DEF CON bans hackers, technologists named in Epstein documents
The conference banned Vincenzo Iozzo, Joichi Ito and Pablos Holman from future attendance, according to an updated list of banned individuals made public Wednesday.
The Justice Department’s release of approximately 3 million files on Jan. 30 has brought to light Epstein’s significant interest in some of the world’s largest hacker gatherings, with the recent disclosures connecting all three individuals to those efforts.
The ban also cited extensive Politico reporting that previously highlighted the individuals’ involvement with Epstein.
DEF CON and its sibling conference, Black Hat, are typically held the same week in Las Vegas, Nevada, every summer, attracting thousands of hackers, researchers, government officials and investors to discuss the latest trends in cybersecurity.
It’s not entirely clear if Epstein ever attended either of the conferences. The banned individuals named in the emails are all linked to efforts he made to attend, according to the DOJ-released emails. Other released documents, including flight manifests and schedules, show that Epstein intended to attend.
In one case, Epstein and several associates in August 2013 arranged to spend time at DEF CON, where he planned to meet Holman, then involved in cybersecurity initiatives at private equity firm Intellectual Ventures.
Emails indicate that in 2014, Ito — now president of Japan’s Chiba Institute of Technology and formerly head of the MIT Media Lab — connected Iozzo with Epstein over email.
Ito resigned from MIT in 2019 after disclosures showed he had taken some $1.7 million from Epstein to support the lab and his personal investment vehicles. He later expressed regret over the relationship, saying he was “never involved in, never heard him talk about and never saw any evidence of the horrific acts that he was accused of.”
Iozzo, now CEO of identity management firm SlashID, has recently faced intense scrutiny following the emergence of an FBI document released in the latest trove of files. The document, which details a report from a bureau informant, closely links him to the description of an individual labeled as Epstein’s personal hacker.
Released correspondence also shows Iozzo spoke about helping secure DEF CON badges for Epstein in 2016 and 2018. The emails also reflect plans for Iozzo to visit Epstein at his New York City residence at least five times between 2014 and 2018.
Iozzo has served on the Black Hat conference’s Review Board, though his name was removed sometime in the last two weeks. In one message sent ahead of DEF CON 2016, Epstein told Iozzo he hoped to attend with several people, including former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, billionaire Tom Pritzker and “four girls.”
After this story was published, a spokesperson for Iozzo said that he “did not provide exclusive access to DEF CON or any other conference.”
“In fact, Mr. Iozzo has no idea if Epstein ever actually attended any conference,” the spokesperson added. “DEF CON is attended by tens of thousands of members of the public in any given year. DEF CON’s actions are entirely performative, given that Mr. Iozzo has barely attended the conference in the past twenty years. It was a rush to judgment not based on any investigation or wrongdoing by Mr. Iozzo.”
A separate statement provided by Iozzo said he “never observed nor participated in any illegal activity or behavior.” It adds: “I regret the past association and take full responsibility for not exercising greater judgment at the time.”
Holman and a university representative for Ito did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Epstein appears to have shown interest in attending Black Hat and DEF CON years after his 2008 conviction and subsequent jail time for soliciting sex from minors. In 2019, he faced new federal charges for sex trafficking minors in a case that was dismissed in August of the same year after he died in jail while awaiting trial. The death was ruled a suicide.
Documents in the Jan. 30 trove appear to show that, following his 2008 release from jail, he sought help from cybersecurity experts to minimize or eliminate online mentions of his conviction.
A December 2010 email sent by Al Seckel — a popular optical illusion enthusiast and the husband of Epstein’s sister-in-law — references a “Pablos” evaluating Epstein’s online reputation and providing a cost estimate for improvement efforts, but does not provide a last name.
An earlier September 2010 email makes clear that Seckel and Pablos sought to scrub the internet of all negative references to Epstein for about $25,000.
“On another matter, would you be interested in having all that crap that comes up on a google search on your name basically disappear? Pablos and I were talking about it, and we can make it happen for about 20 - 25K. We know the right people to hire,” Seckel wrote.
Jeff Moss, the founder of Black Hat and DEF CON, told Nextgov/FCW in an email that he has “never met or been introduced to Jeffrey Epstein, and as far as I know (after asking around internally at DEF CON) Epstein never attended. It sounds like he planned to, but for whatever reason [it] didn’t work out for him.”
Moss also sent a screenshot of a post he made to Reddit in response to a discussion about Epstein’s interest in DEF CON.
“Vincenzo approached me for free badges and I said no, and pointed him to the Epstein Wikipedia page and tried to warn him to stay away from any involvement,” it reads. “I didn't realize how deep it went. As far as I know Epstein never attended. All this other behind the scenes stuff is wild, but not surprising. My impression is that Joichi Ito was the main conduit of getting tech people involved with Epstein.”
Editor's note: This article has been updated to include a statement from Vincenzo Iozzo and his spokesperson, and to cite previous Politico reporting.
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