The new national id card Neuer Personalausweis (NPA) was one of the biggest IT projects in the German government in the last years. Compared to the old id card, the new id card is a RFID smart card, which can also be used on the internet to prove your identify to a remote party (Ebay, Paypal, or Amazon for example) and to sign binding contracts. For example, you can use the card to buy a new house or car, or open up a bank account or apply for a credit.

When using the card over the internet, the card is connected to a reader, which is connected to a (potentially insecure) PC, which is …

Thanks to the Mission Angels, you’ll be able to interact with the talks going on at the 27c3 and more! While you watch the streams from one of many Peace Missions throughout the world, Mission Angels will be monitoring IRC and Twitter for questions to be asked in selected events during the 27c3.

To ask a question in a session on IRC join #27c3-Saal-1, #27c3-Saal-2, #27c3-Saal-3 on Freenode or use the corresponding terms as a Twitter hashtag to put your question to the session.

If you’re in a Peace Mission, you can even sign up to give a Lightning Talk!

See the Peace Missions entry on the 27c3 …

Many applications, including closed source applications like malware or DRM-enabled multimedia players (you might consider them as malware too) use cryptography. When analyzing these applications, a first step is the identification and localization of the cryptographic building blocks (cryptographic primitives, for example AES, DES, RSA…) in the applications. When these blocks have been localized, the input and output of the cryptographic primitives and the key management can be observed and the application can be analyzed further. Fortunately, many cryptographic algorithms use special …

Who: You! And lots of Hackers in Berlin!
What: Day 0 Dinner Meetup
When: Today! (26 Dec.) 6pm-11pm (18-23h)
Where: Vapiano Berlin 3 — Mittelstrasse 51, 10117 Berlin
Why: Interesting conversation, good food and great people!
How: Register Here! (Registration requested, not required)

Following the success of last year’s meetup, we’ve arranged another relaxing dinner to celebrate the start of the 27c3 and the other events happening in Berlin between Christmas and New Year’s.  Whatever your plans for the 27th on, stop by tonight for some nice food and great company! Vapiano has dishes for all …

People have been telling us that the phone number, we gave in our last blog post, doesn’t work from certain telephone networks.

In that case please use +49-461-50566232425 or sip://2425@voip.eventphone.de

If you try to get to the congress but get stuck in traffic, don’t know the status of the road in front of you or sit a platform caused by a cancelled train, you can call us beginning from Sunday 10am. We set up a number where we will help you to find a possibility to get to the congress or just answer questions about your trip. This is quite handy for situations when you don’t have internet access or if every other hotline is overcrowded.

Travel Information: +49 30 809 400 22 2324

Have a safe journey. Slow down the speed if the road forces you to do so. Keep in mind: this year you don’t have …

In one of our last posts we’ve invited all peace missions to register their IP addresses by mail. Registered IP addresses will be granted access to a dedicated video streaming relay.

We’ve received mails from lots of people, who’d like to set up a peace mission and gave us their IP address. So far, so good – it’s cool to see so much interest. Unfortunately, now you’ve invested time for sending us an email, we do change the registration procedure.

There will be a web site, where peace missions can register. After we’ve acknowledged a registration you may add or change your IP address on the …

We wish you a very merry festival of fixing the WiFi at your family’s home!

Over the past few days, the 27c3 team has been hard at work with the initial preparations for the 27c3.  At the bcc, several tons of networking hardware have arrived, the network backbone is up and running and the hackcenter decor is taking shape.  In far away lands, many new Peace Missions have been announced and there’s always room for more.

Peaceful journeys!  We’ll see you on the 27th!

At 27C3 all lectures will be broadcast via DVB-T and reception will be possible in and around the bcc. Visitors can watch via TV if they want avoid overcrowded lecture rooms.

To receive the signal any PC with DVB-T-USB-Stick, TV set with DVB-T tuner or cellphone with DVB-T-function will work. We will publish all needed configuration files and a list of working and non-working receivers in the wiki.

The Bundesnetzagentur (German regulation body) has allocated channel 22 (482MHz) for us, where we will transmit with 6 watts ERP.

The last time DVB-T was available on Chaos Congress was at 24C3 …

Which talks are up next? What’s currently going on in Saal 1 – why is it so crowded? How could I possibly forget to attend “53 more things to do in zero gravity”?

If you’ve ever asked yourself one of these questions or a similar one, then pray do try out voicebarf (src). Simply get your DECT phone and dial TALK (8255) for the currently running talks or SOON (7666) for the upcoming talks. To counter your verpeiltheit, you can also request to be called back before a particular talk starts – you’ll never miss a single one again!

Even better: thanks to Harald and the OpenBSC crew you will be able …

Downloadable tickets are available in your presale-account. NOW.

As you already may have noticed, the availability of your tickets has been delayed.. ahem.. just a little bit. But here’s the good news:

Your 27C3-tickets are available for download now!
Please log in to https://presale.events.ccc.de , download the pdf, print it out, and make sure to bring it with you to the cash desk.

We wish you a lot of fun at the 27C3!

Hackers of all ages can (learn how to) make things at the Hardware Hacking Area of the 27c3!

The HHA is open to everyone and open the entire congress! Hackers of all ages and skill levels are welcome! Round-the-clock hands on workshops will be led by lots of experienced teachers like Mitch Altman, Jimmie P. Rodgers, fbz, Wim Vandeputte and…you!

Learn to solder, then help teach others! Make cool things with electronics, design and print 3D models on the Makerbot, break RFID, or give your own workshop on the projects you’ve been hacking on this year. Last year there was a Cantenna workshop, a …