For the second year in a row, Hackers for Charity and the 304Geeks will bring you, Hack3rCon. Back in the capitol city, Hack3rCon II will be from October 21st-23rd, 2011 at the Charleston House Hotel and Conference Center in Charleston, WV.

The conference will feature nationally re-known speakers and published authors from around the country, focusing on a wide range of information security topics. In addition, we have added a new event. This year we will be offering several live workshops where attendees can spend time with experts earning valuable hands-on experience.

In addition to the talks and workshops, 304Geeks will sponsor a party featuring musical guests Dual Core. The party will give attendees an opportunity to network with speakers, industry leaders, and other attendees. Friday night will also feature a podcast party with podcasters from the InfoSec Daily Podcast.

Back by popular demand, the Network King of the Hill (NetKotH) challenge returns. Top prizes for the winner!

Tickets are now on sale at http://Hack3rCon.org.

- Sam Kinch for downloading Rachel (again) along with lots of other goodies too big for us to download ourselves.. And for the Tableau.
- ‘Chrisnguyet’ for the load of beef jerky
- Frank Forrester for the hard drive and the massive downloads
- Regina for the really fun LOTR posters
- Andy Rosenzweig at Merit for (still!) handling the packages for us

I really appreciate each and every one of you!

Thanks again!

We also worked in the COG office. Their office is very modern, with new furniture and equipment, but it’s also one of the more complex setups we’ve worked with here in Uganda. We helped them troubleshoot some network problems and updated the high-speed Internet setup which we installed a few months ago. The last two photos gives you an idea of the setup we’re supporting for Children of Grace.

Even though they’ve had a few hiccups, they are very happy with their office setup and we’re happy to support them in their mission to assist the vulnerable children here in Uganda.

Live music performance really fit the vibe of The Keep. The acoustics in our place are amazing, and it’s an intimate venue. Since we don’t serve alcohol, we also draw those who are a bit more serious about hearing good music.

But the connection with the artists was unexpected. As it turns out the music scene in Uganda is complex and in dire need of something different. Young musicians are drawn more by the promise of big money rather than a love for music. This is spoiling Africa’s deep musical roots, and as anyone that understands professional music will tell you, money is a poor motivator when it comes to producing good music. The scenes is dominated by auto-tune and fruity loops. Poor synth drum loops have replaced the soul-stirring sound of African drums. Twenty-year old synth tracks have replaced background vocals and “real” instruments, not because it’s better musically, but because that’s what “everyone else does” and the music producers (which all charge a fortune for crappy work) just do it that way.

The connection to technology is a clear one. Since a very small percentage of people here have even the most basic computer skills, there are very few knowledgeable producers.

We do computer training to help people get jobs and to change their perception of what’s possible for technology.

Once we started inviting local musicians into The Keep, we found another avenue for training and empowerment. Now, thanks to donors in the US, we’ve got some professional gear and we ratcheted up the quality of our live performances beyond anything available anywhere else in the country.

On my recent trip to the US, my good friend Bruce donated an amazing acoustic electric guitar and my friend John donated a bunch of Shure mics and an mbox. Combined with the camera Syngress donated a while back (payment for filming the author interviews for the final Stealing installation), we’re now recording our live performances to create Live CD’s, video DVD’s and online video copies of their performances. We provide this as a service for our artists to give them a step up.

Needless to say, these services would ordinarily cost more than a young artist could ever afford.

I’m excited about our work in the music community, and I’ve found that there are so many music geeks in the hacker community, and this now makes sense to me. There’s logic to music of course, but good hackers and good musicians understand that there’s an out-of-box thinking that defines true talent in the industry. So thanks to everyone who has donated to help us along. We’re still in the market for good music gear, so please let us know if you’d like to donate your old gear to our cause. We’re outfitting a music studio and we’ve already found a young guy to train as a sound engineer so we’ll use just about any decent equipment you throw our way.

So with that said, I’m going to be uploading lots of live performance videos in the next few weeks which include talented local artists as well as international guests. Thanks again for the support and enjoy the clips.

I’d like to open with a video from a friend of the family, Ryan, who is a really talented musician. But this song is not serious AT ALL. IT’s about pickles and that’s just mean because there are no Vlasic pickles here.

The volunteer signup form is here.

And the hardware donation form is here.

Monte Hoover Returns!

We were happy to have Monte Hoover back in Uganda working again with the AOET Rehaboth Integrated School in Bugembe and with the OLPC program he kickstarted last year. I’ll have Monte post about his trip, but from this side of the pond, I’ll make a few observations. First, Monte is a great encourager. He encouraged the students and the teachers and was a real encouragement to me as well. He’s currently picked up a few extra volunteer responsibilities and has been monitoring our inbound email as well as helping out with volunteer coordination.

