In the summer of 2024, I became a repo man for a day. I legally recovered a vehicle without any confrontation or repercussions.

In this talk, I describe the circumstances that led to this eventful day. I approached this problem like I do a capture the flag event or other ethical hacking activities: Identify the problem, gather information, analyze the clues, consult other professionals and take action.

I go into detail on the upfront planning work I did, how I was able to legally retake ownership of the vehicle and then physically take possession of the vehicle all while doing my best to avoid any confrontation. I also cover the measures I took to ensure that this process couldn’t be re-implemented as a counter attack on me.

We then work together on some real-life security challenges, CTF style. Participants will have the opportunity to solve 1 or 2 challenges. I'll review the clues and reveal the solutions along the way.

I wrap up the talk with how my adversary could have prevented me from recovering the vehicle and talk in general about good personal security behaviors.

NOTE:

This was first published in the Fall 2025 edition of 2600 magazine; a quarterly hacker magazine I've been reading since the '80s. It was a dream come true to have this story published in this magazine.

This session was given recently to a packed room at ConFoo and was very well received.