About Us

Founded in 1997, Black Hat is an internationally recognized cybersecurity event series providing the most technical and relevant information security research. Grown from a single annual conference to the most respected information security event series internationally, these multi-day events provide the security community with the latest cutting-edge research, developments, and trends.

Black Hat Briefings and Trainings are driven by the needs of the global security community, striving to bring together the best minds in the industry. Black Hat inspires professionals at all career levels, encouraging growth and collaboration among academia, world-class researchers and leaders in the public and private sectors. Today, Black Hat Briefings and Trainings are held annually in the United States, Europe, and Asia, providing premier venues for elite security researchers and trainers to find their audience.

What We Do

Briefings

Since their inception, Black Hat Briefings continue to provide security professionals with a place to learn the very latest in information security risks, research and trends. Leading security researchers from around the world take the stage each year to share their latest work and exploits in a friendly, vendor-neutral environment. Attendees will experience groundbreaking research on topics ranging from vulnerabilities within popular consumer devices, to critical international infrastructure threats, and everything in between.


Trainings

Black Hat Trainings offer attendees individual technical courses with topics ranging from the latest in penetration testing, to exploiting web applications, and defending and building SCADA systems. Often designed exclusively for Black Hat, these hands-on attack and defense courses are taught by industry and subject matter experts from all over the world, with the goal of defining and defending tomorrow's information security landscape.


Review Board + Content Selection

The Black Hat Review Board is comprised of more than 100 of the industry's most credible and distinguished security professionals and thought leaders throughout various areas of the information security community. The Review Board advises Black Hat on its strategic direction, reviewing and programming conference content, while providing unparalleled insight into the research community.

All submissions are vetted thoroughly by the Black Hat Review Board for each event. Every submission is reviewed for its uniqueness, overall content expertise and accuracy before selections are made. Through the course of this dynamic review process, the Black Hat Review Board members will frequently ask researchers for clarity on the submissions including the uniqueness or audacity of claims made. The best submissions come with academic-grade papers, proof-of-concept code and/or video demonstrations. Black Hat does not support pay-for-play Briefings. The Black Hat Briefings are always independently selected based on quality of content and area of expertise rather than sponsorship.


Attracting Top Talent and Research

Black Hat is proud of the depth of research and vulnerability disclosures revealed at each of its events. We strongly support and encourage responsible disclosure. Black Hat has a strong partnership with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) to provide pro-bono legal consultations to security researchers on the legality of any research or data that will be presented at every annual event. Black Hat and EFF are dedicated to defending free speech and privacy rights to facilitate the boundary-pushing research and vulnerability disclosure that attendees have come to know and love.

Who Should Attend

  • Security Practitioners
    • (IT Specialists, Security Analysts, Risk Managers, Security Architects/Engineers, Penetration Testers, Security Software Developers, Cryptographers, Programmers, Government Employees)
    • Hone your skills with the latest tools and techniques throughout the industry with Black Hat's intensely technical and relevant Briefings and Trainings. Explore challenges and successes others in the field are experiencing, while collaborating on uses for emerging platforms, development models and best practices.
  • Security Executives, Business Developers and Venture Capitalists
    • (CISOs, CEOs, Presidents, Directors, VPs, Consultants)
    • Take advantage of a multi-billion-dollar industry by networking with other top information security executives, practitioners and potential investors. Gain knowledge of opportunities in the growing information security industry, while engaging with the community that is molding the future of the field and trailblazing new ventures. The Black Hat CISO Summit, an exclusive gathering of 200 top industry executives and security industry leaders, ignites open conversations and “think tank” style breakout sessions. This full day of discussions is unique to Black Hat and provides unmatched opportunities for networking and learning.
  • Vendor Companies and Sponsors
    • (Hardware, Software, Middleware, Services)
    • Black Hat attracts over 20,000 of the world's most renowned security experts, executives, and attendees, that create the industry's most dynamic and concentrated information security community. Unveil your latest and greatest innovations, expertise, services and products over the course of two days.
  • The Business Hall
    • Black Hat's Business Hall features more than 350 of the industry's top solution providers and start-ups showcasing the latest tools, technologies and services supporting the security community.
  • Career Seekers and Recruiters
    • (Seasoned Veterans, Students, Schools, Expanding Companies)
    • Black Hat offers the opportunity to network with the best new and seasoned talent in the industry. Meet face-to-face with top international experts committed to defining and defending the future of security. Job seekers can meet with the most influential companies and recruiters looking for new hires.
  • Academia
    • (Professors, Students Aged 18+)
    • Black Hat provides students with opportunities to interact with and learn from top industry professionals through conference sessions, networking activities, Business Hall Sessions, and more. Take advantage of the academic rate for students and full-time university professors interested in attending.

Sustaining Partners