10 Scenes From Black Hat 2016 That Show Security Is Red Hot

Live On The Floor

More than 15,000 hackers and security professionals gathered at the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas last week for Black Hat 2016. With that came bunch of seriously wacky and wild sights, including giant robots, alien bars and booths to physically bash competitive security solutions. However, there were also some serious sights, including a keynote addressing the future of iInternet security, new vendor debuts and the latest in car hacking vulnerabilities. CRN was on site at the event last week – here are 10 sights that stood out from the show floor this year.

Dan Kaminsky

Dan Kaminsky kicked off the Black Hat 2016 conference with a keynote calling for the security industry to step up around internet security and privacy. Kaminsky warned we’re in danger of losing the internet as we know it, as users back away due to security and privacy concerns, citing a Pew Research Study.

"We have work to do. We’re going to go ahead and get the internet fixed because we’re risking losing this engine of beauty altogether," Kaminsky said.

To solve the problem, Kaminsky suggested the security industry needs to launch a National Institute of Health for cybersecurity, an organization with funding and stability to help build standards and objectively study the industry. He said engineers also need to step up to create better software and to approach security in a new way and for managers to release their code.

Car Hacking

Hackers Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek were back at Black Hat again this year to bring vehicle vulnerabilities back into the spotlight. Last year, the pair publicized their ability to hack into a Jeep Cherokee using a zero-day exploit in the car's UConnect system and ultimately crashed it into a ditch on the side of the road. This year, they demonstrated their ability to affect physical and safety critical systems. Those systems, previously thought to be fairly resistant to CAN injections manipulation, include braking, steering and acceleration. Pictured are Miller and Valasek addressing the press after their Black Hat presentation of the research.

When In Vegas…

It’s not all hard work at a Las Vegas conference. AlienVault was making sure attendees were ready for the evening parties, opening an extraterrestrial-themed bar on the show floor.

Endpoint Security Standoff

From massive signs at the airport, to competing booths dominating the show floor, the battle for the endpoint security market was in full swing at Black Hat 2016. In particular, Crowdstrike, Cylance and Carbon Black were battling it out for the spotlight, with aggressive advertising and signage at every corner of the show.

Competition Bashing

Zscaler was bashing the competition – literally – at Black Hat 2016. The cloud security company had set up a booth where attendees could suit up and take a hammer to security appliances, highlighting its own 100 percent cloud-based internet security solutions.

The New Symantec Debut

After closing their acquisition just days before the event kicked off, Symantec and Blue Coat Systems made their dual debut at the Black Hat event, with a massive booth showing off the future of "cloud-defined security."

Take A Break

Going to a conference can be hard work. Luckily, Veracode was there to help attendees relax from the hectic event, hosting massage therapists at its booth.

Protecting The Black Hat Network

Fortinet was once against charged with protecting what is largely regarded one of the most dangerous networks in the world at Black Hat. Pictured is the Fortinet Network Operations Center at the event, where the security vendor’s personnel helped provide network and security solutions and monitor attacks on the network in real time.

Filling The Talent Gap

Ask anyone in the security business and one of their biggest challenges is almost guaranteed to be a massive and growing talent gap. A section of the show floor was dedicated to this issue, with big-name solution providers such as Optiv Security and Accenture looking to recruit talent attending the event.

Rocking The Robot

Malwarebytes rolled out a show-stopping sight with a towering robot at its booth on the show floor, highlighting the company’s anti-malware and internet security solutions.