Hackers Convention in Europe Draws Crowd Of 1000

Online, September 23, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Hacktivity 2010, the largest hackers' conference in Eastern and Central Europe, concluded Sunday, drawing nearly 1,000 Internet security professionals and experts to attend the two-day event in Hungary's capital Budapest.

The conference aimed at bringing together officials and computer experts from Hungary and abroad in an informal setting, mixing lectures and discussions with games and competitions such as "Capture the Flag" and "Hack the Vendor."

Bruce Schneier, a world-renowned cybersecurity guru, opened the event with a keynote speech in which he addressed the Internet "generation gap."

"The Internet is the greatest generation gap since rock 'n' roll," Schneier was quoted as saying by France24. "The older of us need to be prepared for a younger generation that lives life on the Internet, doesn't understand where their computer or smartphone ends and the Internet begins, shares passwords with their friends as a sign of trust and deliberately lies when registering for services. At the same time, technological and business trends point to less user control: What will security and privacy look like in this new world?"

Schneier's keynote was followed by a presentation titled "Security Comparison of the Leading Databases" by Alexander Kornbrust, CEO of Red-Database-Security GmbH. Other participants and speakers included hacker/inventor Mitch Altman who hosted a hardware workshop; Marcell Major, security consultant at Deloitte; and Hungarian IT security expert Tamás Szádeczky.

Main organizer Attila Bartfai said Hungary can become the go-to spot for cybersecurity expertise in Eastern Europe.

"With the threat from cybercrime at an all time high it is important for computer users to buy antivirus software" he said.