Black Hat

The Black Hat conference is one of the best opportunities each year to see new and innovative research, commune with some of the smartest folks in the industry and generally get a sense of where things stand and where they’re going. This year’s conference was one of the larger in history, both in terms of number of attendees and volume of presentations, and there was a lot to see and hear. With 11 research tracks, keynotes and press conferences happening from morning till night, it was impossible to see it all, even for the most motivated and caffeinated person.

Black Hat demonstrated one thing above all else: The Internet is broken.

When Gen. Keith Alexander, the director of the National Security Agency and chief of U.S. Cyber Command, agreed to deliver the opening keynote at Black Hat USA 2013, he had no idea that by the time he took the stage many of the NSA’s most secret information-collection programs would be public knowledge, thanks to Edward Snowden.

NSA director Gen. Keith Alexander defended the agency’s surveillance of Americans during a tense Black Hat USA 2013 keynote.

Researchers use file-level sandboxes to analyze the behavior of malware samples as well as techniques malicious code uses to detect and evade analysis.

Every summer, the hacker intelligentsia descends on Las Vegas like a swarm of thirsty locusts that spends seven days chasing free drinks and avoiding sunlight at all costs. Black Hat and DEF CON week can be an overwhelming and confusing experience, especially for the uninitiated or agoraphobic. But fear not, Threatpost has your back.

Attorney Marcia Hofmann will cover aspects of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act that security researchers need to be aware of during a Black Hat session next week.