The best of Black Hat and Def Con 2013

Cybersecurity is increasingly important — to people, businesses, and even governments. Accordingly, there is a growing fascination with hackers, those skilled programmers who seem to bend computer systems to their will. These hackers spent most of their time behind screens, but every year thousands of them head to Las Vegas for the nation's premier conventions on hacking and information security. Both founded by Jeff Moss, a.k.a. The Dark Tangent, Black Hat focuses on security professionals while Def Con is made for hackers. The conventions have become a kind of neutral ground where hackers, security professionals, and federal agents can meet and mix with impunity, but the 2013 conferences are happening just two months after detailed revelations of the National Security Agency's surveillance programs were leaked. Hackers and feds will clash, new attacks will be revealed, and we'll meet the denizens of the cybersecurity world. Watch here for our coverage from the ground.