Martin Williams: There is a good chance that you've never given a second thought to the batch that you are asked to wear when visiting a trade show. But that's not the case for attendees to Defcon. The annual hacker convention in Las Vegas took place over the weekend in hacking the batch is an annual challenge. The batches were designed by Joe Grand, formerly a member of the Loft Hacking Group and now owner of Grand Idea Studios. It's the fourth year he has designed electronic batches for Defcon.
Joe Grand: The purpose of the electronic batch really is two fold. One is to have a batch that's unique to Defcon. You don't really see electronic batches in other competitions like - paper, batches and plastic batches. So, we want it to be something cool. The three main components of this year's batch consist of just a microprocessor, a surface mount, microphone and a multicolor LED that shows red, green and blue. And all of the batches are designed to - in this case, for this year fit together kind of like a puzzle. You have seven different types of attendee, they all have to come together to assemble the puzzle to see what the image is that's formed.
Martin Williams: Once hackers get their hands on the batches, they have the weekend to come out with their hack.
Whopis: So, this is my batch and basically what I did was I built kind of this Homebrew Galvanic Skin Response Detector where it's got the alternating sheets of metal that measure conductivity across your skin when you hold it, and then this is a little coil here that when you put it up against your wrist, it can measure your pulse rate.
Martin Williams: After establishing a baseline measurement for the person it's hooked up to the batch can be used as a simple light detector that's because the pulse rate and conductivity should change more rapidly when turning a light than we are not.
Whopis: And when you light at the little light will light up.
Martin Williams: The winner of the competition for hacking the batch to control this hat. The hat has 11 banks of LED lights that flash out about 60 Hz. The frequency used by cameras on automated facial recognition systems.
Zoz: The principle that's being explained here is that automated facial recognition systems to view your cameras, really not re-solid rolling. All the light should confuse cameras and make facial recognition more difficult or perhaps impossible. Joe Grand, the Defcon batch developer who awarded the price said that hat one because in addition to its technical excellence, it's anti surveillance theme, which was inspired by the motion sensor technology in the movie sneakers fit well with Defcon. But even with the price also wasn't finished. He also presented this hack of last year's batch that will help to use it to feed motion centers.
Zoz: Their sensitivity is dependent on the ambient temperature, so they really discriminate background and person. And so, you can move at increasingly rapid rate if the temperature in the room is raised.
Martin Williams: The temperature sensor controls are most of speed in which someone should work to avoid been detected.
Zoz: So, I'm going to heat it up. First the body temperature and I'll start moving and that's your since replace the body temperature that's close to you two inches per second.
Martin Williams: With reporting by Robert Milan and Defcon in Las Vegas. This is Martin Williams ID junior service.
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