Black Hat Drops Vincenzo Iozzo After Epstein Documents Surface
Renowned hacker disputes allegations, welcomes investigation as conferences quietly update review boards
Vincenzo Iozzo, a prominent cybersecurity entrepreneur linked in newly released Jeffrey Epstein documents, has been removed from the websites of Black Hat and Japan’s Code Blue security conference.
As of Thursday, Iozzo no longer appears on the official review board pages of either event. He was listed on both as recently as last week.
Iozzo had served on Black Hat’s review board since 2011, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Quiet removals follow DOJ document release
The change comes days after the U.S. Department of Justice published more than 2,300 documents referencing Iozzo as part of its legally mandated disclosure tied to the Epstein investigation.
- The documents include several emails.
- Iozzo’s interactions with Epstein span October 2014 to December 2018.
Among the newly released material is a redacted report from an FBI informant who alleged Epstein had a “personal hacker.” The document does not name the individual. However, some identifying details suggest the informant may have been referring to Iozzo.
Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera first reported on the emails and identified Iozzo as the likely redacted individual.
It’s critical to note:
- The informant’s claims were not confirmed by the FBI.
- The emails contain no evidence of unlawful conduct by Iozzo.
Iozzo: “I will not willingly resign”
In a statement shared with TechCrunch through spokesperson Joan Vollero, Iozzo said he informed Black Hat that he “will not willingly resign” and welcomed “a full investigation.”
He denied being Epstein’s hacker or performing any hacking work for him.
“We were introduced in 2014 when I was a 25-year-old at MIT fundraising for my startup,” Iozzo said. “Because of this, I failed to ask the right questions that, in retrospect, seem obvious.”
He described his interactions as limited to business discussions that never materialized.
“I never observed nor participated in any illegal activity or behavior,” he added.
Vollero and Iozzo’s attorney, Emma Spiro, did not explain why Black Hat removed him but did not dispute the change. They said Iozzo preferred an independent review rather than what they described as a “knee-jerk removal decision.”
Black Hat did not respond to requests for comment.
Code Blue cites inactivity, not allegations
Code Blue spokesperson Ken-ichi Saito confirmed the conference removed Iozzo from its review board.
Saito said organizers had been preparing for several months to remove Iozzo and two other members who “had not been active.”
He added that the timing of the website update “coincidentally overlapped” with the public release of the Epstein documents.
That explanation leaves an open question: coincidence, or crisis management in real time?
A long cybersecurity résumé
Iozzo, now founder and CEO of authentication startup SlashID, has spent more than a decade in cybersecurity.
- He authored one of the first hacker manuals focused on Apple’s mobile software.
- In 2015, he founded IperLane, later acquired by CrowdStrike.
- He served nearly four years as a senior director at CrowdStrike.
His name surfacing in Epstein-related materials adds a reputational cloud over an otherwise established career — a reminder of how association alone can ripple through tech’s tightly networked circles.
Context: Epstein’s criminal record
In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting sex from girls as young as 14 and registered as a sex offender in Florida and New York.
In 2019, federal prosecutors charged him with trafficking and exploiting dozens of underage girls. Epstein later died in jail.
The DOJ’s latest document release continues to expose the breadth of Epstein’s connections across business, academia, and technology — even when no criminal wrongdoing is alleged.
TL;DR:
Black Hat and Code Blue removed hacker Vincenzo Iozzo from their review boards after DOJ-released Epstein documents mentioned him in over 2,300 files. An FBI informant alleged Epstein had a “personal hacker,” but no evidence shows Iozzo committed wrongdoing. He denies the claims and welcomes an investigation.
