30C3: ohne Motto (2013)

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TL;DR: Please set up a congress everywhere near you, invite your neighbors and take part in C.H.A.O.S.!

Remember when we met in Berlin at the bcc? The 25C3 was when we first stuck those pesky signs on the door that read “Sold out, we’re sorry”. The building was already incredibly packed and we couldn’t let anyone in anymore. This inspired the concept of “congress everywhere” which debuted at the 26C3. The theme of that congress was “Here be Dragons”, so the idea to expand the fun of the congress beyond the bcc was called “Dragons everywhere”.

But what was this notion of “congress everywhere”? It actually existed from the times the congress first had streams. Some people needed to go to work during daytime, others had family and couldn’t leave during the holiday, and some probably just preferred watching it all from the comfort of their living room. But facing another packed bcc in 2009, we formally encouraged people to open their homes and hackerspaces, and they did!

At 27C3 (“We come in Peace”) we called them “Peace Missions“, and there were more than 50 of those in 14 countries all over the world. The concept of the “Signal Angel” spontaneously emerged at the 27C3, allowing those watching the streams to act questions and interact with the audience remotely. At 28C3 (Behind Enemy Lines) we called them “No Nerd left behind” and there were over 60 publicly announced get-togethers in 15 different countries as far away as Chile, Indonesia and Bangladesh.

With the move to Hamburg and the much larger CCH for the 29C3 (Not my Department), space was no longer an issue. Everyone who wanted to attend could get a ticket, even at the door! Yet, remote participants from 34 places in 9 countries still met and continued the tradition of “Congress Everywhere“.

Despite the fact that we have enough space for everyone at the 30c3 and will be selling tickets at the door, we still encourage you to have your “Congress Everywhere” if you can’t make it to Hamburg. To get started, just add your Congress Everywhere to the wiki, along with some information regarding location, timeframe, a link or contact information for people interested in joining you.

Questions to the speakers can be forwarded by Signal Angels via IRC and Twitter. Also VPN access to the congress network will be available, so you don’t have to worry about your network.

In addition to the Signal Angels, see C.H.A.O.S. for another way to connect from anywhere to the 30C3!

“You can create art and beauty on a computer.” The quote has been derived from Steven Levy’s famous hacker ethic in his book »Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution« – published in 1984, the debut year of the Chaos Communication Congress at Bürgerhaus Eidelstedt in the Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg.

30 years later »Art & Beauty« (»Kunst und Schönheit«) – its ironic twist entirely unfolding in German language – is one of five content tracks in the conference program. You can’t overlook it in the Fahrplan –  the purple colour coding is as weird as the naming is misleading.

The particular review team searched for speakers who are using hacker tools and skills to create art works which are critically dealing with the underlying technology, the very hacker culture itself, or the impact of both towards a broader audience outside the core hacker community, i. e. mass media, popular culture, art or politics.

Therefore we are very proud to present an international all-star selection of artists, hackers and theorists who followed the invitation of the CfP to contribute to the jubilee edition of the Chaos Communication Congress.

Trevor Paglen is currently one of the most prolific contemporary artists who unveils the hidden, but in an uncanny way highly aesthetic landscape of top secret U. S. military programs which heavily take advantage from the NSA’s global SigInt espionage activities.

olia lialina has been pioneering net art from the 1990s on and is asking in her lecture »Turing Complete User« what the disappearing of the computer – into the Cloud, into the Internet of Things does to the concept of its User.

Ars Electronica award-winning artist Julian Oliver is talking on the »Art of Exploit« as an introduction to critical engineering and interventions rather than art in a conventional way. Together with his partner at art collective weise7 he will present the prototype of »PRISM: The Beacon Frame« as an example of such critical work of art in the framework of the 30C3 exhibition organised by the local Hamburg Gängeviertel

Also joining the Gängeviertel’s art exhibition is Aram Bartholl with his open design laboratory and workshop »Kill Your Phone!« whereas his conference lecture »Hello World!« gives a resume of his stunning art projects like »USB DeadDrops« or »IRL map marker in public« that always blurs the symbolic orders of the digital sphere and its physical counterparts.

A highlight at the very start of the conference will be lixvlx’ lecture »What’s so funny about?« The member of the art group UBERMORGEN.COM famous for their highly controversial works like »voteauction.com« or »GWEI – Google will eat itself« is talking about the practical impossibility of interventionist art practice under today’s regime of anti-terror legislation.

Besides the conference program Art & Beauty has entered the night line and is presenting two high profile performances of artelse’s facial hacking research »Perfect Paul« and KH Jeron’s singing and dancing robot – build to take part in TV casting shows – »Sim Gishel«.

