EFF is back this year at Vegas Security Week, sometimes affectionately known as Hacker Summer Camp. Stop by our booths at BSides, Black Hat, and DEF CON to find out about the latest developments in protecting digital freedom, sign up for our action alerts and mailing list, and donate to become an EFF member. We'll also have our limited-edition DEF CON 27 shirts available. These shirts have a puzzle incorporated into the design—try your hand at cracking it!

BSides Las Vegas 2019

August 6-7, 2019, Tuscany Suites and Casino

Booth Location: Chillout Room

Black Hat Briefings USA 2019

August 7-8, 2019, Mandalay Bay

Booth Location: Business Hall

DEF CON 27

August 8-11, 2019, Paris, Bally's, and Planet Hollywood Casinos

Booth Location: Vendor Hall

As in past years, EFF staff attorneys will be present to help support the community. If you have legal concerns regarding an upcoming talk or sensitive InfoSec research that you are conducting at any time, please email info@eff.org and we will do our best to assist you.

In addition to visiting the booth, you can attend EFF staff talks at each of the conferences on a variety of topics related to digital security and online rights. Check out the schedule of events below.

BSides Schedule

BSidesLV 2019: Ask the EFF

August 6, 2019 - 6:00pm to 6:55pm

Location: Underground Track

“Ask the EFF” will be a panel presentation and question-and-answer session, featuring Kurt Opsahl, Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel; Eva Galperin, Director of Cyber Security; Nathan ‘nash’ Sheard, Grassroots Advocacy Organizer and India McKinney, Legislative Analyst. It’s your chance to ask EFF questions about law and technology issues that are important to you.

BSidesLV 2019: Why Can't We Be Friends (Ask a Fed & the EFF.)

August 7, 2019 - 5:00pm to 5:55pm

Location: Ground 1234

Do you dance madly on the lip of the volcano regarding your own research, or would like to research a particular topic that you feel might have a non-desirable personal outcome? Do you know someone who does these things? If so, you should come to this session and learn about some new processes and relationships researchers can benefit from. Bring your questions to Kurt Opsahl from EFF and Russell Handorf of the FBI.

Black Hat Schedule

Black Hat Briefings 2019: Hacking for the Greater Good - Empowering Technologists to Strengthen Digital Society

August 7, 2019 - 11:15am to 12:05pm

Location: South Seas CDF

Track: Community



We’re at a critical juncture right now where the benefits from technological advances are increasingly counterbalanced by harmful applications and perilous consequences. To address these issues we need the critical thinking, creativity, and passion that ethical hackers and technologists use to strengthen cybersecurity applied to social causes and protecting the public interest. In this panel, security technologist Bruce Schneier, Mozilla Fellow and Graphika Chief Innovation Officer Camille Francois and EFF Director of Cybersecurity Eva Galperin will discuss specific examples where public interest technologists are most needed to ensure an open, positive and safe digital society and provide suggestions for what hackers and security-forward companies can do to solve some of the biggest social problems we have and make a difference.

Black Hat Briefings 2019: Speak Tech to Power - Working with Congress on Tech Policy

August 7, 2019 - 11:15am to 12:05pm

Location: South Pacific HI, Lower Level, North Hall

Track: Community Workshops

Election Security vulnerabilities, Data Breaches, Encryption Backdoors: Lawmakers have plenty of ideas about where the problems are in technology policy and even more ideas about how to fix them. How will these fixes impact the infosec community, and are they even the right solutions? Come hear Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel Kurt Opsahl, Legislative Analyst India McKinney, and Technologists Jeremy Gillula and Andrés Arrieta discuss the proposals we're tracking and how we can work together to inform the legislative process.

DEF CON 27 Schedule

DEF CON 27: r00tz Asylum Opening Ceremonies

August 9, 2019 -

Contest Location: Planet Hollywood, The Studio



r00tz Asylum at DEF CON is a safe and creative space for kids to learn white-hat hacking from the leading security researchers from around the world. Through hands-on workshops and contests, DEF CON’s youngest attendees understand how to safely deploy the hacker mindset in today’s increasingly digital and prone to vulnerabilities world. Only after mastering the honor code, kids learn reverse engineering, soldering, lock-picking, cryptography and how to responsibly disclose security bugs. r00tz’s mission is to empower the next generation of technologists and inventors to make the future of our digital world safer. Attend the opening ceremonies to hear from Nic0, y0rk, & EFF's General Counsel Kurt Opsahl.

DEF CON 27: EFF Tech Trivia

August 9, 2019 - 5:00pm to 7:00pm

Contest Location: Contest Stage, Planet Hollywood Mezzanine

EFF's team of technology experts have crafted challenging trivia about the fascinating, obscure, and trivial aspects of digital security, online rights, and Internet culture. Competing teams will plumb the unfathomable depths of their knowledge, but only the champion hive mind will claim the First Place Tech Trivia Cup and EFF swag pack. The second and third place teams will also win great EFF gear.

DEF CON 27: WISP Leadership Panel

August 9, 2019 - 6:30 to 7:00pm

Location: Caesars Palace Suite



Join Women in Security and Privacy (WISP), Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS), and BSides Las Vegas for an informal networking mixer and leadership panel in one of the biggest suites Vegas has to offer. Attendees can expect food, drink, swag, and an opportunity to hear from some stellar women in security. RSVP is required for entry.



DEF CON 27: Meet the EFF - Meetup Panel

August 10, 2019 - 8:00pm to 10:00pm

Location: Fireside Lounge at Planet Hollywood

Join EFF staffers for a candid chat about how the law is racing to catch up with technological change. Then, meet representatives from Electronic Frontier Alliance allied community and campus organizations from across the country. These technologists and advocates are working within their communities to educate and empower their neighbors in the fight for data privacy and digital rights.This discussion will include updates on current EFF issues updates on cases and legislation affecting security research, and much more. Half the session will be given over to question-and-answer, so it's your chance to ask EFF questions about the law, surveillance and technology issues that are important to you.





Want to keep up with EFF’s efforts to secure a better digital future? Subscribe to Effector and check out our events calendar. If you’re unable to visit us while we’re in Vegas and would like to support our work, consider becoming a member.