In an apparent reaction to recent revelations about far-reaching US government surveillance programs, organisers of an annual hacker convention are asking federal agents to just stay away.

One of the more time-honoured traditions at DEF CON — the massive event held each year in Las Vegas — is “Spot-the-Fed”, a playful and mostly harmless contest to out undercover government agents who attend the show.

But that game might be a bit tougher when the conference rolls around again next month.

In a brief blog post published Thursday on the DEF CON website titled “Feds, We Need Some Time Apart”, DEF CON owner and hacker-in-chief Jeff Moss (aka “The Dark Tangent”) suggested it was probably in the best interest of the feds to make themselves scarce at this year’s con.

“For over two decades DEF CON has been an open nexus of hacker culture, a place where seasoned pros, hackers, academics, and feds can meet, share ideas and party on neutral territory. Our community operates in the spirit of openness, verified trust, and mutual respect.