# Microsoft Research — Learn the rules: The hacker mindset

- Company: Microsoft Research (microsoft.com)
- Announced: 2026-11-03T17:14:38+00:00
- Category: not stated
- Coverage: not counted
- Announcement: no
- Group: routine
- Source: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/podcast/learn-the-rules-the-hacker-mindset/
- Record: https://forck.live/items/31114-learn-the-rules-the-hacker-mindset
- Subject: Research / Phi

Microsoft Research published a podcast conversation in which research manager Mike Walker describes how hacker culture led him to a career in cyber defense. Walker, who leads projects at the intersection of AI, cybersecurity and large distributed systems, previously led DARPA's Cyber Grand Challenge, the program that demonstrated autonomous AI systems finding and patching software vulnerabilities. He says the program marked its 10th anniversary this year in 2026. In the discussion with principal technical program manager Weishung Liu, Walker argues that effective security depends on understanding trust and context, saying that every time a security system asks something of users it is asking for their trust, and that squandering that trust makes the security regime fall down. He also reflects on what competitive hacking taught him about teamwork and collective intelligence, and asks whether today's networked systems are any safer than they were a decade ago.

## Evidence

Verbatim from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/podcast/learn-the-rules-the-hacker-mindset/:

> For some, rules pose limitations. For others, like Microsoft Research Manager Mike Walker, they’re opportunities.
> 
> Walker’s fascination with rules and their role in the social order has allowed him to find success professionally and personally, from uncovering weaknesses in networked systems to redefining how computers are trained to fend off cyberattacks to pushing the limits of a reliable mode of transportation—the bicycle—in ultra-endurance racing.
> 
> In this conversation with Principal Technical Program Manager Weishung Liu, Walker describes how his participation in hacker culture led him to a career building next-generation cyber defense, including his work developing the first all-machine hacking tournament. Along the way, he reflects on why effective security depends on understanding trust and context, what competitive hacking taught him about teamwork and collective intelligence, and how an early lesson reshaped his understanding of leadership. He also tackles an important question: are today’s networked systems any safer than they were a decade ago?
> 
> Subscribe to the Microsoft Research Podcast :
> 
> Transcript
> 
> [MUSIC]

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Record: https://forck.live/items/31114-learn-the-rules-the-hacker-mindset
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