ACERCA DE ESTE EPISODIO
What actually happens at the world’s biggest hacker conference—and why are thousands of cybersecurity professionals volunteering their time to break things?
In this special bonus episode of Hack Dissection, Maltek Solutions’ Mike Lisi is joined by Click Stream Studios Founder Matt Masur, who traveled with Mike to Las Vegas for DEF CON 2026. Together, they look back on their experience documenting the conference and explore what makes DEF CON unlike almost any other technology event.
Mike and Matt take listeners inside the unique world of DEF CON villages, Capture the Flag competitions, electronic badges, Red Team vs. Blue Team security, AI, and the massive volunteer community that makes the event possible. Along the way, they revisit conversations with hackers working on everything from Active Directory and pinball machines to cars, boats, aviation, cloud security, and critical infrastructure. More importantly, they tackle the idea at the heart of this year’s coverage: Hacking for Good. Because learning how technology can be attacked, manipulated, or exploited is often the first step toward making it safer.
Whether you work in cybersecurity, are thinking about entering the industry, or have simply wondered what really happens at DEF CON, this bonus episode offers an inside look at the people, technology, creativity, and community behind DEF CON 2026.
