DEF CON is one of the most popular group about Hacking and Security, that is waiting for trainers for the next year, while they need to be passionated about the subject to be able to teach.
In the Perspective of Ethical Hacking, knowing that this groups create labs to do security research's, we can see the Iniciative good, because it have the main intention to find bugs(security Flaws(holes)) on others Code Logic, to create better(secure) systems.
I think we(in society) need more Functionality(helping others in what we can to improve their life qualities), than security(block any kind of relation to prevent abuses), depending on how society(any country) have on their population connectivity, Security becomes potencially more important than Functionality.
It is important to understand, that the "problem" of hacking tools, are always on being accessible to those who don't need Ethical principles to use them, which are not professionals but regular users. For example, in America anyone can own a Gun. Since it is (anyone) and not only those who may need(bank Guards, body Guards?), the probability of regular users, using them in random situations is so big, that those kind of events are part of news in America(almost every single day) like on Internet, if I can access tools that automate some process that I don't need to understand but have positive results for my objective to attack someone(individual or company), I may wish to use it, because I don't understand the logic behind and my objectives are giving by that tool I can use.
In some different level, the Military control the Flow of Military Tools, to NOT be used in society. Lets me Imagine that the Military understand the Problem that would be, if anyone could accesss their "New Tools" that only ask a "Click" to create in reality a Destructive result. (In this Possible World that I did Imagine, I can see that Military try to use Ethics)
Finding security problems in any subject in the world, can improve reality in case(only) if the security research don't break totaly what potencialy can have a security problem, which everything can have, even more in Society.