Black Hat USA 2017 Briefings Day 1 Recap
It has been an amazing first day at the Black Hat USA main conference. As expected, thousands upon thousands of security professionals arrived at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center to witness the infosec spectacle that is Black Hat.
Before closing the evening, let’s take a quick look back at what happened at Briefings Day 1.
Keynote
Black Hat and DEF CON founder, Jeff Moss (you may know him as @thedarktangent) emerged from an EDM-worthy light show to kick off the event, amidst the roars from an arena of attendees, fifteen thousand-strong.
If we can secure by default vs opening by default, we (the community) have a social responsibility to do that – @thedarktangent #BHUSA pic.twitter.com/dTSDmuQ4vV
— Meredith Corley (@MeredithCorley) July 26, 2017
Living up to the hype of Black Hat’s 20th anniversary, Facebook CSO Alex Stamos delivered a powerful Keynote – hammering home the message that the infosec community as a whole has not yet reached its full potential, and that empathy and diversity are critical to attaining that goal.
“We gotta put ourselves in the shoes of the people who are using our products.” #BHUSA
— eLearnSecurity (@eLearnSecurity) July 26, 2017
Where the actual harm is. 0day is that tiny dot at the top. Per @alexstamos at #BlackHat pic.twitter.com/In8ljrMi3K
— Joseph Menn (@josephmenn) July 26, 2017
“Our collective behavior determines who feels included in this community” Consider your actions – .@alexstamos #BHUSA pic.twitter.com/wpK5UpzSrh
— Kelly Shortridge (@swagitda_) July 26, 2017
Briefings
The first day played host to dozens of talks – with notable ones demonstrating exploitable flaws in the x86 chip set, mapping the ransomware ecosystem, attacking wind farm systems, creating the first SHA-1 collision, and analyzing the disparity between the skill sets of security graduates and the needs of the industry.
Now that the #BHUSA Briefings are underway, here are the talks that are happening in the next 10 minutes. Have a great #BlackHat everyone! pic.twitter.com/ksElhHV1nT
— eLearnSecurity (@eLearnSecurity) July 26, 2017
[Slides] How we created the first SHA-1 collision and what it means for hash security https://t.co/NBZc64fupx #BHUSA2017 #BHUSA
— Elie Bursztein (@elie) July 26, 2017
Interesting debate on role/value of zero-day exploits even among @theGCSC commissioners at #blackhat2017. #cyber pic.twitter.com/RDSV81mLuj
— Elina Noor (@elinanoor) July 26, 2017
Cerber and Locky make most of the money out of all ransomware. Ransomware revenues now clearly above $1M per month. pic.twitter.com/o7vUhOg6KH
— Mikko Hypponen (@mikko) July 27, 2017
Arsenal
Black Hat’s Arsenal always proves to be an exciting affair, as the open source community convenes to witness demonstrations of the latest security tools and products. Arsenal 2017 did not fail to deliver, with over 90 tools on deck.
Black Hat USA Arsenal Day 01 #bhusa pic.twitter.com/tiWTFAEcKF
— Maximiliano Soler (@MaxiSoler) July 26, 2017
The Black Hat Arsenal is now a conference within a conference. You do not want to miss this great event! #BHUSA @ToolsWatch pic.twitter.com/WtrZ7ktp4I
— Help Net Security (@helpnetsecurity) July 26, 2017
There was no doubt as to who stole the Arsenal Theater stage. It was standing-room only at the Game of Drones session – where researchers demonstrated pitting their DangerDrone (straight from Arsenal 2016) against various drone defense measures not limited to nets, missiles, and trained birds of prey.
Game of Drones getting ready for the #bhusa2017 Arsenal Theatre pic.twitter.com/6SKLxXfpTL
— ToolsWatch (@ToolsWatch) July 26, 2017
Game of Drones Arsenal Session. #DronesYall #BHUSA https://t.co/YtiMyWQlum
— eLearnSecurity (@eLearnSecurity) July 26, 2017
Business Hall
When not in one of the talks, hackers came out in droves to flood the aisles of the Business Hall, where vendors from all over the infosec spectrum have set up their exhibitions.
We’ve made sure our booth had all bases covered bright and early, in anticipation of the impending storm.
#BHUSA booth IC63 | Locked and loaded! @BlackHatEvents #security pic.twitter.com/UCJAkjXvsk
— eLearnSecurity (@eLearnSecurity) July 26, 2017
And boy, did it get busy…
The #BlackHat rush has begun! Pop by booth IC63 at the Innovation City & get a PTSv3 #pentesting training course – on the house! #BHUSA pic.twitter.com/BslZVTjoq0
— eLearnSecurity (@eLearnSecurity) July 26, 2017
#BlackHat fever is here! Stop by for a chat here at booth IC63. #security #pentesting #BHUSA pic.twitter.com/jcBY4MaUIo
— eLearnSecurity (@eLearnSecurity) July 26, 2017
With a bunch of our students also attending Black Hat, we made sure they took home one of these bad boys.
We also ran into some old friends – authors of our training courses – at the conference, and ensured the Forgers (‘of IT security professionals’) themselves got Forged (shirts).

Schuyler Dorsey, author of Practical Network Defense
Aside from the swag we’ve been handing out, we also had a live demo of our Hera virtual labs, held 1:1’s, and overall showcased eLearnSecurity training.
Get a live demo of the most sophisticated virtual lab on IT #security – HERA – here at the eLS booth (IC63). #BHUSA https://t.co/xCSAw3Wu8L pic.twitter.com/r3dictPXUe
— eLearnSecurity (@eLearnSecurity) July 26, 2017
Learn more about our hands-on IT #security training courses and corporate training solutions here at the @eLearnSecurity booth (IC63) #BHUSA pic.twitter.com/Vb6bIB5sK9
— eLearnSecurity (@eLearnSecurity) July 27, 2017
Halfway through
We couldn’t be happier about how Day 1 turned out. It was amazing as it was hectic, and we can’t wait to jump back in tomorrow! Tonight, we hit the Strip.
We’ll see you back in IC63 for Black Hat USA Briefings Day 2!
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