The Official Talos Guide to Black Hat 2016

There is always something of an air of anticipation in the Security community as we approach Black Hat and DEFCON. This is your official guide to what Cisco’s Talos Threat Intelligence team is doing at Black Hat 2016.

There are a lot of classes, great talks, technical deep-dives, late parties, fun activities, and important networking to squeeze into just a few days. Here is a quick run-down of where and how you can catch Talos speakers, Cisco events, and some fun stuff from OpenDNS, Lancope, and CloudLock as well.  Read on for the full details of what Cisco has in store for Black Hat 2016!

Event At-A-Glance:

Cisco Communities Page for Black Hat 2016: cisco.com/go/blackhat
Black Hat USA website: blackhat.com/us-16
Chat with us: @CiscoSecurity and @TalosSecurity
Booth: #300 – Snorty’s, t-shirts, and even an Oculus Rift could be yours just for stopping by!
Also visit: OpenDNS: #1154, Lancope: #112, CloudLock: #665

Wed. August 3

Talos Flash Talks: 10:00am- 7:00pm, Cisco Booth #300 – Full schedule here
Career Zone: 10:00am- 7:00pm, Black Hat Business Hall, Booth CZ8
Cisco Black Hat Party: 8:00pm, EyeCandy Sound Lounge – Register early!

Thurs. August 4

Talos Flash Talks: 10:00am- 5:00pm, Cisco Booth #300 – Full schedule here
Career Zone: 10:00am- 5:00pm, Black Hat Business Hall, Booth CZ8
Talos Interdiction Update @Black Hat: , 1:20–2:05 p.m. Business Hall Theater B (on show floor)

The Details:

Cisco Party:

Wed. August 3, 8:00pm EyeCandy Sound Lounge

Join Cisco and the Talos team at the Eyecandy Sound Lounge, located on the Mandalay Bay casino floor.

You will enjoy music, open bar, snacks, and entertainment. Black Hat badge required for entry.  Unwind, have fun with your peers and the Talos team!

This party WILL be full, so register early!

Driving Global Interdiction Against Major Threat Actors:

Thurs. August 4, 1:20–2:05 p.m. Business Hall Theater B (on show floor)

In this talk Craig Williams, Talos Outreach Manager and Senior Technical Leader, and Matt Olney, Talos Interdiction Senior Team Leader, will examine Talos interdiction efforts against major actors our customers have faced this year. Each of these threats posed unique challenges for our team, and we will share the lessons learned. The interdiction team works beyond the borders of customer networks to disrupt and degrade actor capabilities before they affect our customers. The team includes linguists, reverse engineers, developers, incident responders, mathematicians, data engineers, and systems administrators. We work with law enforcement organizations, government organizations, hosting providers, and other intelligence partners to achieve our goal of pissing off the bad guys.

Cisco Booth Lightning Talks:

Wed. August 3, 10:00am–7:00pm
Thurs. August 4, 10:00am– 5:00pm
Cisco Booth #300

On the full schedule, we have 23 NEW talks from Talos, and 11 other talks from OpenDNS, and Cisco’s Web Security and Services teams! You won’t want to miss these sessions. Have a seat and enjoy a 30-minute presentation in Cisco booth 300. Plus grab a “Forcing the Bad Guys to Innovate” t-shirt.

Topics cover everything from Bitcoin, Cryptowall, dynamic JS analysis, spam, EK evolutions, weaponizing intelligence – and so much in between.

Career Zone:

Wed. August 3
Thurs. August 4
Black Hat Business Hall, Booth CZ8

Interested in a career “Pissing Off the Bad Guys”? Talos is looking for the best, brightest, and most promising in the threat research and intelligence areas to join one of the largest teams in the industry. If you have the talent and a deep passion for threat research, malware hunting, interdiction, or vuln dev, we want to talk with you. Find us in the Career Zone at Black Hat and introduce yourself – you may even get an invite to some private events to meet more of the team – not to mention a career keeping the internet safer for everyone.

Friendly Reminders:

There are lots of things you should know before heading to Black Hat and DEF CON. Here’s a quick list of things to absolutely remember:

Business cards

Spare juice packs – nothing drains devices like a conference, although turning off Bluetooth and wi-fi radios helps and may not be a terrible idea at any conference.   If you aren’t charging, you are probably going to have a dead phone by the time the parties start in the evening.

Comfortable walking shoes – yes, many venues are connected, but they are connected via LONG walks. Many attendees rack up more than 8-10 miles per day on their pedometers!

Space in your suitcase – there is swag-a-plenty and you need to get it home!

Water – because it’s the desert.

We are looking forward to meeting and seeing everyone at Black Hat (and DEF CON for the adventurous among us). Be sure to come by booth #300 and say hello …and, of course, pick up a NEW limited edition Snorty pig for your collection!

Staying for DEF CON?

Talos is the proud sponsor of the Packet hacking Village and the the DJ area – we will see you there!  Okay, now make sure your Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are off. Seriously.