Defcon Under Siege: Hotel Staff Accused of Harassing Conference Goers

The ransomware attack on Las Vegas Hotel's last year has had lasting repercussions on the security protocols of various hotels in Las Vegas, especially during large events like Defcon. Since the incident, many attendees have reported alarming encounters with hotel staff, who have adopted increasingly aggressive tactics that border on harassment, all in the name of heightened security.

Numerous Defcon attendees have shared similar stories of hotel staff demanding access to their rooms in a forceful and abrupt manner. Without prior notice, staff insisted on entering rooms, and when guests requested time to verify the legality of these demands, they were met with hostility. In several instances, hotel employees threatened to involve the police and charge guests with trespassing if they did not comply immediately. This heavy-handed approach left many guests feeling cornered and intimidated.

The situation escalated for many, with armed security guards being called in to force entry if guests hesitated to open their doors. These confrontations often ended with guests being asked to show identification, having policies read aloud to them, and being escorted out of the hotel with little explanation. The general consensus among those affected was that the treatment they received was excessively harsh and entirely disproportionate to the circumstances.

As attendees were removed from their rooms, they reported seeing security personnel systematically knocking on doors throughout the hotel, evicting other guests in a manner that some compared to a police raid. The widespread nature of these actions led many to believe that this was not an isolated incident but a coordinated effort to crack down on perceived security threats during the convention.

The cumulative effect of these experiences has left many Defcon attendees feeling anxious and unwelcome in Las Vegas hotels, particularly those along the Strip. There is a growing sentiment among the cybersecurity community that these measures are not only extreme but also discriminatory against professionals attending the convention. The fallout from the Caesars ransomware attack appears to have created an environment of paranoia and overreach, leading to severe and possibly unlawful actions against guests who were simply there to participate in Defcon.