National Security Agency: Homeland Security Advisory Council

Homeland Security Advisory Council: Def Con takes place Aug. 1-4 at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. It has long welcomed academics and federal agents, including those from the NSA, to "meet, share ideas and party on neutral territory" with hackers of all stripes, wrote conference founder Jeff Moss, known online as "The Dark Tangent," in a blog post Wednesday, according to CBC. Moss , who is a member of the U.S. government's Homeland Security Advisory Council, told Reuters that the decision was a "tough call," but that "a little bit of time and distance can be a healthy thing, especially when emotions are running high." 15,000 each year One of the oldest and largest hacker conventions in the world has asked U.S. government agents to stay away this year, following the leak of documents revealing that the National Security Agency has a program that spies on the internet activities of foreign nationals overseas when they use U.S. providers such as Microsoft and Apple. "When it comes to sharing and socializing with feds, recent revelations have made many in the community uncomfortable about this relationship," he added. "Therefore, I think it would be best for everyone involved if the feds call a 'time-out' and not attend Def Con this year. This will give everybody time to think about how we got here and what comes next." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.