Last night I caught up with CryptoParty Belfast (@cryptopartybfs) down at Farset Labs (@FarsetLabs), Belfast.
If you’ve never been to a CryptoParty it’s a global movement to (in their own words)
‘introduce the most basic cryptography programs and the fundamental concepts of their operation to the general public’.
There was a reasonable number of people in attendance, a nice mix of the aforementioned ‘general public’ and tech / security enthusiasts and as usual the hosts did a great job of making everyone feeling welcome, followed by two talks on VPN usage and Protecting Yourself Online with a smattering of anti surveillance tips, geography (i.e which countries are good vpn hosts etc) and a look at common security vulnerabilities that abound across the web.
Unfortunately I missed the June event in the Crescent Arts Centre, which looked like it was a very well attended evening; but it’s great to see regular events such as these running here.
Whilst CryptoParties are aimed at the general public, the nature of these events draws security / tech enthusiasts to them and I certainly feel it’s a great way to engage with the security community in this island. No matter your level of knowledge and experience, you are sure to pick up some tips from the shared experience of the attendees and I’d encourage you to attend if you haven’t been before.
As usual, a big thanks to Padraig, Sean and farset labs for hosting, get their upcoming podcast Hex on Fire when it hits the wires.
Check out the twitter stream and the CryptoParty site for details on the next event and make a date to come along.
https://www.cryptoparty.in/belfast
https://www.cryptoparty.in/index
https://twitter.com/cryptopartybfs
See you there!
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