Dan Kaminsky at HacDC tonight! (and a side order of Daemon)

Computers & Mobile
Dan Kaminsky at HacDC tonight! (and a side order of Daemon)
danKaminsky.jpg

Dan Kaminsky, the computer consultant who found a fundamental vulnerability in the Web’s DNS, so fundamental, it could have given him theoretical control over every domain on the Web, will be giving a last-minute talk tonight at HacDC. He’ll be talking about this amazing story as well as talking about some current research, to be officially announced on Monday.

Dan Kaminsky at HacDC TONIGHT at 8 PM!

daemon.jpg

Over the Christmas holiday, I read Dan Suarez’s book Daemon, a “killer Internet” thriller. It’s Dan’s first novel, and it’s not without its flaws, but it’s pretty gripping and he does a great job of incorporating, and extrapolating upon, current high-tech hardware and network technologies and how these might be used in extraordinarily destructive, evil ways. It’s downright unnerving in sections. One night, reading in bed, unnerved, I got up to… ah… visit a different room of my house. I picked up the latest Wired and began scanning through it. The next thing I knew, I was enthralled by Joshua Davis’ December Wired piece on Kaminsky and the DNS discovery. It was almost as unsettling as my Daemon read, but this was real! It was a bit of a struggle to get back to sleep that night, one of those creepy moments where fantasy leaks into reality.

[Read MAKE Editor and Publisher Dale Dougherty’s review of Daemon on Boing Boing.]

Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!
Tagged

Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

View more articles by Gareth Branwyn

ADVERTISEMENT

Maker Faire Bay Area 2023 - Mare Island, CA

Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 15th iteration!

Buy Tickets today! SAVE 15% and lock-in your preferred date(s).

FEEDBACK