DEF CON hackers 'fed up with government,' Jake Braun says • The Register

The DEF CON hacking community is increasingly frustrated with government inaction on pressing cyber threats, according to Jake Braun, one of the creators of the Voting Machine Hacking Village and former homeland security advisor. Speaking to The Register, Braun expressed deep dissatisfaction with what he sees as government's failure to address critical challenges facing society.

Braun's frustration stems from what he perceives as a reversal of the progress made over the past 500 years in areas like science and human rights. "This community is so committed to these principles of human rights and freedom of speech and science, that when we see people fuck with them – or when we see the people that we elect to preserve these things not doing their fucking job – we're just like: 'Fuck you guys,'" Braun said bluntly.

This sentiment has crystallized into the Franklin project, named after Benjamin Franklin, which launched at DEF CON in 2024. The initiative enlists hackers to secure critical infrastructure, with 350 volunteers signing up in its first year to help protect water facilities. The project also publishes an annual Hacker's Almanack, with the DEF CON 33 edition released earlier this month.

The Almanack identifies three major threats that governments have failed to adequately address: cybercrime, artificial intelligence, and authoritarianism. Each represents a significant challenge that the hacker community is uniquely positioned to tackle.

On the AI front, the Almanack highlights concerning developments in offensive capabilities. Anthropic's AI coding tool Claude demonstrated remarkable progress, placing in the top three percent globally in the PicoCTF competition while also successfully defending against red-team attacks. However, Claude still struggled with more difficult challenges and occasionally fabricated its own flags. Braun notes that this represents "the accelerating power of AI for offense" while security remains an afterthought. He advocates for industry-wide security standards similar to the Center for Internet Security's Critical Security Controls.

Cybercrime research featured prominently in the Almanack, showcasing hackers taking direct action against criminal enterprises. Examples include the takedown of Russian dark web marketplace Solaris and its affiliated hacker collective Killnet, as well as exposing the real-world identity of phishing scammer Darcula, responsible for millions in losses. The Almanack argues that traditional government approaches to fighting ransomware and cybercrime are ineffective, suggesting that programs like the FBI's Confidential Human Source initiative need to be expanded to leverage skilled white hat hackers as force multipliers.

The third theme, "down with despots," emerged from research into civil society methods for protecting data, communications, and culture against oppression. This includes projects like LambdaCalculus's off-grid mesh network PirateBox, proposals for mesh networks in Taiwan to help civilians resist potential invasion, and Saving Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Online's (SUCHO) efforts to preserve over 1,500 Ukrainian cultural websites before and during Russia's invasion.

To combat authoritarianism, the Almanack proposes building a "Digital Arsenal of Democracy" comprising technologies like mesh networks, digital archives, PirateBox, and DNA data storage. This arsenal would help oppressed communities preserve their history and culture while maintaining communication capabilities even under hostile conditions.

The initiative aligns with DEF CON's broader themes of "access everywhere" and this summer's focus on "agency" – the ability of citizens to control their identity, data, and digital persona. Braun envisions a concerted effort between the human rights and hacker communities to identify existing technologies that support human rights preservation, determine what's missing, and build those capabilities.

Braun remains confident that DEF CON hackers will rise to these challenges, citing their inherent commitment to freedom, transparency, and science. "There's a certain thing in the hacker mindset that makes them a hacker: this commitment to freedom, transparency, science, very much Ben Franklin-esque," he explained. "When there's threats to that, they get super riled up."

The Franklin project represents a significant shift in how the hacker community views its role in society – moving from purely technical exploration to active defense of democratic values and human rights. As Braun sees it, when governments fail to protect these principles, the responsibility falls to those with the skills and commitment to act.