In the end, it was <A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080812/tc_afp/usitinternetcrimehackerdefcon">hackers at DefCon that got hacked.</A> After three days of software cracking duels and hacking seminars, self-described computer ninjas at the infamous gathering in Las Vegas found out Sunday that their online activities were hijacked without them catching on.

A standing-room crowd cheered admiringly as Tony Kapela and Alex Pilosov showed them how they were "pwned" by a simple technique that could be used to "steal the Internet."