Monte really did great work while he was here. He connected Internet services at the school, purchasing equipment not only for the Rehaboth School but also for other clients in Uganda. He bought all the equipment necessary to power the computer room including power strips, cable, tools and more, and he did quite a bit of training. Thanks to Monte, the OLPC program at Rehaboth is now online, and it’s our hope that the program will stay “out of the closet” forever. Too many recipients of OLPC grants end up with “closet OLPC’s” due to lack of training and connectivity. Thanks so much Monte!

Wireless Projects

We’re working on some Internet connectivity projects with a new team assistant, Abdullah, who comes to us from Tanzania loaded with gear and network savvy. We’ve purchased a few Bullet AP/CPE’s, a pair of 2.4-5GHz directional grid antennas and a carrier-class quad AP radio unit. We’re taking the Internet service from the Keep and throwing it 5km north to the Nile River Explorers campsite near Bujagali to provide access to the tourists that flock the campsite. It’s a short hop for the gear we have and a small test to see if we can expand our fast Internet service offering to the public, and create an Intranet to wirelessly connect NGOs, companies and government agencies over distances greater than what residential equipment can provide.

Although both are money-making ventures, we’re also looking to provide a critical service to organizations cheaper and faster than the big telcos can provide. Although this will pull our attention away from the grassroots training initiatives, the platform we create will provide a foundation that we can rely on to do more of the grassroots goodness farther away from the big towns, where it is needed the most.

We worked with our good friend Rob to build the tower at The Keep and we’re building another tower out at the campsite. The final result is strong and well-designed (without breaking the bank.. it cost a couple hundred bucks) and we can re-use the steel in other (bigger?) projects if need be.

Work for the Ugandan government

I’ve started working with the Ugandan government and we are providing assistance in the form of knowledge experts for everything from networking to forensics to training. Many of you responded via email saying that you were interested in helping out, and it’s much appreciated but the response overwhelmed us. Monte and I are still trying to get through the responses. If you are able to help us out, please take a moment to fill out one or both of these forms:

The volunteer signup form is here.

And the hardware donation form is here.

Training / Conferences

I’m schedule for a few training events and conferences over the next couple of months. The first will be near Detroit Michigan in mid-May where I’ll be giving the No-Tech Hacking talk. I’ll be in the US for a few days and I hope to bring back some much-needed supplies. I’ll also be teaching SEC401: Security Essentials in Nairobi, Kenya the last week in May. This is the first SANS class ever taught in Kenya, so I’m pretty excited about that.

Derbycon is also coming up and I’ve been graciously invited to attend and speak. The event is in Louisville Kentucky from Sept-30-Oct 2, 2011. Dave and the crew have been big supporters, and I’m excited to be a part of the con this year. For more information, check out the Derbycon website: http://www.derbycon.com.

Supporting the NGO community in Uganda

I’m also doing tons of work supporting the NGO community here in Uganda. I’m repairing tons of computers (mostly Apple Mac repair as we’re the only ones that do it), providing Internet solutions and constructing classroom systems. The repair and Internet solution size is growing very steadily as organizations recruit more and more volunteers and staff members, each with bandwidth and hardware demands. The classroom and training center construction side is slow, but each center we construct provides a decent amount of income to help fuel our other programs and also furthers our goals of expanding IT education as far and wide as we can.

We’re also gaining more clients who are asking for computer support contracts to help with their IT needs. We don’t have many clients right now but we’re dedicated to providing high-quality service for a fair price. This is an obvious benefit to our clients, but it’s also a way for us to train more capable technicians. There are simply too few competent hardware and network technicians. We’re doing our best to change that.

Who: You

When: Now

What: Hackers for Charity Cookbook? wuh?

That’s right!

We are asking the hacker community to contribute their best recipes to be included in a Hackers Cookbook.

ALL PROCEEDS GO TO HACKERS FOR CHARITY!!! 100%

We have not picked a publisher yet, but we don’t imagine it will be difficult to find interest. (**hint hint.. interested publishers contact rob@304geeks.com)

How: Simple. Just submit your best recipes to cookfu@304geeks.com for consideration.

All categories, appetizers, entrees, desserts, beverages, etc.

Requirements:
1. Recipe and the story that goes with it.
2. Origin (country/region)
3. Pictures (optional, but desired)
4. Name, contact info and short bio. (Hacker nick will do, but if you want to benefit from the directory..)
We want to give something back to the contributors, so we plan to create a directory for the chefs in the book.

**UPDATE: Based on the feedback of some of our friends and volunteers, we would like to add that the Hacker’s Cookbook should be thought of as more of a cookbook FOR hackers. Meaning, the recipes should be high energy, low effort, easy ingredients and low mess. Allowing the  hacker to spend less time in the kitchen and MORE time on the keyboard sword.

We are hoping to receive recipes from all around the world. Yep! If you have some InfoSec friends in other countries, please tell them about this project. We welcome their contribution!

First round of submissions are due by 4/1/2011

Who will contribute?

Ron Gula (CEO Tenable Network Security), Larry Pesce (Pauldotcom), Carlos Perez (Dark0perator), Mike Poor (Inguardians) and Dave Kennedy (social-engineer.com) just to name a few!!

