Expanding Your Cyber Team: Hackers as Collaborators

The future of healthcare cybersecurity depends on whether we treat hackers as adversaries or as potential allies. In a landscape where cyberattacks are accelerating and patient safety is at stake, the old model of “us versus them” is no longer sustainable. Drawing from my work leading the Biohacking Village at DEF CON and partnering with medical device manufacturers, regulators, and researchers, this session explores how collaboration with ethical hackers can strengthen defenses, uncover vulnerabilities before adversaries exploit them, and build trust across the healthcare ecosystem.

Attendees will gain insights into how hacker communities think, what motivates them, and how to bridge cultural divides to create meaningful partnerships. Together, we can shift the narrative: hackers are not inevitable foes, but powerful collaborators who can help secure the technologies our patients rely on every day.