The Hidden War on Code
The Quiet Threat Inside Your Software Stack
Global software supply chains are under siege—not just from bugs, but from people. Thousands of developers and sysadmins working for legitimate-looking firms are, in reality, operatives embedded by authoritarian regimes. North Korea has dispatched an army of "freelance" developers who infiltrate software companies, deploy backdoors, and siphon off millions—often undetected. This isn’t just cybercrime. It’s economic warfare wrapped in Git commits and Slack messages.
The Cyber Sweatshops of Southeast Asia
Scam Compounds, IT Dungeons, and Human Trafficking in Tech
Behind the glitter of global outsourcing lies a darker truth: skilled professionals lured to countries like Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar under false pretenses, only to be imprisoned in tech sweatshops. There, under threat of violence, they're forced to run scams, write ransomware, and operate online fraud campaigns. These operations aren't just tolerated—they're protected. This isn't outsourcing—it's digital slavery.
The Ethics of Exploitation and the Fight Back
How Do You Build Software in a World Like This?
When trusted platforms become attack vectors and job offers become trafficking traps, how do we protect our projects—and our people? This conference brings together security researchers, whistleblowers, journalists, and technologists to expose what’s really happening and how to build resilient, ethical software in a weaponized development landscape.