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July 31 - August 5, 2021
Mandalay Bay / Las Vegas
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Briefings Call for Papers

Important Dates

Black Hat USA 2021 Call for Papers is now CLOSED

Call for Papers Opened: February 2, 2021
Call for Papers Closed: April 10, 2021
Notification to Submitters: end of May, 2021
Event Dates: July 31 - August 5, 2021 (Mandalay Bay / Las Vegas + Virtual)
Terms & Dates are subject to change.

Sign up here to receive more information on future Calls for Papers for Black Hat Conferences.

What are the Black Hat Briefings?

The Black Hat Briefings were created more than 24 years ago to provide security professionals a place to learn the very latest in information security risks, research and trends. Each year, internationally leading security researchers take the stage to share their latest work and exploits in a friendly, vendor-neutral environment. Vulnerabilities are often exposed that impact everything from popular consumer devices to critical international infrastructure and everything in between. Black Hat seeks groundbreaking research to fill both 30 and 40-minute speaking slots for each annual show.

Session Formats

  • Briefings are presented in 30 and 40-minute presentations.

Delivery Preference

Submitters will be asked to indicate their delivery preference when completing the submission form. Accepted speakers are NOT required to present their session live in Las Vegas.

Acceptance of a submission is not contingent on delivery format preference.

Delivery Options:

  • Virtual only (submit a recording of the session - if accepted)
  • Virtual + Live Delivery (submit a recording of the session + present live at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV - if accepted)
  • Undecided at this time, please check back with me if my proposal is accepted.

Track Descriptions

Determine which track(s) your submission falls under. A complete list of Black Hat USA 2021 track descriptions can be found here.

Recommendations

Sample Submissions

View samples of accepted submissions that received positive reviews:

View Samples (PDF)

Submission Requirements

  1. Submissions may only be entered by researchers/speakers (no submissions from PR firms/marketing representatives).
  2. Black Hat does not accept product or vendor-related pitches. Black Hat will disqualify any product or vendor pitch.
  3. Submissions must clearly detail the concepts, ideas, findings, and solutions a researcher or speaking team plans to present.
  4. Submissions that highlight new research, tools, vulnerabilities, etc. will be given priority.
  5. Submissions that include White Papers are highly encouraged and will also be given priority.
  6. Black Hat will disqualify incomplete submissions; complete your submission in its entirety.
  7. Individuals may submit more than one proposal but each proposal must be submitted via a separate submission form.
  8. Each submission must include detailed biographies of the proposed speaking team.
  9. Submitters will be contacted directly if Review Board members have any questions about a submission.

Co-Ordinated/Responsible Disclosure

Black Hat strongly supports and encourages co-ordinated/responsible disclosure. To this end, 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 they plan to present at the event.

If you have questions about the legal implications of your security research or presentation, contact Electronic Frontier Foundation at info@eff.org.

Review Board & Content Selection

The Black Hat Review Boards (consisting of the Review Board and Guest Review Board) are comprised of nearly 70 of the industry's most credible and distinguished security professionals and thought leaders throughout various areas of the information security community. The Review Boards advise Black Hat on its strategic direction, reviewing, and programming conference content and providing unparalleled insight into the research community. You can find more information on the Review Boards here.

Black Hat strives to deliver one of the most empirical content selection processes in the industry. All submissions are vetted thoroughly by the Black Hat Review Board. Each submission is reviewed for uniqueness, overall content expertise, and accuracy before any selections are made. Through the course of this dynamic review process, Black Hat Review Board members will frequently ask researchers for clarity on any areas of question in their submission(s) – whether it be about the uniqueness or audacity of claims made. The best submissions come with academic-grade papers, proof-of-concept code, and/or video demonstrations of the work done. Of note, Black Hat does not support pay-for-play Briefings. The Black Hat Briefings are, and always have been, independently selected based on quality of content and area of expertise rather than sponsorship.

Speaker Benefits

Briefings Speaker Criteria:
  • Employer logo only on two presentation slides: Introduction and Biography
Remuneration:
  • Speaking Honorarium:
    • $1,000* USD for one Speaker per team (30 and 40-minute Briefings)
    • *One-time payment of $1,000 USD regardless of whether briefing is presented virtual only or virtual and live.
Conference Registration:
  • One Briefings pass per Speaker(s)
Travel Reimbursement (live speakers only):
  • Economy-class, round-trip airfare for one Speaker per team
  • Cap of $1,000 USD domestic travel and $1,300 USD international travel
Accommodations (live speakers only):
  • One hotel room for three nights (August 3, 4, and 5) for one Speaker

Terms

By submitting a proposal via the Black Hat Call for Papers system, submitters selected to speak understand and agree to the Terms as detailed in this section.

  • By speaking at a Black Hat conference, Speakers grant Black Hat permission to record, reproduce, distribute, advertise, and show a Speaker's presentation including but not limited to blackhat.com, conference proceedings and materials, audio, video, printed and/or electronic ads, fliers, mailers, etc.
  • The Black Hat Review Board will have access to all submissions and materials.
    • Review Board access to submissions is provisioned under NDA with Black Hat and Informa.
    • Prospective Speakers should not directly contact any Black Hat Review Board member regarding the status of submission(s) or feedback.
  • Reviews, acceptances and/or declines are conducted on a rolling basis.
  • All correspondence and queries should be sent to cfp@blackhat.com.
  • If the presentation is selected, the speaker(s) will be required to submit a recording of the presentation and will be expected to present at the live event in Las Vegas, NV.
    • Black Hat will assist speakers with the recording of their session and provide a platform for the session to be broadcast.
    • For a live conference, Black Hat will provide one projector, one screen, one wired microphone (if applicable), and Internet connectivity for the on-site presentation. Speakers are responsible for providing all other necessary equipment, including laptops for their presentation.
  • Researchers and research teams should be aware of the following guidelines regarding the number of researchers permitted to present live or virtually for each type of Briefing session.
    • Please note that not all members of a research team will be able to present but all research team members will receive recognition on the Black Hat website.
      • 30-minute Briefing — 1 speaker per team
      • 40-minute Briefing — 2 speakers per team
  • Full conference passes (Briefings passes) are given only to those who actively participate as Speakers on accepted presentations.
    • Conference passes are non-transferable.
    • Co-workers, PR representatives, etc. must register and pay the appropriate fees.
  • If the presentation is deemed to be a work of plagiarism or a blatant vendor pitch, Black Hat may revoke the Speaker's honorarium and the Speaker will not be considered for future speaking opportunities.
  • Black Hat reserves the right to change scheduled speaking or broadcast times as necessary. While every effort will be made to honor assigned times, Speakers may be called upon to present at any time during the conference.
  • Black Hat reserves the right to rescind an accepted submission without reason.
  • Black Hat believes the InfoSec community should be truly open for everyone. As such, Black Hat is committed to providing a friendly, safe and welcoming environment for all, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, or religion. Speakers are required to follow the Black Hat Code of Conduct.

Additional Event Information

Please visit blackhat.com for previous conference archives, information, and talks. Updated announcements about Black Hat will be posted to newsgroups, security mailing lists, and the Black Hat website when available.

We reserve the right to change or modify our Terms, dates and/or content of this page at any time without prior notice.

Thank you.
The Black Hat Team