Jekyll2024-04-13T20:57:27-07:00https://narwhal.be/feed.xmlNarwhal - Infosec, and EverythingNarwhal is a place for the odd ones out of security---policy, compliance, law, activism, and others who see more to security than a stereotype of black t-shirts and a red team future---to come together. Next event at ToorCamp 2024!Nonexistent NarwhalSo Long, Las Vegas2024-02-06T00:00:00-08:002024-02-06T00:00:00-08:00https://narwhal.be/2024/bye-vegasFor the last few years, I have held out hope that Narwhal would one day be able to return to the Hacker Summer Camp conferences (BSidesLV, Black Hat, and DEF CON) in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, history has not been kind:

  • 2020: Cancelled (thankfully)
  • 2021: Black Hat and DEF CON are superspreader events
  • 2022: Same as 2021
  • 2023: Same as 2021 (reports of 80% COVID infection in major attendee groups), but also BSidesLV changes its masking policy at the last moment

And now, in 2024, DEF CON has announced that it will have police with drug dogs “welcoming” people to its new home at the Las Vegas Convention Center—but no changes to its policies against protecting attendees against COVID (the same policies that drove SkyTalks to discontinue participation in DEF CON in 2023). BSidesLV no longer has the consistency of vision that made it a worthwhile conference. Black Hat is, as always, itself. It’s trite to say that Summer Camp is no longer what it once was, but it’s clear that the conferences have changed.

There comes a time in the life of a small side event where it becomes clear that it’s no longer compatible with its host events, and I believe we’ve reached that point. Narwhal will continue on as a community, as a Slack supporting a variety of efforts, an Amateur Radio Club, and potentially as a side event at other conferences in the future, but we won’t be returning to Las Vegas in the foreseeable future.

Remember the good times. Stay safe out there.

Swim together.

]]>Nonexistent Narwhal2022: No Vegas, Again2022-03-25T00:00:00-07:002022-03-25T00:00:00-07:00https://narwhal.be/2022/no-vegasSo now it’s Omicron and Omicron Two, Coming to You!, so Hacker Summer Camp is right out for us (we can’t believe that DEF CON, Black Hat, and BSides are going ahead, but their motivations have become increasingly divergent from ours, looks like). ToorCamp 2022, which is of course outdoors, is going ahead, and we wish them all the best, but there won’t be a Narwhal Camp there because our usual organizer has some $stuff going on and can’t make it. (He’s very sad to miss such a wonderful and rainy con, but there’s always 2024!)

Stay safe out there, swim together (in safe ways), and we’ll meet again when we’re all able. Eventually.

]]>Nonexistent Narwhal2021: No Vegas or ToorCamp Again2021-06-17T00:00:00-07:002021-06-17T00:00:00-07:00https://narwhal.be/2021/no-vegas-or-toorcampSadly, due to the whole “global pandemic” problem, ToorCamp 2021 has been cancelled, and BSidesLV 2021 has been made virtual. DEF CON is going ahead, and we’re looking for a bright light in that, but… honestly the Delta Variant sounds un-fun.

Obviously Narwhal can’t appear at the conferences if the conferences themselves have been cancelled or are the beginnings of a zombie movie, so we’ll take 2021 off and hope to return next year.

Stay safe out there, swim together (in safe ways, like virtually), and we’ll meet again when we’re all able. In the meantime, enjoy this timely song.

]]>Nonexistent NarwhalNo Vegas or ToorCamp2020-04-22T00:00:00-07:002020-04-22T00:00:00-07:00https://narwhal.be/2020/no-vegas-or-toorcampSadly, due to the whole “global pandemic” problem, ToorCamp 2020 has been cancelled, and BSidesLV 2020 has been cancelled as well (and we expect the rest of Summer Camp will soon follow). Obviously Narwhal can’t appear at the conferences if the conferences themselves have been cancelled, so we’ll take 2020 off and hope to return next year.

Stay safe out there, swim together (in safe ways, like virtually), and we’ll meet again when we’re all able.

]]>Nonexistent NarwhalNew Website Design!2020-01-04T00:00:00-08:002020-01-04T00:00:00-08:00https://narwhal.be/2020/new-siteThe fourth year of Narwhal events returns with a new site! We thought it was time to use this hot new feature of HTML called “multiple pages on a site,” which lets us do amazing things like create “hyperlinks” to “specific things.” Using posts also lets us provide an RSS feed (link in the footer below) for those of you who want to stay up to date on Narwhal happenings in your news readers.

Stay tuned for information on Narwhal:Vegas and, new this year, Narwhal:Orcas, as Narwhal heads to ToorCamp 2020 in full force!