Last, but not least, the 30C3 poster-child hardware-hacking open art project »Seidenstrasse« – a revision of the OCTO installation by the artist group Telekommunisten – originated from the Art & Beauty review team’s brainstorming sessions and is adding up an all-new layer of communication infrastructure to the event: A pneumatic tube system built from non-perforated (airtight) drainage pipe and vacuum cleaners Seidenstrasse.

To sum it up: a revision to Steven Levy’s quote is overdue: »You can create more than art and beauty on a computer.«

TL;DR: Please get to the CCH by 25th/26th with your assembly setup if possible

Beat the crowds and start building your assembly on the 25th! (Day -1). It makes loading so much easier for all of us and gives you time to make sure you have everything you need. Why get stuck in traffic around and inside the building? If you arrive early enough on the 25th, you may even be able to drive right into the unloading hall!

If you’re unloading a vehicle with equipment or other stuff you plan to use at the 30C3, put <a href=http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=53.563085&lon=9.985237&zoom=18&layers=M">Tiergartenstraße 2, 20355 Hamburg in your GPS.

Once you’ve arrived, have someone in your group head to the infodesk, who will let you know how to find your assembly. You can reach the infodesk via Eingang C, check there with the Angel or Security Guard inside for further instructions. Please use this entry only for loading and unloading.

Of course, please be sure to bring enough power strips and lamps for your assembly. Be extra neighborly and bring some for others to borrow as well!

This place is already waiting for you.

English translation below

Die Funkamateure im Umfeld des Chaos Computer Clubs, genannt Chaoswelle (Assembly) bringen ein ganz besonderes Stück Hardware mit: einen Radom. Den wollen wir auf dem Dach aufbauen – was da drunter versteckt wird, verraten wir nicht!

Aufgebaut ist das Radom etwa vier Meter im Durchmesser, und es gehörte früher den USA und stand im Bayrischen Wald, um dort gewisse “feindliche Nachbarländer” abzuhören. Zwischenzeitlich gehört es einer Sternwarte, die es uns gerne zur Verfügung stellt.

English Translation:

We of the “Chaoswelle“, the Amateur Radio operators of the Chaos Computer Club and our 30C3 assembly are bringing a very special piece of hardware: A Radome!  We plan to place it on the roof of the CCH. But we won’t tell you what’s hidden underneath.

The radome is about 4 Meters (13 ft.) in diameter and was formerly used by the US to listen to “hostile neighboring countries”. Today, it belongs to the Stakenburg Observatory who is graciously loaning it to us for the 30C3.

Did you think that the thrill of sharing your ideas in front of a huge audience at a C3 was something you’d never do? Was your talk one of the hundreds that got rejected? Did you come up with an awesome hack today that you need to share? Well, you’re in luck because the Lightning Talks are back for the 30c3!

Taking place at 12:45 on Days 2, 3 and 4, these fast paced sessions are perfect for pitching new software or hardware projects, exploits, creative pranks or strange ideas you need to get out to a global audience. Even if you don’t have an awesome idea or project to share, a Lightning Talk is perfect for pitching your self organized session, assembly, or even a longer talk you’ll give at the speakers corner.

There’s even a special 180 second express round on Day 4 for those of you who don’t need fancy slides or a full five minutes to share your ideas.

Registration is now open for the Lightning Talk sessions at the 30c3. Act fast to reserve your slot. Day 2 is full and Day 3 is almost full. (Update: Day 3 is full, there are only spots left on Day 4)

The Lightning Talks filled up on Day 1 last congress and at the current pace of submissions, they will likely fill up before the 30C3 begins!

PS: Natürlich könnt ihr euren Lightning Talk auch in Deutsch halten!

Dear Congress Visitors!

You’re tired of running around the Congress on the Schnitzeljagd (sounds like it’s fun!) or didn’t get a place? You’re like knocking your head on problems? Then we might offer something interesting for you!

Grab a few friends and join our capture the flag competition. These so called CTFs are hacking competitions in which participants solve various challenges – all based around gaining access to remote machines by exploiting vulnerable binaries, solving mathematical problems and completing various other tasks. This CTF will be run in “Jeopardy” style, i.e. challenges can be solved independently and are divided into categories. Each solved challenge gains your team points based on its difficulty. You will be able to track your and other team’s progress on a publicly visible scoreboard.

The CTF will start on day 1 (December 27th) at 20:00 CET (that’s 19:00 UTC) and lasts for 48 hours. The registration will be open before and during the competition, so anyone can join in late. In line with the usual motto Congress Everywhere, teams are able to participate remotely. Even if you never played in a CTF before, don’t hesitate to take part!

If you still have any questions, you can meet the CTF organizers at their Assembly.

Good luck and have fun!