How NOT to Perform Covert Entry Assessments
Brent White, Tim Roberts
DEF CON 33 (backfill) · Day 1 · Main Stage
In this highly engaging and refreshingly candid DEF CON talk, Brent White and Tim Roberts, seasoned physical security penetration testers with over 12 years of experience, dismantle common misconceptions about covert entry assessments. Titled "How NOT to Perform Covert Entry Assessments," the presentation serves as a critical guide for both aspiring and experienced practitioners, shifting the focus from merely showcasing exploits to understanding the ethical, practical, and often overlooked nuances of physical security testing. The speakers aim to save fellow professionals "headaches" by sharing lessons learned from years of real-world engagements, emphasizing professionalism, client empathy, and effective methodologies over the "Hollywood spy" theatrics often associated with the field.
AI review
White and Roberts deliver something the physical security space badly needs: a professional ethics and methodology talk that doesn't sacrifice technical substance to get there. The covert clipboard PoC, the alarm-sensor bypass choreography, and the honest treatment of scope failures make this genuinely useful for practitioners at any level.