]]>Nonexistent Narwhal2019 Schedule Archive2019-08-08T00:00:00-07:002019-08-08T00:00:00-07:00https://narwhal.be/2019/2019-archivesWhile presentations at Narwhal are off the record, we thought it would be helpful to archive the titles of presentations from past years for posterity and/or bragging rights. Hence, these were the 2019 presentations and events:

  • Monday, August 5
    • 8pm-11pm Pregame Afterparty
      • Members of the Security BSides Proving Ground program (mentors and mentees) who have just attended the Pregame program on Monday: this is your chance to relax and play (or watch others play) a friendly game of Power Slides. What if you didn’t write your own talk slides, but had to pitch a product anyway? Come join us for a last moment of calm and fun before Summer Camp kicks off in earnest!
  • Wednesday, August 7
    • 7:30pm-9:00pm Talks: “Memes: at What Cost?”
      • “Non-Profit Hackers” by Spam
      • “Misinfosec: what we did next” by Sara-Jayne Terp and Pablo Breuer
      • “Think of the kitten: Why our supply of online cat pictures depends on preserving Section 230” by Cathy Gellis
    • 9:00pm-10:30pm Post-Talk Drinks and Chat
      • Where you can have a drink and chat with interesting people. We’re not renting out the biggest nightclub in Vegas, nor are we cramming 600 people into a hotel room (there are plenty of opportunities for both at other parties).
  • Thursday, August 8
    • 7:30pm-9:00pm Talks: “Lessons Learned, Sometimes Poorly”
      • “Do or Do Not: Critical Infrastructure Regulation and Lessons Learned from Leaving NERC CIP” by Brandon Workentin
      • “Hackathons: I’M EXHAUSTED AND THIS IS FUN” by Caroline Hardin
      • “Black boxes, fraud and magic- avoiding extraordinary delusions before they crush us” by Alex Muentz
    • 9:00pm-10:30pm Post-Talk Drinks and Chat
  • Friday, August 9
    • 7:30pm-9:00pm Talks: “This All Got Out of Hand So Quickly”
      • “You want to do what, where? – An exploration of how hackerspaces intersect with municipal building codes” by Grant Dobbe
      • “Don’t stay in your lane: direct applications of philosophical ethics to autonomous vehicle operating system design” by Falcon Darkstar Momot
      • “Programmatic Chaos - What I learned in 4 years of working in ad tech” by Win Suen
    • 9:00pm-10:30pm Drinks and Chat
]]>Nonexistent Narwhal2018 Schedule Archive2018-08-10T00:00:00-07:002018-08-10T00:00:00-07:00https://narwhal.be/2018/2018-archivesWhile presentations at Narwhal are off the record, we thought it would be helpful to archive the titles of presentations from past years for posterity and/or bragging rights. Hence, these were the 2018 presentations and events:

  • Monday, August 6
    • 8pm-11pm Pregame Tableflip
      • Members of the Security BSides Proving Ground program (mentors and mentees) who have just attended the Pregame program on Monday: this is your opportunity to relax after you’ve given your practice talk. Come by, have a drink, and listen as experienced speakers—some of them Proving Ground alumni themselves—practice their talks for later in the week. Heckle if you feel the need, but Shmooballs will not be provided.
  • Wednesday, August 8
    • 7:00pm-8:30pm Talks
      • Translation, Please - Aaron Alva
      • Code Switching and Building Bridges - Terra Cooke
      • Manufacturing Relevance - Cheryl Biswas
    • 8:30pm Drinks and Chat
      • Where you can have a drink and chat with interesting people. We’re not renting out the biggest nightclub in Vegas, nor are we cramming 600 people into a hotel room (there are plenty of opportunities for both at other parties).
  • Thursday, August 9
    • 7:00pm-8:30pm Talks
      • Cura Te Ipsum: Professionalizing Infosec, No Really - Tom Millar
      • Stopping Misinformation Attacks - Sara-Jayne Terp
    • 8:30pm Drinks and Chat
  • Friday, August 10
    • 7:00pm-8:30pm Talks
      • Nations and Nationalism and Network Security - Joe Slowik
      • Westphalian Sovereignty is Dead (and Other Lies Clippy Told You) - Mara Tam (One Hour)
    • 8:30pm Drinks and Chat
]]>Nonexistent Narwhal2017 Schedule Archive2017-07-28T00:00:00-07:002017-07-28T00:00:00-07:00https://narwhal.be/2017/2017-archivesWhile presentations at Narwhal are off the record, we thought it would be helpful to archive the titles of presentations from past years for posterity and/or bragging rights. Hence, these were the 2017 presentations and events:

  • Wednesday, July 26
    • 7:00pm Neighbor League Party -
      • If you’re one of the people on this list, you already know it.
  • Thursday, July 27
    • 6pm-8pm BOFish Talks - Four speakers presenting for 15 minutes on a topic they think others need to pay attention to, followed by 15 minutes of questions and discussions. No recording, no quoting speakers/attendees at this event. Speakers:
      • Allan Friedman - The Case for Kumbaya
      • Aaron Alva - So You Want to Market Your Security Product
      • Cat Murdock - [Title not yet submitted]
      • Andrea Matwyshyn - Broken
    • 8pm Drinks and Chat
      • You know, where you can have a drink, and chat with interesting people. We’re not renting out the biggest nightclub in Vegas, nor are we cramming 600 people into a hotel room (there are plenty of opportunities for both at other parties).
  • Friday, July 28
    • 7:00pm Undisclosed event
      • The room is open for others as well for work/chat, but there will be a group using the room at this time for their event.
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