One of the best examples of what makes the information security community special is Hackers for Charity, an engine for good started by hacker Johnny Long several years ago.
Mood music:
Long set up shop in Jinja, a town just east of the Ugandan capital of Kampala. Hackers for Charity brings to bear the skills of hackers worldwide to provide free technical support to cash-strapped local charities and organizations.
Volunteers work to improve Internet connectivity and put technology into the hands of those who would otherwise be left out. The organization also provides those it serves with a wealth of technical training.
One way it raises funds is by selling T-shirts, bracelets, stickers and hand-crafted leather accessories online and at security conferences around the world. The leather crafts are made in Uganda and include iPhone cases, iPad cases, journals, tumblers, coffee mugs, shot glasses and more.
The organization is well known in the security community, and most of what has been written about it has come from Long. But recently, Khalil Sehnaoui, managing partner and founder of Krypton Security, journeyed to Uganda and spent time with Long and his neighbors.
Sehnaoui kept an online diary that delves deep into the soul of Hackers for Charity. It’s a must read for anyone who cares about helping others, as is this post Long wrote about the visit.
Thank you for this lovely write up ! God knows HFC needs all the exposure they can get 🙂 <3