Click Link for an updated map: Network Map Link

When you connect to the network at Pumping Station: One by plugging in or via wireless, you are joining a very special network.

We’re one of the first networks to join with Agora Link.  Agora is the North American arm of a global Research network that is linking hackerspaces’ internal networks together into one awesome collaborative mesh.   We’re tied in with the ChaosVPN in Germany, and as of this past weekend we have 50 registered end points.  If interested, you can read more here:

• Agora Link Homepage
• ChaosVPN Wiki
• Periodically updated network map

What’s the payoff?  First up is a plan to host an international CTF competition using hackerspaces and other labs as the meeting points for teams. So look for more details on that in the near future.

More developments on this will be popping up throughout the next year.

This was co-posted from Matt’s “Openfly” blog post at NYC Resistor

Twitter: @agoralink

On May 5th, At 7pm

Pumping Station: One will be hosting Mitch Altman, the inventor of the TV B Gone and Brain Machine, and many others,  will be leading an electronics workshop on May 5th  that will teach complete beginners in less than 3 hours how to assemble, solder, and complete a TV B Gone.

After the class we may find the nearest electronics retailer and do a demonstration.

The cost of the class covers materials:

This includes one kit per participant

Members: 30$

Non-Members/Starving Hackers: 35$

Kits Available:

TV-B-Gone

Trippy RGB

Mignonette

Brain Machine

Plus many others, including a few of the Jimmie P. Rodgers line of kits.

Here’s the TV B Gone in action:

Confessions: The Meanest Thing Gizmodo Did at CES

Everything You Wanted To Know About Super Computers But Didn’t know Who to Ask.

If you’ve ever wondered what makes some computer so super, or just wanted to know how to start building your own, this would be the talk to attend, and bring questions. Why should I go with a AMD chipset or not? What’s a beowulf cluster? Why might I want to go with PlayStation 3′s. Plus much much more.

This talk is open to the public, seating is limited so show up early. This presentation will start right after the weekly meeting and is tentatively scheduled start at 8:30pm this Tuesday.

In The Laboratory by Henry Alexander

Art museums appear to be impenetrable fortresses after closing time. What is often unknown to the majority of the visiting public is that the majority of these collections are stored and cataloged outside of these main halls. In many cases up to 99% of museums’ collections are stored away never to be seen for decades, if that often.

Over the last 8 months I have researched the difference between movie museum security and the reality of museum security.

Just published is a some of my results in the Journal of Physical Security at Argonne National Laboratory.

You can find the article here.

Or here.

As I step down from my position as president, pass the reins to the 2010 board of directors, and become a normal member again, I want to look back at everything that led to the founding of PS:One and all the work we have done since then. I have had the distinct pleasure and honor of working with a literal army of like-minded and brilliant collaborators to create and work with some amazing organizations over the past few years.

Back in 2004, with the help of many friends, I helped co-found TOOOL US (The Open Organization of Lockpickers, US division) with the blessings of Barry Wels (a TOOOL Holland founder).  We put our necks on the line and worked to bring lockpicking out of the shadows and into the national and international spotlight by showing that holding information back only hurts. By releasing information detailing lock weaknesses, manufacturers improved their systems and the field of physical security.

In 2008, I worked with an amazing group of people in the Washington DC area to help found HacDC, the nations’ capital’s hackerspace, and one of the first US hackerspaces. Learning to work with community leaders, acquire funding, and bring brilliant people from fields not used to collaborating together other was exhilarating, and even more exhilarating when those collaborations bore fruit.

In late 2008, a small group of friends and I began organizing meetings for what would eventually become Pumping Station: One here in Chicago.

In the past 12 month since Pumping Station One’s January 2009 founding, some amazing things have happened:

• Successfully created a space for hackers of all types to meet and work together
• Built a pretty decent network capable of people working on projects related to it
• Held the Geek Prom and the PPPWRS to great response from the media, the hacker/geek crowd, and community of Chicago
• Many of our members have contributed code and hardware designs to the Open Source community
• Brewed some wonderful concoctions in our Zymurgy (beer making) workshop
• Built a woodshop and an electrical workshop.
• Built a massive loft.
• Built a TARDIS
• Had members featured in articles in several news sources (including the American Bar Association’s Journal!)
• Reached 50 members and growing
• Countless projects from smart fabrics, pneumatic launch systems, code development, and chemical engineering.
• Countless milestones large and small I’m certain to have missed here

In the process of accomplishing this there are so many people to thank for helping to achieve the dream of a hackerspace in Chicago:

• All the founding members who contributed generously of their money, time, and effort when Pumping Station: One was just a glimmering dream and a tiny pile of paperwork at the State Secretary’s office.
• The entire 2009 Board of Directors for helping to keep this herd of cats organized and pointed in the same direction.
• Nathan Witt for being such a gentleman with the patience to take all the notes, take care of the website, and cut so much wood into useful assembled pieces (including our public stocks).
• Ishmael Rufus for looking after our books, because if he hadn’t we’d probably end up in prison for doing our taxes wrong.
• Eli Skipp for making the world inside our walls prettier and more awesome every day, and while being a source of inspiration for women everywhere.
• Nicolle “Rogue Clown” Neulist for being our own legal beagle(and Commodore 128 music queen).
• John “Jur1st” Benson of the Cowtown Computer Congress in Kansas City for also  keeping us out of legal hot water.
• Sacha De’Angeli for being our Danger “Safety” Committee chair and make sure we all have our fingers, noses, and toes.
• Jeff Kantarek for keeping a hovering firm hand on how not to create hydrogen by sticking a car batter in salt water.
• Sarah Sutherlin for making sure the loft didn’t collapse on us with her keen architect skills.
• Nick Farr for helping keep me sane from afar.

