hacker ethic - /n./ 1. The belief that information-sharing is a powerful positive good, and that it is an ethical duty of hackers to share their expertise by writing free software and facilitating access to information and to computing resources wherever possible. 2. The belief that system-cracking for fun and exploration is ethically OK as long as the cracker commits no theft, vandalism, or breach of confidentiality. --The on-line hacker Jargon File, version 4.0.0 Was Def Con V a convocation of technology wizards capable of breaking into the most heavily-defended computer networks? Of serious professionals and students? Of code artists or teen-age poseurs? Yes. And they were joined at this faintly notorious hacker's conference by corporate employees and consultants, authors of books on cryptography and computer security, journalists seeking hacker glamour, and even, it was rumored, by groupies. The Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, site of this year's Def Con, held July 11 through 13, is one of the few on The Strip that hasn't been torn down or at least renovated. Though rather seedy, it retains a bit of the sinful glitter for which Vegas used to be famous. It's a perfect setting for the hackers' own brand of insistently disreputable swagger. Thanks to a spate of books and Hollywood films, hackers have become somewhat chic, which may account for the fifty percent increase in the ranks of attendees compared to last year. This publicity is cause for annoyance to many, including Def Con organizer The Dark Tangent, of Seattle, who refuses to even call himself a hacker. "The media misuses the term," he complained. "To be called a hacker was a good thing up until about four years ago--it meant that you understood networks and computers and their underlying structures. But now, just by the nature of the way the media works, you only hear about bad things." Dark Tangent refers to highly-publicized accounts of computer break-ins, which many prefer to call "cracking," and hijacking of telephone lines, sometimes known as "phone phreaking." He would prefer wrong-doers be differentiated as "computer criminals." No matter what their habits at home, most attendees confined themselves to the organized mayhem of parties, stunts and Las Vegas itself. They directed their manic energies into rounds of Hacker Jeopardy, a parody of the television quiz show requiring teams of contestants to answer arcane questions. Hours were spent on a version of Capture the Flag played on several computer networks, the object being to take control of other systems while maintaining control of one's own. The door of a van bearing the logo of a cellular telephone company was paraded through the hotel, then given away as a "door prize." At the Saturday night Costume Ball, attire ranged from the basic black T-shirt and jeans to tuxedo jackets and vintage gowns. Simunye, who led her ex-boyfriend around on a leash that night, said she'd intended to look elegant in her black dress, but admitted she might have been mistaken for a dominatrix. But the spankings she sold were in fun, "a shocker kind of deal." Simunye, a computer consultant from El Cerrito, California, said that this, her first Def Con, was not quite what she'd expected. She enjoyed getting together with people she'd become friends with online, and learned a few tricks of the trade, so to speak, in private conversations. She was disheartened by the few women present, perhaps ten percent, and put off by the amount of gossip. "Everyone has a common interest here," she said, "but too many people seemed content to stay in their little cliques." Nevertheless, she said, "I'd still do it all over again, even though I'll be old, at 26." Def Con is an opportunity to mingle with like-minded souls, show off a bit, and engage in real-world antics. "Mad things happen" at Def Con, said The Dark Knight, a native of Britain, who helped organize a night-time foray to Area 51, the U.S. Air Force testing grounds in the Nevada desert. Their mission was to try to lure out the famous black reconnaissance helicopters. "We went up to a ridge where you have a good view of the restricted air space," said TDK. "We'd brought a tank of helium and a bunch of trash sacks, which we used to make balloons." From the balloons, they dangled twists of baking foil, to reflect radar, and road flares, strobe beacons, and chemical light sticks. The helicopters came, shining searchlights, and hovering for an hour or more. It's this anti-establishment sense of fun that puts many people off hackers, of course. But their idea is that they're performing a service by pointing up flaws in the system. The Dark Tangent said he began Def Con in part to dispel some of the myths about hackers. "We wanted people who fancied themselves in the computer underground to meet the people who were supposedly their enemies, to see if they really were each others' enemies, and to hear each others' ideas." Speakers included authors, security experts, technology company CEOs and hackers, on topics such as packet sniffing, and firmware for embedded micro controller applications. A representative from the FBI's computer crime squad appeared at Def Con IV, and it was hoped an agent would take part again. A spokesperson from the computer crime squad's San Francisco office said that they were simply too busy. Nevertheless, the game of Spot the Fed was diligently pursued throughout the three days, and the mailing list mythology includes many supposed outings. Internet mailing lists hummed with boasts of "hacking the hotel," especially commandeering the telephone system to make free long distance calls, but whether illicit activities took place at Def Con V is impossible to determine. Aladdin Hotel management refused to comment.