The conference format allows for talks, informal discussions, socialising, key signing and competitions. Talks are of various lengths on a wide range of subjects, usually including a wide range of techniques for modern exploits and operational security, security philosophy, New Zealand hacker history, related New Zealand law, and a few talks on more esoteric topics.
Kiwicon was founded by Adam Boileau when the annual Australian computer security conference Ruxcon was cancelled for 2007.[1] After ten annual conferences Kiwicon took a break in 2017;[2] in 2019 Boileau stepped down and the conference was relaunched in a "less elaborate" form as Kawaiicon.[3] Organizers announced an indefinite break in 2023[4] after the previous years' second Kawaiicon.
The inaugural Kiwicon was held during the weekend of 17–18 November 2007 at Victoria University of Wellington. Approximately 200 people from the New Zealand security community (and elsewhere) attended the two-day event. Talk topics included: the psychology of user security errors, information warfare, hiding files in RAM, cracking with PlayStation,[5][6] and attacks on: kiosks, telecommunications company ethernet, non-IP networks, and a serious Windows hole.[7][8][9]
Kiwicon 2k8 was held on the 27th and 28 September, with an attendance of over 250 people. A broader range of attendees arrived, with presale tickets selling out before the doors opened. Attendees were greeted with an array of video phone captures proving the insecurity of video conferencing systems. Topics included: mass surveillance, using honeypots to detect malicious servers, physical security, using search engine optimization to make websites disappear from search results, Bluetooth surveillance, Internet probe counterattacking, speed hacking, and attacks on: wired and mobile phone systems, biometrics, Citrix XenApp, and Windows Vista via heap exploitation.[10]
On 29 August 2007 persons associated with Kiwicon used simple XSS attacks to spoof websites of news organisations The New Zealand Herald and New Zealand Computerworld. No actual pages on the servers were altered.[18] Similar attacks were performed in following years on different websites, but these went unreported, as is usual in mainstream press for such attacks[citation needed].
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