Ep.10 - S2|E3: From Makers to Hackers – Lessons from Maker Faire Salzburg

In this new episode of Build, Create & Learn – A Maker’s Journey, I take a short break from the deep technical dives into Embedded Linux to explore something more fundamental — curiosity.

 

During my visit to Maker Faire Salzburg, I met passionate creators, young experimenters, and communities that reminded me why I started making in the first place. It was a vivid reminder that curiosity is the common thread connecting every builder, designer, and engineer — and, interestingly, every hacker too.

 

In this episode, I reflect on what unites makers and hackers, why breaking things is part of learning, and how curiosity shapes our approach to both creativity and security. From soldering tables to cybersecurity labs, it’s all driven by the same desire: to understand how things work.

 

This episode marks a small turning point in Season 2 — a bridge between the embedded Linux journey so far and the next chapter of my exploration into ethical hacking and cybersecurity with my upcoming project.

 

Thanks for listening, and don’t forget to check out the companion article at https://herndlbauer.com/blog/a-makers-journey-podcast-episode-10/ — where I share some reflections on curiosity, and more behind-the-scenes notes from this journey.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey everybody, welcome back to Build, Create andLearn: A Maker’s Journey.
I’m Stefan and this is episode 3 of the 2ndseason.
If you have been following along, you know thatlately I’ve been exploring the world of embedded Linux.

(00:21):
First by writing my very first kernel module andthen cross compiling my own character driver.
It has been a fascinating process, but today’sepisode will be a little bit different.
I want to step back from the cold for a moment andtalk about something that sits underneath every technical skill you learn.

(00:43):
Curiosity.
Where it comes from and how it shapes us as makersand why it might even lead us to other topics like hacking or cybersecurity.
So think of this episode as a reflection episode,a short pause between two deep dives before we move into the next chapter of this journey.

(01:06):
Over the past year I’ve been noticed how much Ihave involved as a maker, exploring new areas and pushing into unfamiliar territory and learning new facets of what it means to be a maker.
All of that helped me grow.
I’m more confident now, better at soldering, morefluid in code and less afraid of frying a component or breaking something.

(01:31):
Because breaking things I’ve learned is part ofthe process.
I remember one moment from my childhood thatreally shaped my mindset.
I must have been 8 or 9 when I took apart an oldmechanical alarm clock.
There were gears, springs and tiny screws, a wholemicro universe of moving parts.

(01:52):
I didn’t manage to put it back together but thatdidn’t matter.
What mattered was seeing how it works underneath.
That instinct to take things apart and understandwhat’s happening under the hood that follows me ever since.
A couple of years ago I dove deep intocybersecurity and penetration testing.

(02:15):
The process felt strangely familiar, takingsystems apart, looking for weak points and understanding how to make them stronger.
Recently I rediscovered that fascination andstarted to doing some capture the flag challenges again.
Little digital treasure hunts where you test yourproblem solving skills in a safe ethical environment.

(02:38):
But I will get to that later.
First let’s talk about where curiosity recentlytook me in the physical world.
On the 8th of November I visited the Maker Fairein Salzburg for the first time.

(02:59):
As a curious maker I wanted to explore what thislocal scene looked like and what kind of people and project I would meet there.
I knew it would not compare to the scale ofHanover or San Francisco but the spirit is the same.
People who build, thinker and share what theylearn.
After a two hour train ride I met the colleagueand we entered the exhibition hall.

(03:23):
Right away I noticed something.
Most visitors were families, parents with kids,eyed wide open, bouncing from booth to booth.
The first hall was buzzing with activity.
Tables of tools with materials inviting kids toexperiment.
Woodworking, laser engraving, textiles andelectronics.

(03:44):
Universities and schools presented their studentprojects.
Proudly standing next to 3D printers,microcontrollers and handmade robots.
And that was really beautiful to watch.
You could see general curiosity on every face.
It reminded me that maybe we are all born asmakers, tool builders and explorers.

(04:09):
And somewhere along the way we just forget.
Schools often teach us to remember.
But watching those kids I saw how natural the urgeto build and experiment really is.
I even bought a small toothbrush robot to takehome for my daughter.
They were simple to assemble.
Motors, a battery, tiny brushes but full ofwonders.

(04:32):
They loved them.
Maybe that’s how a new generation of makers start.
In the second hall the audience shifted, moreadults and fewer kids.
There were booths from local radio communities, 3Dprinting and the Chaos Computer Club and some tool makers like the Fixit.

(04:53):
One table caught my attention immediately.
Not high with old computers and circuit boards.
It triggered a wave of nostalgia.
I remembered my first computer and Intel 486running Amistos.
Back then when writing a short basic script feltlike opening a secret door.

(05:14):
Seeing these old computers brought me back to themoment, the excitement of typing a command and waiting for something to happen.
I had hoped for a bit more in terms ofprofessional tools and electronics supplies.
Things to upgrade my own workshop.
But that’s not really what the Maker Faire is allabout.

