Join us for an evening of fun at this month’s hack::soho taking place 28 May, 6pm – 9pm GMT, set up to be a loose networking environment where cyber security professionals can chat, get some complimentary food & drink, and discuss rising global trends.
This month’s hack::soho features a talk from Barrie Dempster, IOActive Director of Penetration Testing. The abstract of the talk, ‘Ham Radio for Hackers: It’s illegal to push this button‘ is below!
hack::soho is a monthly event hosted at our London, UK office for the cybersecurity and hacking community to discuss all things security over food and refreshments. We welcome you to invite others in your circle to extend our collective network.
Spots are limited, so please use real contact details to confirm your registration. We will not sell, distribute, or use your contact information outside of sending you details about upcoming hack::soho meetups.
Not able to make it to this hack::soho in person? No worries, we will livestream the presentation portion kicking off around 7pm GMT on 28 May. Join the livestream and bookmark the page here.
ABSTRACT
Imagine making a radio contact with another continent using a wire strung between two trees, or sitting on top of a mountain with a handheld radio and a handful of watts and working stations hundreds of miles away. Now imagine that the mobile networks are down, the internet is unreachable, and the emergency services need communications capability they cannot otherwise provide for themselves, and that you are one of the people they call. Amateur radio encompasses a remarkable breadth of technical activity, from satellite communication and moon bounce through to digital modes, software defined radio, direction finding and emergency communications, and it has been quietly doing so for well over a century. The vast majority of people entering the hobby for the first time have no idea how deep the rabbit hole goes.
This talk tours the hobby covering the sub disciplines and operating styles which are most likely to resonate with anyone which already spends their time thinking about systems, protocols and radio frequency exploitation. The outdoor radio scene in particular has grown significantly in recent years, with operators taking equipment to remote summits and nature reserves to make contacts in some extraordinary locations. Additionally the UK’s national voluntary emergency communications service represents a serious and often overlooked facet of the hobby, providing real communications capability in support of the emergency services when infrastructure fails or is unavailable, and relying entirely on volunteers which chose to get licenced and learn their craft.
The talk will also cover what getting licenced actually looks like in the UK, what it costs, how long it takes and what it unlocks, because the barrier to entry is considerably lower than most people expect. By the end of the session attendees should have a clear picture of where to start and which areas of the hobby are worth their time.