The phrase ‘black hat’ refers to a hacker with criminal intentions, so I expected my first trip to the Black Hat USA conference held in Las Vegas this year to give me exposure to the shady underbelly of the cybersecurity world.
On that account, I was disappointed. Black Hat has gone corporate.
Oh, I’m sure there were a few bona fide criminals in the mix and a far greater number of individuals up for some not-quite-illegal mischief-making. But the vast majority of attendees were more of the ‘white hat’ variety – hackers who seek to find, understand, and exploit software vulnerabilities in order to help protect their employers.
Fortunately for the vendors exhibiting at the show, the white hat hackers brought their bosses as well. Many a CISO roamed the floor, seeking that essential piece of gear that would keep their organization out of the dog house where Capital One, Equifax, and so many others have found themselves of late.
For CISOs and others who routinely attend the much larger RSA Conference, however, Black Hat was indubitably a disappointment, as the exhibit floor was essentially ‘RSA light.’ Many of the same names and faces show off their wares at both shows, so picking one’s way among the booths revealed little that was worthy of Black Hat’s reputation as a hacker show.
Read the entire article at https://www.cisomag.com/black-hat-usa-2019-security-conference/.
NETSCOUT and Securonix are Intellyx customers. None of the other organizations mentioned in this article are Intellyx customers. Black Hat provided Jason Bloomberg with a free pass to the conference.