There are many, many others that I wish I could thank.

A year ago, we all set out to create a space where it is encouraged to learn beyond the normal educational path, I am proud to see what we have all built together, and I am excited to see what will evolve from our organization and from the worldwide hackerspaces movement.

So this boy from New Jersey has the pleasure to introduce an excellent group of leaders that will bring PS:One into a new period of enlightenment and exploration – the 2010 Board of Directors: Jim Burke, Tim Saylor, Jordan Bunker, Ryan Lanham, Ishmael Rufus, Sarah Sutherlin, Jeff Kantarek, and Sacha De’Angeli.  I’m terribly excited to see what many people thought wouldn’t be possible in Chicago grow into something that no one expected.

Per Ardua Ad Astra

Eric Michaud,

President Emeritus

Dear CCCKC and HacDC: It’s on like Donkey Kong.

Pumping Station: One, CCCKC, and HacDC announced at the DEFCON
Podcaster’s Meetup of the creation of the Warzone Project. As you may
know, the CCCKC network has a separate area dedicated to security
research…both attack and defense. This separate section of the network
was created so that members had a sandbox to attack and defend without
worrying about compromising their own or someone else’s systems and
information. The premise is that of assumed risk, neighborliness and
numerous disclaimers to users looking to participate that they should
know exactly what they are doing (or at least getting themselves into)
by connecting to the network.

We were ecstatic when we were contacted by the Astaro corporation who
loved the idea so much, they not only wanted their hardware on the
network but that they wanted to help expand the Project nationwide by
donating appliances to each of us. Each hacker space has their
hardware and over the next few weeks we will be hashing out the
details and putting together the darknet.

Below you will find the press release which was issued by Astaro at DEFCON.

For more information, you should follow the Warzone Project on
Twitter.  (@warzoneproject)

Astaro Corporation (http://www.astaro.com), a leading network security
vendor, today announced that Astaro has donated three Astaro Security
Gateway appliances to the Warzone Project, a joint research venture
between hacker spaces in the United States. The Warzone Project
creates a secure network between hacker spaces around the country for
information security research.

Hacker spaces are community-operated physical spaces where people meet
and collaborate on all forms of technology, culture and crafts in new
and interesting ways. Members are encouraged to share research and
discoveries and use what they learn to help educate others.

Astaro donated three Astaro Secuirty Gateway appliances to this
initaitve as part of the company’s ongoing commitment to educating the
technology community about network security. The Astaro Security
Gateways will be used to interconnect and build the Warzone
infrastructure. Additionaly, the Astaro Security Gateways will provide
insight into where traffic comes from and will help the Warzone
hackers identify potential vulnerabilities and develop attack
defenses.

“When we began organizing the Warzone Project we knew we needed a
trusted security product for the program be successful,” said Bill
Swearingen (hevnsnt) of the Cowtown Computer Congress. “We approached
Astaro to sponsor our events by donating the appliances because the
Astaro Security Gateway offers reliable Intrusion Protection System
that was ideal for testing the effectiveness of real-world attacks,
and for helping us to develop security standards.”

There is a common misconception that people who identify as hackers
are criminals or engaged in other unethical activities.

“Hacker spaces and the Warzone project are helping to combat the
negative image hackers have acquired by demonstrating that most
hackers are not engaged in criminal activity and are more interested
in finding and sharing information; including possible network
vulnerabilities,” said David Rogers, Vice President, Americas, Astaro
Corporation. “Astaro is proud to be a part of initiatives like the
Hackerspace Warzone project because they will help network
administrators and security vendors create more secure environments.”

The Warzone project will entail a secure “darknet” connecting hacker
spaces from around the country, creating a sandbox environment for
both offensive and defensive research. The first hacker spaces to
participate are the Cowtown Computer Congress in Kansas City and
Pumping Station: One in Chicago.

The Cowtown Computer Congress (CCCKC) is a not for profit technology
cooperative founded to advance technology of all kinds. They are a
member supported organization providing technology classes, workshops
and services to the public free of charge. CCCKC brings together some
of the finest minds in midwest to collaborate on research and projects
for other local groups. Through their affiliate program, CCCKC gives
assistance to specialized technology user groups by providing them
with a facility to hold meetings and work on projects of their own.
CCCKC’s Underground Lab is located 85 feet below the surface of the
earth at 31st Street and Southwest Trafficway in Kansas City,
Missouri.
http://cowtowncomputercongress.org
press@cowtowncomputercongress.org

Pumping Station: One, NFP, is a space to facilitate creativity in and
through the merging of art, technology, and culture. Members enjoy a
diverse community of peers to collaborate with, classes and workshops
on subjects from electronics and programming to welding and home beer
brewing, and 24-hour access to a huge variety of tools, equipment, and
resources for just about any project imaginable. Pumping Station: One
is located at 3354 N. Elston Ave in Chicago, Illinois. To learn more,
visit www.pumpingstationone.org, or contact
press@pumpingstationone.org. This is an Illinois Not-For-Profit
organization.
http://pumpingstationone.org