The two events provide the perfect blend of work and play offering an immersive learning experience, unique working environment and a whole load of fun and if you’re not the type of person who puts Cyber and fun in the same sentence - I’ll stop you right here - but if you get it, you’ll love it. 

Vegas turns into a playground for adults and not just for it’s million-making dollar potential and all-nighters. From lock-picking villages to junior red-teaming competitions and socially engineering your way into parties, it’s a cyber paradise.

For a week in August, you get the chance to submerge yourself into this gigantic pool of 30,000 people who walk your walk, talk your talk and care about the thing you’re most passionate about. Not only do these patrons of Cyber speak your language but when you rant on about AI, DevSecOps or the US election hacking, the conversation flows back. 

This will be my third year attending Black Hat and DEF CON and I can’t see my annual trip coming to an end anytime soon.

Black Hat is a business hall filled with opportunity. Populated with telecoms conglomerates like CISCO or Verizon to super techy intelligent threat tools and gamified Cyber learning platforms. It’s a grown-up take to Cyber filled with tinfoil hats and hoodies while DEF CON offers up the chance to listen to Cyber’s most infamous gurus. I literally go, just to geek out. 

Both events offer a completely unique take to networking with pool parties, barbecues and hacking contests galore but the commercial and educational offerings provided are nothing short of exceptional.

I’ve got a pretty hectic schedule of talks, meetings and well, ‘networking’ but if you’re in Vegas for either Black Hat or DEF CON, get in touch and we’ll socially engineer our way into some sort of party.