German hacker denied entry into U.S. for Black Hat training
Summary: Thomas Dullien, aka "Halvar Flake," a prominent security researcher who has been a fixture at the annual Black Hat security conference, has been denied entry into the U.S. to attend and conduct training at this year's confab.
Thomas Dullien, a prominent security researcher who has been a fixture at the annual Black Hat security conference, has been denied entry into the U.S. to attend and conduct training at this year's confab.
Dullien (left), a German reverse engineering whiz known in hacker circles as "Halvar Flake," said he was blocked from entering the U.S. after customs officials found printed "training materials" in his suitcase.
The CEO and head of research at Sabre Security said the denial appeared to be linked to his use of the visa waiver program to present Black Hat training as a private citizen instead of as a representative of a company.
After a nine-hour flight and a four-and-a-half hour interview with U.S. immigration officials, Dullien was put on the next 9-hour flight back to Germany and it seems uncertain he will get the visa situation straightened out in time for next week's Black Hat show.
Dullien has attented and presented at Black Hat for the last seven years and, even before that, he has been part of the training sessions -- teaching reverse-engineering and hacker tricks to mostly U.S.-government related folks, mostly working on US National Security in some form.
"I have trained people from the DoD, DoE, DHS and most other [government] agencies that come to mind," Dullien explained.
He has also presented at Microsoft's internal "Blue Hat" conference and is considered one of the most respected researchers in the world.
See more on Dullien's nightmare on his personal blog.
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Talkback
Another triumph for the flappers
Such is the ways of American democracy
Democracy has different forms, we're a REPRESENTATIVE form
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy
In case you are unaware, this is how it happened:
In 1776, most people were uneducated, so the Founding Fathers realized that the only way to initiate democracy was to allow the people to select representatives who understood the issues and could argue their points for the masses. So, we have to vote for people to do the thinking for us. This leaves us with little option as both parties are drifting farther away from the real issues and closer to the center, leaving many of the important issues on the back burner so as to not piss off voters. Thus, we are stuck with the imbicile du jour. However, it is not a monarchy, and he can never serve this position again when his term is up.
Just so you know, we don't like it either, that's why the administration only has a 24% approval rating (amazingly high, in my opinion). The people who are in the front running for the position now are presenting the opposite ideals as this current.
Speaks alot for our view of things, doesn't it? Before you criticize, be aware that we didn't know what we were getting when this happened, and the popular vote went the other way.
Thanks alot Florida. Got us a winner, didn't you?
This is all Microsoft's fault
Well... someone had to say it. ;)
*sigh*
And it had to be you??
Incompetent Government at work
why?
If the guy had been admitted, now everyone would be laughing about how easy is to circunvent american borders. So in the end, no matter what, people always like to complain.
Are you reading what you post?
In other words, we are to respect nonsense? Seems to me that's the *problem*, not the solution...
If you want spaghetti code, talk to a legislator...
of course not
Of course you don't have to respect nonsense. First, you go and decide based on your universal expertise what makes sense and what not. And then, you can of course ignore any law or rule that is nonsense. That is the way we live in my country, and our living standard is much much better than that of the US. You should come and visit, you'll love it here.
nonsense! US-Mexican border = no enfacement US corps. wants cheap Labor -NT
If you want to criticize the law
I find it easy to criticize them
Dude, have you seen all the illegal Mexicans running around here?
Give me a break, this is facism and you know it. The man taught the government for fuck's sake, and thanks to him the government computer systems are tighter than a frog's butt. So, to thank him, now they are saying "oops, looks like someone made a mistake, so you have to go, but all of you people who swam the river can stay."
So, actually two letters of the law are being followed: F & U
"if law is there, it must be respected"? - Like on the Mexican boarder - NT
Want to comment on Guantanamo Bay ?
Sure I'll comment..
Except for
If they're criminals, as you claim, then try them. If they're POWs, then give them the rights POWs get. You dont' get ot have it both ways....and constitutional rights have generally applied to all on U.S. soil, not just citizens.
Not enemy combatants...
Actually, I never called them 'Criminals'. BUT - again, historically, criminals of almost any sort caught 'doing things' on the battlefield are simply shot 'in the act' of perpetrating their crime (or shortly thereafter), whether its looting, committing violent acts against civilians or picking up arms against uniformed military persons. And they do not enjoy any of our constitutional rights because they are not citizens of the US *and* they are NOT operating on US soil, as I pointed out earlier, their illegal activities are occurring in a war zone on FOREIGN soil.
Would you prefer that we go back to the common practice of performing battlefield executions of these people?
Ok, try this one on and let's see what excuse you can come up with
ha ha