For makers (or breakers) visiting the vendor area of DEFCON, a stop at a surplus dealer can often reveal some tempting wares. There’s a long tradition of surplus at DEFCON with available products ranging from the useful to the merely pretty. I had a chat with one vendor to find out what was popular this year:

NinjaTel
As I mentioned in my first communique from DEFCON, this year, the Ninja Networks group gave away customized Android cell phones to selected invitees to their annual party. These phones ran on a private cell network the group set up using the open source OpenBTS and Asterisk projects. One of the mysterious Ninjas was kind enough to tell us more about the project from the high-tech interior of the NinjaTel van:

kthxbai
And that wraps up this year’s coverage of DEFCON. Between the talks, contests, hands-on villages, parties, and hallway track there’s always more choice than time in the day, particularly if you want to fit some sleep in as well. If you have an interest in computer security, hardware hacking, or black T-shirts, you should definitely consider attending next year—when DEFCON finally turns twenty-one.

(Although I hear DEFCON 21 is cancelled.)