Modern technology may not be as secure as you think. Wireless networks, Pocket PCs and RF-ID are becoming more widespread, but are we aware of the security vulnerabilities? At Black Hat 1800 attendees came from 34 countries to learn about them. Some were just curious about computer security, while others were corporate or government professionals. One thing is for sure - with more than 60 talks over two days, Black Hat was the place to learn.

The Goodie Bag

With entry fees of $995 and up, attendees expect to get a decent goodie bag. What they received was a heavy, back-breaking bag filled with two thick books, two CDs, and a booklet of Post-It notes. The first book is the two and a half inch thick Black Hat book, which contains the Power Point printouts of all the talks. This is great idea because attendees cannot attend every single talk. The second book is Security Assessment published by Syngress .

Also included were two CDs; the Black Hat CD and the Mezonic Agenda - Hacking the Presidency. The Black Hat CD contains all the talks in PDF format. The Mezonic Agenda is a technology adventure story where you must break encryption in a contest to win a free admission to Black Hat 2005. You can get more information at mezonicagenda.com .