Denizens of DEF CON are 'fed up with government'

Interview Hackers – especially Jake Braun – are "fed up with government."

Braun was one of the creators of the first-ever Voting Machine Hacking Village at DEF CON in 2017 and served as a homeland security and cyber advisor to the Obama and Biden administrations. He also co-founded the Franklin project, named for Benjamin Franklin, who founded America's first volunteer fire department and published the annual Poor Richard's Almanack – an eclectic collection of useful facts and other musings.

The Franklin project, which launched at DEF CON in 2024, enlists hackers to secure critical infrastructure, and 350 people signed up that year to donate their time and talent to securing water facilities.

Another of the project’s activities is publishing an annual Hacker's Almanack in homage to Franklin’s effort.

The second volume, the DEF CON 33 Hackers' Almanack, [PDF] landed earlier this month.

We saw society moving in the ...