I was a Christian, professional hacker, author, pirate and ninja. What am I
now? It’s really hard to say. These days I spend most of my time in one of the
poorest places on the planet trying to make a difference with Hackers For
Charity. My life seems to be in a constant state of evolution, and this talk is
as well. Normally, speakers submit an abstract to describe their talk, which is
pre-planned and well-thought-out. This is not that kind of talk. Instead, this
is an experiment. In the month prior to DerbyCon, I decided to cast caution to
the wind and dedicate myself full-time to my work with Hackers For Charity. This
meant stepping away from my part-time job despite the fact that the donations
that used to keep us afloat are at an all-time low. But I simply couldn’t ignore
the call of HFC, which had been floundering without my full-time attention.
A day after taking an unpaid vacation from my job, unexpected and monstrous
bills started materializing. So far, the month has been an interesting one. I’ve
trudged through war-torn towns and I’ve seen first-hand the damage inflicted by
one of the world’s most insidious and cruel “terrorist” militant groups. I’ve
worked alongside street kids, helped out the local police, and stretched
Internet coverage to an area that’s never had it. I’ve witnessed several
victories because of our efforts and experienced more than one crushing defeat.
I’ve lost four Retina MacBooks’ worth of weight and more than one night’s sleep
but overall, I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time.
The month has just begun and I’ve already learned a lot of things about life and
gained some surprising insights that I wish I had picked up on ten years ago.
How will it all pan out? I have no idea. But if you’re stuck in a rut like I
was, feeling unfulfilled in your work or wishing you could do something big (or
at least something different), I might have some suggestions for you.
Also, I’ll be making a Derbycon-exclusive release. It’s not an 0-day (sorry) but
it will finally answer the long-asked question of, “What can I do to help?”
We’ll present our new web site that lets you find charities in your own back
yard that could use a technical helping hand.
Stay tuned!
Johnny Long
Johnny Long spent his career as a professional hacker. He is the author of
numerous security books including No-Tech Hacking, Google
Hacking for Penetration Testers. Currently residing in Uganda, East Africa,
Johnny’s now focused on his work with Hackers for Charity. HFC
is a non-profit organization that leverages the skills of technologists. They
solve technology challenges for various
non-profits and provide food, equipment, job training and computer education to
the world’s poorest citizens. Johnny’s website is
http://hackersforcharity.org
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