Who We Are
We are a group of people who are interested in technology, information security, making things, and breaking things— in a word, hacking. We are pro-privacy, anti-surveillance, anti-capitalist, pro-freedom, anti-borders, supporters of open-source software, and believers in the right to repair. Our work focuses on education, mutual aid, and supporting direct action.
We believe anyone who is curious about the world around them and likes to think creatively can be a hacker - not just people who work in the tech industry. Our members come from a variety of fields, from penetration testing to nursing. "Hacking" can take a variety of forms, many of them far different from what hackers do in movies. Figuring out a way to get around paywalls can be hacking. Rigging up an air purifier from a box fan and some air filters can be hacking. Creating a DIY wind turbine out of a ceiling fan motor and a car battery can be hacking. Even social engineering your boss into giving you more time off can be hacking.
People of all political orientations are welcome. The group is run by broadly anarcho-communist, anarcho-syndicalist, and libertarian socialist principles, which inform the work we do and how we do it. We work towards a future without (pay)walls and without borders.
As a group, we do not engage in lobbying for reform within the legal system, though individual members may choose to do that work themselves.
We follow the Workers Defense Alliance's Code of Conduct. Additionally, we have an anti "um, actually" policy. Many of our members have experienced the hostility of mainstream tech spaces towards marginalized people and folks who have less formal tech education, and we want to keep that hostility out of our space. It is important that we learn together, without talking down to each other.
What We Do
Education
Infosec 101: We offer a training that goes through information security essentials for organizers and activists. This training will teach you how to keep your info out of the hands of police and the far right by developing threat models, understanding how to communicate securely, minimizing your digital footprint, and more. This training is intended to be accessible to the general public.
Lockpicking Hack Night: Learn lockpicking with a variety of tools and demo locks!
If you're interested in a training, please email hwb@workersdefensealliance.org and we'll let you know when and where to find one!
Projects
We take on a variety of technical projects. Current and past projects include:
- DIY Self-Starting Wind Turbine for Use in Encampments (ongoing)
- DIY air purifiers (ongoing)
- Creating low-cost police scanner (past)
- Maintaining computers, network, and printer for local labor/community organizing group (past)
Support Work
Tech Support
Come to us with your tech questions, and we'll do our best to help!
Information security check-ups for people experiencing doxing, stalking, or targeted harassment
Abusers, far-right trolls, and other "bad actors" often resort to doxing, stalking, and targeted harassment in attempts to instill fear in their victims. If you are being doxed, stalked, or harassed, we can help you go through your internet presence to remove information that can be used to locate or further harass you. While there is a limit to what we can do once you have been doxed, we will work with you to develop a plan to reduce further harm. We can also help you physically secure your home.
Preventive anti-doxing
If you are at risk for doxing, stalking, or targeted harassment, we can help you remove or restrict information about you on the internet before anything happens. We will help you come up with a threat model and a plan for what to remove and restrict, based on your particular concerns and digital needs (i.e., we probably aren't going to tell you to delete your Twitter). We especially recommend this for people in visible elected roles within labor unions, as there is a growing trend of targeted harassment and threats towards officials of striking unions.
Affiliations
We are a member group of the Workers Defense Alliance and the Electronic Frontier Alliance.
How to Get In Touch
To ask for help with anti-doxing, request a training, or ask about getting involved, email us at hwb@workersdefensealliance.org.
We have monthly meetings at 6PM on the second Wednesday of the month. In the warm months, the meetings are in-person outdoors; in the cold months, they are online via Jitsi. If you're interested in attending a meeting, hit us up at hwb@workersdefensealliance.org.