Hacker Summer Camp 2026 puts agentic AI security on the Las Vegas agenda
Black Hat, BSides Las Vegas and DEF CON overlap this week, with AI-agent security expected to dominate the technical and policy debate.
By Dominic Okoye · Staff Writer
· 3 min read
Hacker Summer Camp 2026, the informal label for overlapping Las Vegas security gatherings rather than a single event, is underway with Black Hat scheduled for Aug. 1-6, BSides Las Vegas for Aug. 3-5 and DEF CON 34 for Aug. 6-9. The week brings together formal training, research briefings, community programming and a large vendor presence, while agentic AI security is expected to be a central topic.
The Register’s pre-event coverage identified the security, governance and regulation of AI agents as major discussion areas, alongside concern about agents being used in autonomous offensive operations. That is an agenda forecast, rather than evidence of conclusions reached at the events.
For security companies, the practical split among the conferences matters. Black Hat’s corporate format and large expo may make it the most relevant of the three for vendors seeking enterprise-security visibility. Its program includes technical training, summits, keynotes and mainstage sessions. BSides is positioned as a smaller, community-led event with hands-on practitioner content. DEF CON centers hacker culture, research and community-run Villages.
What is Hacker Summer Camp 2026?
Hacker Summer Camp is the industry nickname for the cluster of cybersecurity conferences and related events held in Las Vegas during the first week of August. The core events have distinct formats, so attendees can choose based on whether they need structured training and business exposure, a smaller practitioner setting, or hands-on community programming.
- Black Hat: Scheduled for Aug. 1-6. The Register describes it as the largest and most corporate of the three, with a substantial expo, training courses, topic-specific summits, keynotes and mainstage presentations.
- BSides Las Vegas: Scheduled for Aug. 3-5 at The Tuscany. Vendor and community guides characterize it as a community-run, practitioner-focused conference with technical talks and training; it also includes a career-oriented Hire Ground track, according to The Register.
- DEF CON 34: Scheduled for Aug. 6-9 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, including the West Hall. Its 2026 theme is “agency,” or self-determination, and The Register reported that nearly 30 Villages were planned, spanning areas including AI, vehicle hacking and lockpicking.
At Black Hat, the opening session was scheduled to address cyber power in the AI era, with participation from Sean Cairncross, the White House national cyber director, as well as officials from CISA, the FBI and the Defense Department, according to The Register. Its keynotes were expected to examine AI-assisted vulnerability research, discovery and exploit generation, and how security teams, patch managers and systems administrators can respond.
DEF CON’s Franklin project is also due to update attendees on its work recruiting hackers to help protect critical infrastructure. The Register reported that the project, launched at DEF CON in 2024, had involved hundreds of volunteers assisting 21 water utilities across seven states.
How should first-time attendees plan the week?
Commercial and community guides recommend selecting one or two priorities each day rather than filling every time slot, leaving space for Villages and unplanned conversations. Those guides also flag basic logistics: August desert heat, cold convention interiors and longer-than-expected walks between venues.
Casey Ellis’s guide recommends hydration, sunglasses, a light layer and operational-security awareness during travel and the events. Security.com advises attendees to limit the devices they bring, encrypt sensitive data at rest and consider a VPN and disabled Bluetooth as precautions. Those are recommendations from security-industry publishers, not guarantees against compromise.
This story draws on original reporting from The Register.
