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The NaClCON (Salt Con) speaker list is out! May 31–June 2, Carolina Beach NC

For those who don't know: NaClCON is a new, intentionally small (300 person cap) conference focused on hacker history and culture, not zero-days or AI hype. Beach venue, open bars, CTF, the whole deal. $495 all-in.

The speaker list is a who's-who of people who built the scene:

Speakers:

  • Lee Felsenstein — Homebrew Computer Club OG, designer of the Osborne 1 (the first mass-produced portable computer)
  • Chris Wysopal (Weld Pond) — L0pht Heavy Industries, testified before the Senate in 1998 that they could take down the internet in 30 minutes, co-founder of Veracode
  • G. Mark Hardy — 40+ years in cybersecurity, talking "A Hacker Looks at 50"
  • Richard Thieme — Author/speaker who's keynoted DEF CON 27 times, covering the human impacts of tech since the early internet days
  • Brian Harden (noid) — Helped build the LA 2600 scene, DC206, and DEF CON itself. Now farms and writes about himself in third person
  • Izaac Falken — 2600 Magazine / Off The Hook, 30 years in professional security
  • Mei Danowski — Natto Thoughts, speaking on ancient Chinese strategy and the birth of China's early hacker culture
  • Josh Corman — "I Am The Cavalry" founder, CISA COVID task force, currently working on UnDisruptable27
  • Casey John Ellis — Bugcrowd founder, co-founder of disclose.io, White House, DoD, and DHS security advisor
  • Jericho — 33+ years in the scene, speaking on life in an early 90s hacker group
  • Andrew Brandt — Threat researcher (Sophos, Symantec), demoing early hacking tools on obsolete hardware
  • Johnny Shaieb: IBM X-Force Red, speaking on the history of vulnerability databases
  • B.K. DeLong (McIntyre)Attrition.org, the team that manually archived 15,000+ web defacements in the late 90s
  • Jamie Arlen — 30+ years, Securosis, Liquidmatrix; "an epic career of doing all the wrong things and somehow still being right"
  • Heidi and Bruce Potter — Developers of Turngate and founders of ShmoonCon
  • Dustin Heywood (EvilMog) — IBM X-Force, Team Hashcat, multi-time Hacker Jeopardy World Champion

Fireside chats include noid doing DEF CON war stories and Edison Carter on old-school phone phreaking in the 80s/90s and a grog filled night with the dread pirate Hackbeer'd.

A couple things worth knowing before you register:

The conference hotel (Courtyard by Marriott Carolina Beach Oceanfront) has a room block at $139/night (roughly 70% off the peak beach-season rates) so book through naclcon.com/hotel or use group code NACC. Block expires May 1st so don't sit on it.

P.S. If the tickets are too large a hurtle for you, DM me and I'll see what I can do to get you a discount code.

naclcon.com | Register

submitted by /u/count_zero_moustafa
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Threat Model Discrepancy: Google Password Manager leaks cleartext passwords via Task Switcher (Won't Fix) - Violates German BSI Standards

Hi everyone, I’m a Cybersecurity student at HFU in Germany and recently submitted a vulnerability to the Google VRP regarding the Google Password Manager on Android (tested on Pixel 8, Android 16).

The Issue: When you view a cleartext password in the app and minimize it, the app fails to apply FLAG_SECURE or blur the background. When opening the "Recent Apps" (Task Switcher), the cleartext password is fully visible in the preview, even though the app actively overlays a "Enter your screen lock" biometric prompt in the foreground. It basically renders its own secondary biometric lock completely useless.

Google's Response: Google closed the report as Won't Fix (Intended Behavior). Their threat model assumes that if an attacker has physical access to an unlocked device, it's game over.

The BSI Discrepancy: What makes this interesting is that the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) recently published a study on Password Managers. In their Threat Model A02 ("Attacker has temporary access to the unlocked device"), they explicitly mandate that sensitive content MUST be protected from background snapshots/screenshots. So while Google says this is intended, national security guidelines classify this as a vulnerability. (For comparison: The iOS built-in password manager instantly blurs the screen when losing focus).

Here is my PoC screenshot:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PTGKRpyFj_jY9S76Jlo62mSCDJ3c6uLO/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nIJMQbM4R17EMt9f1Ffb4UmCPYY7-GXb/view?usp=sharing

What are your thoughts on this? Should password managers protect against shoulder surfing via the Task Switcher, or is Google right to rely solely on the OS lockscreen?

submitted by /u/Onat120
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McAfee’s Scam Detector Named Webby Awards Finalist for AI Innovation

9 April 2026 at 12:00

We’re excited to share that McAfee’s Scam Detector has been named a finalist in the 2026 Webby Awards. 

Recognized in the AI Experiences & Applications – Consumer Application category and named a Webby Honoree for Best Use of AI & Machine Learning, Scam Detector is being acknowledged for its effectiveness as an AI-driven consumer tool. 

This recognition of Scam Detector validates something key in research findings. According to McAfee’s 2026 State of the Scamiverse report, Americans now spend 114 hours a year trying to decide what’s real and what’s fake online. 

Scam Detector was built with this era of uncertainty in mind, designed to help people cut through confusion and identify scams as they appear. The Webby recognition reinforces to us that McAfee’s Scam Detector is doing exactly that. 

What Are the Webby Awards? 

The Webby Awards are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences and recognize excellence across the internet, including apps, software, AI, and digital experiences. 

Each year, thousands of entries are evaluated, with finalists representing the top work in their category globally. 

In addition to judged awards, the Webby Awards include a People’s Voice Award, which is decided by public vote. 

How McAfee’s Scam Detector Uses AI to Stop Scams 

Scam Detector is designed to help people identify scams where they’re most likely to happen, always ready to help you spot what’s real and what’s not when you least expect it. 

It uses AI to analyze and flag suspicious: 

  • Text messages and emails  
  • Links and websites  
  • QR codes  
  • Social media messages  
  • AI-generated and deepfake content  

Beyond detection, Scam Detector explains why something was flagged as risky. That transparency helps show how decisions are made, so people can quickly understand the risk and feel more confident trusting what’s flagged.

As scams become more personalized and harder to detect, this combination of automatic detection and clear guidance is critical to preventing financial loss and identity theft. 

Vote for McAfee’s Scam Detector 

Scam Detector is eligible for the Webby People’s Voice Award, which is decided by public vote. 

If you would like to support McAfee’s Scam Detector, you can vote here: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2026/ai/ai-experiences-applications/consumer-application 

Voting is open through Thursday, April 16 at 11:59 pm PDT. 

Winners will be announced on April 21, 2026. 

And a big thank you to the McAfee teams who brought Scam Detector to life and who continuously improve how Scam Detector identifies new threats and adapts to the evolving world of AI-driven scams. 

The post McAfee’s Scam Detector Named Webby Awards Finalist for AI Innovation appeared first on McAfee Blog.

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