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Def Con 2015, the yearly hacker conference ended its 23rd year on August 9, Sunday in Las Vegas. This year's convention featured a ton of hacking topics and demonstrations including fake death records and birth certificates, house arrest devices, smartphone GPS hacks, and Tesla security fixes.
About 20,000 people attended the annual conference, based on early estimates. This year the event was held in multiple ballrooms and floors of the Paris and Bally hotels, and was bigger and better than ever.
A computer security expert from Australia showed that it is easy for hackers to make false death records for people still alive, according to ZDNet. Creating phony birth certificates was even easier since it only involves a newborn's parents and doctors.
In another demonstration a hacker showed how to access a tracking device for men or women under house arrest, without the police and other law enforcement authorities learning about it. He warned that manufacturers must boost their gadgets' security.
Next, Qihoo 360 is an Internet security firm from China. It has developed an innovative and cheap way to create bogus GPS signals for mobile devices and car navigation systems. Last year the company made headlines in the tech world after taking control of a Tesla car's lock, flashing lights, and horn.
In other Tesla news at the Def Con 2015 convention, the electric car manufacturer recruited hackers to help protect its Model S vehicles from cyberattacks. It wanted to find and fix its software's security vulnerabilities.
The event followed last week's hacking of a Tesla car by researchers Kevin Mahaffey and Marc Rogers. They remotely unlocked the e-car's doors, started it up, drove off, and sent a "kill" command to cause the automobile to shut down and stop, according to CNET.
One of the most interesting features of Def Con 2015 was the "puzzle master" Ryan Clarke. His job was to keep the attendees entertained with challenging problems.
