Vincenzo Iozzo removed from Black Hat and Code Blue boards

Vincenzo Iozzo, a hacker linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is no longer listed on the review boards—the committees responsible for evaluating conference submissions—of cybersecurity conferences Black Hat and Code Blue. As of Thursday, Iozzo did not appear on the official review board pages of either the US-based Black Hat or the Japanese security conference Code Blue. He was still listed on both pages as of last week, having served on the Black Hat review board since 2011.

The removals follow the January 30 release of documents by the US Department of Justice, part of an effort to publish materials from its investigation into Epstein, a late financier and sex trafficker. Iozzo’s name appears in more than 2,300 of these documents. Among the released materials, a report from an FBI informant claimed that Epstein had a personal hacker. While the document is redacted and does not name the individual, identifying details suggest the informant believed it was Iozzo, as reported by the Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera. However, these claims were not confirmed by the FBI and may be partially wrong. There is no evidence in the emails suggesting Iozzo did anything unlawful for Epstein, who pleaded guilty to soliciting sex in 2008, registering as a sex offender in Florida and New York, and was formally charged by the Justice Department in 2019 as a serial sex abuser.

Iozzo, an Italian cybersecurity professional, authored one of the first manuals for hackers researching Apple’s mobile software. In 2015, he founded the cybersecurity startup IperLane, which was later bought by CrowdStrike, where he served as a senior director for almost four years. In a statement, Vincenzo Iozzo, the founder and chief executive of cybersecurity startup SlashID, said he “will not willingly resign” and welcomed a full investigation. He denied that he was Epstein’s hacker or did any hacking for him, maintaining that his interactions with Epstein, which spanned from October 2014 until December 2018, were limited to business opportunities and discussions of markets and technologies.

Code Blue spokesperson Ken-ichi Saito confirmed the removal, stating the Japanese conference had been preparing for the update for several months to remove inactive members, and that the timing coincidentally overlapped with the public release of the Epstein documents. Black Hat spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment. However, Iozzo’s spokesperson, Joan Vollero, stated that Iozzo welcomed an independent investigation from Black Hat rather than a knee-jerk removal decision.

Why it matters

The incident highlights the significant reputational risks for cybersecurity professionals when past associations with controversial figures surface, forcing major industry conferences to distance themselves to maintain their standing.