Denizens of DEF CON are 'fed up with government'

The piece profiles Jake Braun and the DEF CON Franklin project and presents the DEF CON Hackers' Almanack focal themes: accelerating offensive use of AI in hacking, volunteer-driven efforts to fight cybercrime (including actions against ransomware and dark-web marketplaces), and creating a "Digital Arsenal of Democracy"—mesh networks, digital archives, PirateBox, and other tools—to help oppressed communities resist authoritarianism. It calls for leveraging skilled white-hat hackers as force multipliers and for industry-wide security controls for AI while urging coordinated action between human-rights groups and the hacker community.