Cryptoparty3 Smashed It!

The general impression we are getting from twitter and IRL is really glowing feedback from everyone that attended CryptopartyLondon3, we smashed it! however were wondering about getting some kind of structured feedback... so please send us tweets with suggestions. But at the end of the day, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and that makes all the difference.
We will, however, email out a feedback form (the the option to be anonymous) so people can provide feedback in the way they want to. :)

Thanks to Cardiff Cryptoparty, now on to London

Hi everyone.  24 hours to go now until the London Cryptoparty, its good to hear of a couple of Cryptopartys that went really well.  First off we have Cardiff, who organised the first UK event.  Massive props to them, it sounds like they done a fantastic job.  They have a writeup of their event Here.  We hope this event continues and grows bigger.

Also the Online meeting was a big success.  We did have some problems trying to walk 40 people through setup of complex software on different platforms, on just voice chat.  This as a format may not have worked as well as we hoped, although a general discussion of the issues within the group proved way more successful, and I think everyone learned a lot and we can build on this , I hope we can build on this.

Now onto the London event.  We've had a massive response, and we're looking to cram 135 people into the space at google campus.  I'm pretty sure this is going to be the biggest one so far, and we really look forward to seeing you all there.   Sadly all the tickets are now given out, we just can't fit any more in.  If you are disapointed please follow us on twitter (@cryptopartylond) and if there are any more spaces that become available, we'll make sure information gets out there.

First London Cryptoparty Confirmed

29^th Septermber, London Hackspace 7:30pm

 

Hi everyone, welcome to the first blogpost from the London cryptoparty. We've seen a growing international movement recently to meet with people interested in protecting their data and to exchange keys and information on how to make encryption more accessible to the general population

We live in a world where our communications and our lives are increasingly monitored by not just the government, but private corporations and even local councils are generating databases on our personal communications. We need encryption more and more in our daily lives to keep ourselves protected from prying eyes.

As a response to this and other similar actions around the globe, a bunch of London hackers have banded together to help share their knowledge with the rest of society how to use the tools available to them, to help protect their personal data from prying eyes.

Encryption is a tool, and like any tool if we use it incorrectly, it won't work. This is becoming an increasing problem with new people attempting to protect their data and falling into the same traps. Badly used encryption is far more dangerous that none at all, as we see people falling into a false sense of security, thinking they are protected, when actually the truth is they are exposing all the data they want protected.

Some people may say that if we have nothing to hide, we have nothing to fear, but this is a notion that has been discredited time and again. In an information age, corporations and governments value our data and its crazy that the rest of the population value it so little. Your data is freedom to corporations and governments that want to make changes they want through manipulation. What happens when government bans your favourite hobby? With your profile, they will know exactly where to find you. What happens when you want to sue a large corporation? With your data they can find many things to try to discredit you in court. There are many more examples where we need to value our lives and keep them from organisations that want to spy on us.

For this end we will be running a workshop and tutorial for those that wish to learn basic online safety techniques and swap keys at the London Hackspace on Saturday 29^th September at 7:30pm. We hope you can join us there, for updates follow this blog, or follow @crysison @samthetechie and @cryptopartylond on twitter