Five days of camping in a former Soviet airfield in East Germany. Hackers and "other associated life-forms" from around the world. Tents, with laptops. Bunkers, bionic men, black ops, low-tech space launches, trojans, even a little Powerpoint karaoke.
This is the Chaos Communication Camp, kicking off tomorrow morning at a former airbase outside of Berlin, Germany. Sponsored by the Chaos Computer Club, one of the oldest and most well-known hacker organizations in the world, the once-every-four-years gathering is something like a cross between Burning Man and a guerrilla university, with talks on security and hardware hacking sharing bunker space with tree climbing competitions and Open Source Waffles.
If there's a core to this sprawling campout, it's a dedication to the libertarian ideals that have driven many hackers around the world for the last few decades: freedom of information flow without censorship, and privacy in an increasingly surveillance-prone world. Using computer tools to do things that other people say can't (or shouldn't) be done.
Practically, that will translate into lessons how to disable GPS trackers, how to reach (or "hack") space with a lighter-than-air probe, how to break through widely used WiFi encryption, and how to access information stored on RFID chips. There will be brain hacks, arguments that Linux is obsolete, analyses of WWII codebreaking.
Is this all a security risk? Could these tools be used for mischief, destruction, or, say, the production of chaos?
Probably. Almost certainly, in some cases. But if product flaws and hacking techniques aren't discussed in the open, the problems and contradictions of our digital world will always be harder to find and address. Whether they're looking at antivirus software or garage-built space travel, the group of tinkerers descending on this defunct airfield are continually pushing technical knowledge beyond bounds set by industry and governments, and the world is a richer place for it.
We'll be at the CCC through the weekend, reporting back on the lectures, workshops, demonstrations and the scene itself. Stay tuned.
(Photo: Mark Hoekstra)