Hackfest 2020

Urban Exploration - A COVID-Friendly Hacker Hobby
2020-11-20, 11:30–11:50, Hackfest - Track 1
Language: English

With North America famously leading the way in industrial production and technological innovation in its extremely short modern life, it has blasted full-force through many huge economic eras, leaving swaths of forgotten times in its wake. From the Cotton Belt to the Rustbelt, there is an ocean of abandoned buildings to be explored and documented by those brave enough to accept the legal and life-threatening risks involved. "Urban Exploration" is itself becoming an abandoned hobby in a post-9/11 world, and this talk will seek to rectify that by serving as an introduction to the craft.


This is an "Urban Exploration 101" presentation, designed to get people back into this forgotten hobby that involves plenty of physical security bypassing and technological archeology. It will provide actionable, how-to information that will help the viewer get started. We will cover the basics of how to discover worthy locations for exploration, the resulting legal issues, a rundown of must-have gear (both safety and recording) as well as contextual recommendations for various situations which may arise


Are you releasing a tool? – no

Johnny Xmas is a predominant personality in the Information Security community, most well-known for his work on the TSA Master Key leaks between 2014 and 2018. He has operated in nearly every realm of the Infosec vertical, from defensive engineering to penetration testing, industrial control security, and extensive personal research. He has been touring the world for nearly 20 years presenting and training on these as well as various other security and privacy concerns for nearly 20 years.