Black Hat Day Zero

The summer of 1997 was marked by many historical events. The Pathfinder probe landed on the surface of Mars. IBM's Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov – the first time a computer beat a world champion in a chess match. The infamous WinNuke exploit hit, causing the infamous Blue Screen of Death. It also marked the launch of the first Black Hat Briefings. Twenty years have flown by and no one could have imagined what Black Hat or the information security world would become. Journey down memory lane with Black Hat veteran Ping Look and shine a spotlight on some of the highlights that have shaped Black Hat over the last two decades.

Navigating Black Hat for the first time can seem pretty daunting. What talks should I attend? What's events should I be at? Where can I find the right people to network with? You've only got a few days and you've got to squeeze every drop of info, and awesome, out of them. This session will give you some pointers from someone that's been to every Black Hat for the last 15 years, both home and abroad. You'll get advice on what to see and what to skip, and how to have the right talking points when you get back to the office so your company will send you back next year.

With a record number of Briefings submissions this year, the Review Board had a first-class seat into what research is being done by the community. With 16 tracks, ranging from Exploit Development to Smart Grid/Industrial Security and Human Factors, we were spoiled with some truly amazing submissions. In this session, Review Board member Daniel Cuthbert digs through the submissions and highlights some of the many epic talks you'll get to see in Las Vegas.

Black Hat is celebrating its 20th year (Wow!) and for the last seven of those years, Arsenal has been an integral part of the event. From its beginnings as a small table in a corner, with a few people gathered around a single monitor; to the 80+ tools, 10 simultaneous presentations every hour, over 2 days, and a full theater; this presentation will take you through the growth and evolution of Black Hat Arsenal.

So, you tasted a little of the Black Hat environment, and you want to end up on the stage next year? In this short session, Review Board member Stefano Zanero will go through some of the key errors found in the record number of submissions we received this year, as well as some of the best examples of how to do it right. Learning how to present your research appropriately may dramatically change your chances of being accepted as a speaker (both at Black Hat and at other industry events).