BlackHat and DEFCON

It's that time of year again when I start looking at the logistics involved so that I can attend both BlackHat and DEFCON. It's also the time when I start figuring out costs and hope that work will cover them under the training budget...which is an entirely another story!

The two-day training at BlackHat, Enterprise Security from Day 1 to Completion, if I register now will cost $2200 and runs from August 4th to the 5th (all of the trainings look interesting, but I believe the Enterprise Security will give me the forum to answer some questions I have as an IT security professional). Next, there's the BlackHat briefings from August 6th to the 7th for a cost of $1495 - again, this is if I register now. By registering for BlackHat I will be able to get into DEFCON for free. DEFCON runs from August 8th to the 10th.

Next there's the cost of the flight - I'm estimating about $250 roundtrip. Lodging from August 3rd to the 10th will be about $1600...then there's the $320 for food.

Here's the rough breakdown:

Airfare.............$250
Conference Fees....$3695
Lodging............$1600
Meals...............$320
Car Rental (maybe)..$320
========================
Initial Total......$6185

Now it's time for me to get the funding to cover the training expenses this week so that I can register before prices go up.

I look forward to catching up with many of my colleagues, friends, and Security Twits!

UPDATE [5/15/2008]: I've received approval from my management for the training. Now I'm working with purchasing to get the travel request fulfilled.