15 Wackiest Sights And Signs From Black Hat USA 2015

On The Floor At Black Hat

With massive marketing budgets and an often quirky sense of humor, security conferences are frequently full of weird and wacky sights and signs. Black Hat USA 2015 was no exception. From celebrity impersonators to magic tricks, video games and more, security vendors were pulling out all the stops to stand out from the rest.

Take a look at some of the wild sights from the Black Hat show floor this week.

Security Face-Off

In an awkward turn of events, rivals FireEye and Palo Alto Networks had two of the biggest booths in the room -- right next door to one another. Despite the setup, there wasn't a clear winner in the rival face-off. Both booths were packed full of interested attendees.

Save A Seat

Multiple vendors had bars set up at their booth, but Authentify was the hands-down winner of the most elaborate bar setup. The multifactor authentication company was serving up bottled root beer for attendees to sip on as they navigated the show floor.

Optiv Security

While not necessarily a "wacky" sign, the large Optiv Security booth at Black Hat marked the official unveiling of its new brand, marking the completion of the merger of security solution provider superstars Accuvant and FishNet Security. The booth signage touted "The Power of Accuvant and FishNet Security Combined."

Fun And Games

Tenable Network Security set up a new way for attendees to "protect their network" with a security spin on classic arcade game Space Invaders. Attendees had the chance to "level up" their IT security skills by destroying all the threats attacking the network.

Sleight Of Hand

Las Vegas is known for its good magicians, and Black Hat didn't disappoint on that front. Security and privilege management company Lieberman Software brought the (not hacker-related) magic to Black Hat with on-site card tricks and sleight of hand.

Take It Easy

Being at a conference can be tough. Automated threat response company Invotas recognized that and provided on-site massages for Black Hat attendees.

I'll Be Back

In order to "terminate attacks," you obviously need the Terminator. Blue Coat had an Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonator on hand for photo opportunities, and just in case a threat arose.

Star Wars

You have to fit a little fun and games in among the work. Bit9 + Carbon Black set up a Star Wars Atari full-size video arcade game machine on the show floor for attendees to kick loose and show off their video game skills.

Area 51

True to its name, AlienVault set up an Area 51-themed booth, complete with desert tumbleweeds and suspended flying saucers. Employees of the unified security management and threat intelligence company wore "Area 51" T-shirts and sported flashing green headbands.

Break-Fix

Have you ever felt the need to take a hammer to your networking equipment or firewall? Zscaler gave you the chance at Black Hat to do just that with an enclosed room dedicated to taking out your anger with outdated or underperforming hardware (using a sledgehammer, of course).

We're Hiring

Signs across the event highlighted open positions at a variety of companies, both vendor and solution provider alike. Accenture was one example of a channel heavyweight vying for top talent at the event.

Foosball

For the competitive attendee, the ESET booth is the place to be. The antivirus and security software company set up foosball tables at its booth so attendees could put their nonhacker skills to the test.

Wanted By The FBI

While Black Hat isn't the most fed-friendly event, the FBI made a strong showing to recruit cybercrime fighters that it said will "identify, pursue and defeat cyber adversaries." The FBI said it was looking for hackers to go head-to-head against the most sophisticated computer threats in the world, as well as cultivate a network of information-sharing partnerships between the government and private sector. (Featured is yours truly.)

Virtual Reality

RSA brought the power of virtual reality to Black Hat, and attendees were lined up to test out the 3-D glasses technology Oculus Rift. The technology isn't slated to be officially released until spring of next year.

Raytheon|Websense

After announcing its acquisition of Websense earlier this year, Raytheon made its first Black Hat appearance as the combined Raytheon|Websense company, one that will drive a "new era of cybersecurity."