So, whether you have “Reverse Engineered or Fuzzed” a popular recipe, or you want to drop a 0day on us, we would love to see your work!
Join in on the fun!!!

Thanks,

Hackers for Charity

Reference: http://www.304geeks.com

I’ll also be collecting USB & flash drives as well as forensics gear that I’ll be sending or taking back to Uganda for the Uganda Police force. I say sending because my return to Uganda has been delayed indefinitely. The work in Uganda will continue in my absence.

Hope to see you Thursday.

Tenable is at:

7063 Columbia Gateway Drive
Suite 100
Columbia, MD 21046

Thank you for your support of the Backtrack community and us at Hackers For Charity. It is much appreciated!

Johnny

This is going to be a REALLY long couple of weeks for me while I’m in the US. I’m really struggling with some pretty big things, so those of you that pray, pray for me. These could easily be the longest two weeks of my life. I’m a bit of a wreck.

I’m working on my Shmoocon video and I’ll post it soon.

Thanks everyone..

..

but once again I found myself asking why, exactly I felt the need to leave everything and drag my family to this God-forsaken place. This time, no answer came..

Here at Shmoocon, I’ve gotten some answers. I’ve been encouraged and re-embraced by the community. I’ve been gone, but not forgotten. But more importantly, I discovered that Hackers For Charity is no longer a crazy idea that exists in my head. It’s become a movement that’s embraced by the community. And I needed to see that. I’m obviously meant to keep plugging away at this. If I quit, then I’m a fool. If I give up, I’ve given up everything for nothing and proven that this really was a harebrained idea..

So thanks to the community, I’m back in action. I’m still struggling with so many things though. My life really is a mess and I’m not entirely sure that I will ever get it completely straightened out, but I am encouraged quite a bit that the labor is not in vain..

Thank you everyone. I really appreciate the boost and the encouragement. Now, go and volunteer. We’ve got work to do. =) ..

–Computer Equipment–

We need computer equipment for our training centers and our computer repair work. The training centers are 100% community projects (no real income to speak of) but our repair work brings in a lot of money that helps us run the centers. We’re hoping you can help us by donating the following:

- Computer Repair tools and toolkits
- PC diagnostic tools, books and training manuals. Help us train our guys and provide them the most modern tools and info for repair
- Apple parts and accessories (including but not limited to: power supplies, diagnostic software and books, Apple-specific tools, accessory cables like ipod chargers, etc). We are the only place in town that does Apple repair, and I want to see us improve in that offering. All info and gear welcome. Modern stuff only. Keep us on the edge.
- USB drives and enclosures
- Flash drives

–Music-Related items–

Music is part of the lifeblood of African culture. Many young artists are learning about how to take their talents to the next level by learning their way around the studio. They are learning about mixing and editing, post production and more. The problem is that most of the local instructors are stuck on keyboards, drum kits and subpar techniques that makes the final product flat, lifeless and predictable.

We’ve teamed up with CEPAC (The Center for Performing Arts and Culture) to help improve this situation. CEPAC has a great basic studio (housed in the basement of The Keep). Our plan is to start giving high-quality (one-of-a-kind) lessons to local musicians and sound engineers using this space to help the artists excel. We would love to see these young artists become self-sufficient using their gifts and skills.

We’re also running a weekly music night at The Keep. As you know, the cafe is designed to be a fundraiser for our personal support and our community work. Thanks to Keith’s donation, we have the best sound system in Jinja. Amazing speakers, a GREAT mixer, and … we’re missing the rest. We’re attracting some great acts because of the original venue and our heart for the community, and I’d like to continue to improve the quality of the sound and the venue for young artists. Some of our artists come from very far away (our traditional group, especially) and we’re moving in the right direction, but the gear we’re missing is really hurting the quality of the sound, and eventually will effect how many customers we keep coming back. Right now we’re limping by with local cables and mics, but we really can’t afford to buy better gear. We’re hoping you can donate the following:

XLR Microphone cables (20 foot and longer)
1/4″ to 1/4″ Instrument cables (20 foot and longer)
1/4″ to 1/4″ speaker cables (30 foot and longer)
Acoustic Guitar Pickups
XLR  /  1/4″  cable tester
Powered stage monitor
Decent performance microphones (all types, wireless, wired, dynamic, condenser, instrument, vocal, lavs, etc)

Karaoke CD’s / Hard Drives loaded with CD+G music (please only decent stuff… not the crappy MIDI crud). Karaoke is a hit. A surprise hit, but it is. We’ll use Karaoke on Fridays when we don’t have acts booked.

This equipment will not only serve us at The Keep to help our local artists really shine, but the equipment will be used in the downstairs studio and for live charity events we’ll be holding behind The Keep.

So please help us out.. spread this email around to any musicians you might know that have some excess or older gear. We could really use it.

For more information, see our website at http://www.hfc-uganda.org.