By Harry Nara · Last updated
- Black Hat USA opens at Mandalay BaySaturday 31 July 2027
- DEF CON opens at the Las Vegas Convention CenterThursday 5 August 2027
- Where
- Mandalay Bay Convention Center and Las Vegas Convention Center
- Tickets
- Ticketed
- Time of year
- July to August
- Dates
- Around the same dates every year
Black Hat USA runs from Saturday 31 July to Thursday 5 August 2027 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, by its own listing, and DEF CON 35 from Thursday 5 to Sunday 8 August at the Las Vegas Convention Center, as its organisers announced alongside the 2026 dates.
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Black Hat and DEF CON are the two biggest computer security conferences of the year, and they share Las Vegas in the first week of August: Black Hat, the corporate one with training courses and briefings, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, and DEF CON, the larger and looser hackers’ gathering, at the Las Vegas Convention Center straight after it. Together they are known as hacker summer camp. For anyone else in town that week they mean fuller hotels at both ends of the Strip and dearer rooms, in some of the hottest weather of the year.
What Black Hat and DEF CON actually is
Black Hat began as a briefing for security professionals and has grown into several days of paid training courses followed by two days of briefings and a business hall, with passes priced for companies rather than individuals.
DEF CON is older and stranger: talks, hands-on villages for everything from lock-picking to car hacking, contests that run all weekend, and badges that have often been electronic puzzles in their own right. It moved out of the casino hotels into the Las Vegas Convention Center as it outgrew them.
Between them they bring tens of thousands of attendees into the city in a single week, which in a month otherwise known for heat and cheap rooms makes its first week the exception.
Where it happens
- Mandalay Bay, for Black Hat. The training days and briefings fill the convention centre at the southern end of the Strip, and the hotel and its neighbours are the first to sell out.
- The Las Vegas Convention Center, for DEF CON. The hackers take over the halls east of the Strip for four days; the Las Vegas Monorail has a station at the convention centre.
- Everywhere else. Attendees spread across the Strip’s hotels and bars, and the parties and meet-ups run late; if you are not attending, the rest of the city carries on as usual, at higher room prices.
Tickets and what it costs
Black Hat passes are priced for employers and run into thousands of dollars once training is included; DEF CON badges have cost a few hundred dollars and in recent years have been sold online ahead as well as on site.
For everyone else the cost is the room: rates near both venues rise for the week, so book early, or come in the second half of August, when the city is at its cheapest.
Official information and booking: www.blackhat.com/upcoming.html
Getting there
The Monorail runs along the east side of the Strip to the convention centre and is the easy way to DEF CON; Mandalay Bay is linked to Luxor and Excalibur by a free tram.
It is high summer, with afternoons near 40°C and monsoon storms possible. Drink water, and keep long walks for after dark.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Booking the first week of August late
Rooms near Mandalay Bay and the convention centre fill early. Book months ahead or move your dates.
Expecting a Black Hat pass to be cheap
Passes are priced for professionals and their employers. DEF CON is the open, cheaper one.
Walking between the venues
Mandalay Bay and the convention centre are miles apart in desert heat. Use the Monorail, the tram or a ride.
Trusting open Wi-Fi that week
With thousands of security researchers in town, treat any public network as hostile. Use mobile data.
Other Las Vegas events
Frequently asked questions
When are Black Hat and DEF CON?
In the first week of August, Black Hat first and DEF CON straight after; the dates card above shows this year’s.
Where are Black Hat and DEF CON held?
Black Hat at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, and DEF CON at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
How much does DEF CON cost?
Badges have cost a few hundred dollars in recent years; Black Hat passes cost far more.
Do the conferences make Las Vegas hotels more expensive?
Yes, in the first week of August, above all near the two venues. The second half of the month is far cheaper.
What is hacker summer camp?
The nickname for the week when Black Hat, DEF CON and smaller security events run back to back in Las Vegas.
Sources
Dates on this page are checked against the organiser’s own listing and confirmed through 2027. Written and maintained by Harry Nara.