ethical hackers. The Deutsche Post for example has a new e-mail system and wants to secure it as best as it can, issuing a contest for hackers: The Security Cup. Hackers will be asked to attack and hack the site; the winner who is also able to find a solution to the security problem will be able to take home 5,000 euros. Hacker Matthias says, during the award ceremony, that the money is a joke. “It cannot be compared to the amounts of money available on the black market, but it is a safer practice. I work for big companies and important ministries. I cannot mention any names, really I can’t.”

As a hacker you lay the grounds for an attack, you seek out the flaws within a system and develop code to exploit those. Then you explain to your client where the hole in the security is located and someone from the company will then add that final piece of the puzzle. Matthias talks about his old life with big bonuses, the second home in Thailand, the expensive boat, the women and only having to work for a few hours per month. But he says he became depressed and filled with anxiety and therefore wanted to call it quits. It’s a life on the run. Like the life Julian Assange has now. I don’t want that.” Matthias says he knows Assange from the days before WikiLeaks. Assange was respected for his innovative and uncrackable crypto methods. “Aside from the fact that I feel he’s a megalomaniac arrogant bastard, his sudden popularity has surprised me. Nothing about his information is new, at least to a large part of the hackers over here, we knew this all along.”

There is some respect for Assange albeit limited. “I wish Assange and his people all the best, but I rather would not be living from a backpack and being on the run all the time,” the well known Dutch hacker Rop Gonggrijp states at the keynote of the conference. He is also worried about the increasing amount of information the government has collected about its citizens. Gonggrijp gained fame as one of the founders of XS4ALL, hacking electronic voting machines and the Public Transport Card, to demonstrate that these are not safe, and his involvement with WikiLeaks. During the keynote he discusses the situation in The Netherlands. Because of an increasing xenofobia The Netherlands is registering everything about its citizens. The Netherlands once was a country like Sweden or Denmark, a bit like Germany in the nineties, and after a period of political assassinations and crazy political developments we are now heading for the situation in the UK, says Gonggrijp.

With the sympathy for Assange at a minimum level, the support for the American soldier Bradley Manning seems to be at a height which has never been seen before. He was the one leaking the last secret documents to WikiLeaks. Throughout the building there are banners with the words “Free Bradley Manning”. To make Manning’s captivity a littlebit less lonely one can show support by writing him a postcard at the conference which will then be delivered to him personally. “Let’s not talk about Assange anymore but focus on the things that are really important. Such as supporting Bradley Manning, he is a very brave boy who deserves all our attention,” says Daniel Domscheit-Berg. Until recently he was the right hand of Assange and in September he left WikiLeaks. He speaks in a rather chaotic way and apologizes for that and says he is exhausted. In February his book will be published, Inside WikiLeaks. “Last year I was here at the same conference with a friend, with Julian, we felt strong together, were sharing the same ideals. But that is over. There was no unity anymore within the group, everything revolved around Julian and not the quality of the work.”

The media frenzy of the last few months and the upcoming launch of OpenLeaks, the whistleblower site which Domscheit-Berg is putting up, are causing sleepless nights. “I cannot say much about it, but it has the ability to change the future.” He is convinced that we have to be more aware of society in the future. Freedom of communication is not a given if the political pressure continues to increase. Will hackers, journalists and organizations such as the Chaos Computer Club be able to do their work without any barriers? Gonggrijp is of the opinion that this freedom could be under threat: “The consequence of WikiLeaks is that authorities are trying to limit freedom on the internet faster than ever before. The organizations which oppose this will therefore also have to work harder.” The emphasis should be on the importance of access to free information and communication. As Domscheit-Berg puts it: “We will now be able to see just how fragile the foundations of free communication for our future are. It’s up to hackers to show that there’s a different path.”

(My translation. Links added by vRRitti)

Dutch language article: http://www.groene.nl/2011/1/tegen-de-machtige-staat