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Hackers Conference coming to Seattle; on FBI, security experts radar

Some of the world's best hackers are coming to Seattle for the SyScan 360 Cybersecurity conference May 30-31. The two-day conference at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Seattle a block from Pike Place Market.

The conference has a history of hacking contests, including a hack of the Tesla Model S (during the 2014 SyScan conference in Beijing, Bloomberg News reported hackers had an unsanctioned contest to hack the car).

The homepage of the SyScan 360 website announces "I Hack, Therefore I Am," and the schedule for the conference in Seattle has titles such as "A Story of Exploiting macOS Sierra Kernel."

There is no indication that there will be anything improper or illegal with the conference, but an FBI contact and security around the Four Seasons Hotel told KIRO 7 that that many hackers in one place is certainly on their radar.

People who live and work downtown have mixed levels of concern.

“It does raise a lot of concern,” said Jamal X, who likes to listen to music on his smartphone and meditate near the Four Seasons. “To know the best hackers are going to be over here.”

“If it happens, it happens,” John McClane, who works at a diner in Pike Place Market. said. “Kind of out of your control.”

Some have already take extra security measures.

“When I was younger I was stupid and had all my information in one spot and had my account hacked,” Andrew Whitney said. “So I learned my lesson and tried to keep that stuff separate.”

Some tech workers said they hope the conference is positive for Seattle.

“If they can have some good out of it,” a Zillow worker, who didn’t give his name, said. “Obviously these people have the power to do it, they have a much better understanding of technology. Why don't they use that for good?”

Cyber security experts said you can take these steps to make sure your smartphone isn't hacked:

  • Change the default passcode to something complex
  • Turn off Bluetooth when you aren't using it
  • Use a security app to store pin numbers and credit cards
  • Regularly delete your browsing history