Hijacking the Outdoor Digital Billboard Network

Architecture and Background

DEF CON 16 - Tottenkoph, Rev, & Philosopher: Hijacking the Outdoor Digital Billboard Network Outdoor digital billboards are becoming the new way to advertise multiple products/services/etc with a single board as compared to having a street littered with dozens of these eyesores. Therefore, they're more fun to take apart and play with. While driving one day, I noticed a 404 error on one of these billboards and after discussing it with my fellow speakers, hatched a plan to hack into their network and advertise our own ideas/ "products".

Vulnerability Analysis

We will be talking about how we exploited the physical and network security of this well known company and used these to upload our own images. This is not a step-by-step how to, but rather addresses the vulnerabilities that exist and how they could be used for guerilla advertising and digital graffiti. Tottenkoph- Business analyst, security consultant, crypto-fiend, hacker, and awesome chix0r.

Exploitation and Demonstrations

She started with hardware moding and pc repair stuff until the wonderful world of cryptography and open networks was stumbled upon. Tottenkoph is currently taking full advantage of the corporation's tuition and certification reimbursement programs while hopping from con to con insisting that it's "work related" and thus should be expensed (of course leaving out the amount of alcohol that can/will be consumed). Rev- [insert elite bio here] Philosopher- Student, budding old school phreak/hacker, polymath, and self-expressed amateur sociologist/social philosopher, as described by handle.

Remediation and Defensive Strategies

Began with "power-use" (i.e., advanced comprehension and inquiry) of DOS and some Novell applications, as well as exploration into basic telephone electronics at the age of ten years. Currently a high school student enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program while voraciously seeking knowledge regarding several academic as well as technological fields. Specializes in and is absolutely fascinated with absolutely anything connected to the PTSN, with special emphasis on dial-up modem security, switching/PBX, voicemail,and landline telephone equipment/tests, as well as basic password security and human psychology as related to technology. For copies of the slides and additional materials please see the DEF CON 16 Archive here: