Presentations for Espionage

What happens when a genome database is breached?

DNA sequencing has gotten exponentially cheaper since its invention, and is rapidly becoming a popular consumer good, given as Christmas presents and advertised on Facebook. However, the companies that perform this sequencing are effectively unregulated, and what they do with the mountains of data accumulated in this process is hardly transparent. This talk will begin with an overview of gene sequencing technology, then discuss the data actually collected by many popular companies. The talk will conclude with a discussion of how this data could be weaponized by bad actors after a data breach, both now and going forwards.

Security lessons from the Woofmutt

· Curiosity killed the cat, but in OUR world, that’s the job of an OSINT analyst.

· Speaking of cats, plan ahead, they are faster and more agile… think BEFORE acting

· Puppy eyes, drool AND sideways looks work…social engineering IS a good skill to have

· Try everything at least once, even if it means sticking your head in the trashcan…

· Always be upfront, that way there’s no miscommunication

· If at first you fail, try again; eventually you will get the chew toy on top of the bookcase.

· Never underestimate the need for a good hug

· Nothing is forever; live every moment as if it were your last.

These lessons and more will be covered, dissected AND somehow related to us as humans and us as tech folks.

The X-15 Rocket Plane, Flying the First Wings into Space

With the Soviet Union’s launch of the first Sputnik satellite in 1957, the Cold War
soared to new heights as Americans feared losing the race into space. This
presentation tells the enthralling yet little-known story of the hypersonic X-15, the
winged rocket ship that met this challenge and opened the way into humancontrolled spaceflight.

This remarkable research aircraft held the world’s altitude record for 41 years,
and still has no equal to match or better its speed of more than 4,500 mph.
Beyond the X-15 are the stories of the 12 men who guided it into space, and all
the people who kept the rocket plane flying for nearly a decade. This is the story
that has never been told of the vehicle that was the true precursor to the Space
Shuttle by being the first piloted and winged vehicle to exit Earth’s atmosphere,
and make a controlled reentry to a landing on hard-packed dry desert lakebeds.

In her research, Ms. Evans interviewed nearly 70 people, including 9 of the 12
pilots, including Neil Armstrong, Scott Crossfield, and Robert White, with family
representatives for the remaining pilots. Others she spoke with include
managers, flight planners, and the technicians and engineers who made the X-15
ready to fly its next research mission at high altitude and high Mach.