(05:35):
It was more community driven, more educational.
Less about the new gear and more about the spiritof making.
And that’s fine.
Sometimes it’s not about discovering new projects.
It’s about rediscovering why you start building inthe first place.
Overall the Faire was worth the visit.
A small scale but full of hearts.

(05:57):
For more technical inspiration I will probablyvisit another trade show in the future.
But as a reminder of where this movement comesfrom, curiosity, place and community, it was perfect.

(06:19):
On the train ride home I kept thinking about howsimilar making and hacking actually are.
Both came from the same desire to understandsomething deeply enough that you can change it.
Whether it’s a 3D impretant part, amicrocontroller or a web application, the process is the same.

(06:40):
Observe, test, break, rebuild and repeat.
Makers use curiosity to build new things.
Makers use curiosity to reveal how things reallywork.
Both need persistence.
Both need critical thinking and both thrive onwhat if questions.
When you build a product, whether it’s software orhardware, you think about the user experience and reliability.

(07:08):
But you also need to think about security.
Understanding how something might be exploitedisn’t about paranoia.
It’s about craftsmanship.
Yet society stills to view hackers with suspicion.
Pop culture gave us the cliche "a lonely figure ina dark room wearing a hoodie and hammering the keyboard for breaking into the system".

(07:31):
Reality couldn’t be further from that.
In truth most hackers I know are researchers,testers or educators.
People driven by the same curiosity that powersthe maker movement.
Inside the cybersecurity community there is aclear distinction between black hat, grey hat and white hat hackers.
White hats are ethical hackers.

(07:53):
Professionals hired to test systems and helpcompanies strengthen them.
Blackheads are criminals who exploitvulnerabilities for personal gain.
I’ve always identified with the ethical side.
Using hacking to understand, to improve and tolearn.
That’s exactly why I enjoy capture the flagchallenges.

(08:15):
Each one is like a carefully designed puzzle.
A digital escape room where you have to analyze,guess, exploit and finally unlock the flag.
When you solve it, there is a rush of satisfactionthat’s hard to describe.
It’s not about winning, it’s about figuring itout.
And maybe that’s the real overlap between hackingand making.

(08:37):
The satisfaction of understanding something that’sused to be opaque.
The joy of saying "ah, that’s how it works".
Thinking back to the make affair I realized howcentral curiosity is to everything we do.

(09:01):
Whether it’s soldering, a circuit or reverseengineering, a piece of software.
Curiosity isn’t just about a nice to have trade.
It’s the foundation of progress.
Somewhere between childhood and adulthood we startto treat curiosity like a liability.
We stop taking things apart because we are afraidof breaking them.

(09:24):
Or worse, because we think we are not allowed to.
But every innovation, every security,breakthrough, every piece of real innovation begins with something asking "what happened if I tried this?".
We should stop separating creativity from securityor making from hacking.
They belong together.

(09:45):
Makers build systems and hackers test them.
One imagines possibilities and the others exploresthe boundaries.
Both make the world stronger.
Imagine if every maker space had a small hackercorner.
A place where people could safely learn aboutnetwork security, IoT vulnerabilities or ethical penetration testing alongside 3D printing and CNC machining.

(10:12):
Imagine if schools taught hacking as a structuredcuriosity, as a way to train problem solving and resilience.
That’s what ethical curiosity looks like, amindset that embraces experimentation and responsibility.
It’s the realization that understanding how thingsbreak isn’t destructive, it’s creative.

(10:34):
Because when we understand failure we learn how tobuild better systems, better products and maybe even better society.
And I think that’s where my next journey leads,exploring the intersection more deliberately.

(10:57):
Leaving the maker fear I felt both inspired andrestless.
Inspired by all these creativity I saw.
Kids building robots and people reviving vintagecomputers, communities sharing tools and knowledge.
But restless because I felt this pull to digdeeper.
We as makers spend so much time creating newthings that we sometimes forget about asking how security are and how they might fail.

(11:26):
Maybe my role now is to bridge this gap, to mergethe maker’s curiosity with the hacker’s awareness.
That’s exactly what I plan to explore in thecoming month.
A new direction, a new project.
Something that combines hands-on making withcybersecurity and learning by doing.
I will talk more about this very soon.

(11:48):
For now I just want to leave you with thisthought.
Curiosity isn’t just a spark that starts aproject.
It’s the engine that keeps it running.
It’s what turns the mistakes into insights andfrustration into progress.
Whether you’re soldering a circuit board, codingyour first kernel driver or solving a CTF challenge at midnight.

(12:12):
Remember, it all comes from the same place.
The desire to understand by exploring.
Because in the end the real difference between amaker and a hacker is just the direction of their curiosity.
And both are essential to move the world forward.
And if you’re listening on YouTube or Spotify,please leave a comment or subscribe, which really helps the others to discover this show.

(12:39):
Make sure to also subscribe to the Maker’sLogbook, my free weekly newsletter where I share behind-the-scenes notes, project updates and extra resources.
Thanks for tuning in.
Until next time.
Let’s keep building, creating and learningtogether.