By way of disclosure, I'm one half of the founders of http://www.44con.com/ and my co-founder is a DEF CON goon.
I can't talk about the wifi there, but what we're doing for 44Con is reason enough not to use the wifi. We will be logging everything on that network and running it through netwitness gear. We won't have a wall of sheep, but unless you're certain your transport is encrypted, your details will be captured and stored.
At DEF CON it's worse - you can't assume that your GSM or any form of RF connection is secure. Fake ATMs, Rogue cell towers and RFID hacking have all been done before there. It's the nature of the atmosphere there.
I can't talk about the wifi there, but what we're doing for 44Con is reason enough not to use the wifi. We will be logging everything on that network and running it through netwitness gear. We won't have a wall of sheep, but unless you're certain your transport is encrypted, your details will be captured and stored.
At DEF CON it's worse - you can't assume that your GSM or any form of RF connection is secure. Fake ATMs, Rogue cell towers and RFID hacking have all been done before there. It's the nature of the atmosphere there.