Hacker Generations

It has all happened so fast. Eleven years of Def Con define three identifiable generations of hackers. (Yes, that’s an arbitrary distinction, but it’s useful.) The first generation helped build the network, the second learned how to use the network, and the third has become the network. The management of perception in the mind of society is the battle in which we are now engaged. Online life is threaded through with deception and counter-deception, intelligence and counter-intelligence, but that’s second nature to the latest generation of hackers. They understand that intuitively. They operate in small cells, manage their egos with discipline, and execute stealthy sophisticated operations with finesse. Richard Thieme shows how boundaries have morphed, power has been redefined, and The Matrix is more than a movie. Not since Blade Runner has a film described so well the territory that must be crossed. Owning our own souls is the ultimate intention of Third Generation Hacking, the only end that justifies the means. Thieme holds nothing back as he addresses the deeper implications of what it means to be the network. The stakes are high and the battle is worthy of our best efforts. This talk is a call to arms to accept responsibility for the life and death battle being waged for the hearts and minds of digital humanity.