AT at the 20th Usenix Security Symposium, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers presented the first security system to automatically create connections between wireless devices and defend against man-in-the-middle attacks.
Earlier, thwarting such attacks required password protection or an additional communication mechanism like an infrared transmitter. Showcasing novel ways to breach security is a tradition at Def Con. In previous years, attacks were launched against attendees' Wi-Fi devices.