As always, EFF is excited to be at HOPE in New York City! HOPE XV will be the fifteenth Hackers On Planet Earth event. Be sure to stop by our booth in the expo hall to learn more about the latest in EFF's fight to protect digital freedom for all. You can even pick up a special member gift as a token of our thanks when you take advantage of our membership specials or donate!
If you're an EFF member in the area, be on the lookout for an email about an EFF Speakeasy in the NYC area! If you are interested in attending, but did not receive an email invite, reach out to us at events@eff.org and we can send you the details.
As in past years, EFF staff attorneys are ready to help support the community. If you have legal concerns regarding an upcoming talk or sensitive information security research you are conducting, please email info@eff.org and we will do our best to get you the help that you need.
EFF Talks at HOPE XV
Ask the EFF
EFF Senior Staff Attorney - Cara Gagliano; EFF Investigative Researcher - Beryl Lipton; EFF Senior Staff Technologist - Bill Budington; EFF Staff Attorney - Hannah Zhao
Friday, 3:00 PM ET - Marillac Stage
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is thrilled to return to HOPE to answer your burning questions on pressing digital rights issues. Their panelists will provide updates on current EFF work, including the fight against government surveillance and protecting creative expression, before turning it over to attendees to pose questions and receive insights from panelists on the intersection of technology and civil liberties.
BADBOX: Behind the Scenes of an Android Supply-Chain Attack
EFF Senior Staff Technologist - Bill Budington
Saturday, 3:00 PM ET - Little Theatre
“Thank you for your order, sir, would you like malware with that?” While supply-chain attacks on consumer electronics are nothing new, we see no signs of these attacks letting up. In 2023, EFF confirmed findings of click fraud malware coming pre-loaded on obscure brand Android set-top TV boxes. This malware was also found to allow botnet controllers to establish a residential proxy using the infected devices’ Internet connections, allowing traffic originating remotely to appear as though it came from the set-top box buyers. After many months of reports and investigations into the botnet (now dubbed “BADBOX”), device resellers like Amazon and AliExpress were still making these devices available. In response, Bill’s team at the EFF issued a complaint to the FTC and are uncovering details about the fraud operation in order to hold accountable those responsible for harms to consumers. This talk will share some of their findings, as well as raising further questions concerning the digital divide and access, the scale of attacks consumers now face, and what steps both regulators and consumers can take to protect against these types of attacks.
Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It
EFF Special Advisor - Cory Doctorow
Sunday, 2:00 PM ET - Marillac Stage
The rapid, precipitous decline of every digital service we depend on isn’t a coincidence. It’s the result of specific known, policy choices made by specific, named individuals. We can reverse those decisions (and we can determine what sized pitchfork those individuals wear).
Enshittification wasn’t inevitable: it was the foreseeable outcome of a plan to encourage digital monopoly platforms and turn them loose to extract unimaginable value from both their users and business customers, leaving behind a homeopathic residue of utility to keep us locked in.
This talk will explain what enshittification is, how it works, why it’s happening now - and, most importantly, how we can reverse it, by seizing the means of computation and building a new, good Internet suitable to serve as the digital nervous system of a connected world confronting environmental collapse, genocide, and rising fascism.
More about HOPE XV: H.O.P.E. stands for Hackers On Planet Earth, one of the most creative and diverse hacker events in the world. It's been happening since 1994. Thousands of people from around the world come to HOPE. Join us for three full days and nights of activities, including provocative and enlightening speakers that the HOPE conferences are known for.
