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 ...