The hacker linked to Epstein has been removed from the Black Hat conference website

Vincenzo Iozzo, the famous hacker linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is no longer listed on the website of Black Hat, one of the world’s largest cybersecurity conferences, nor on the Japanese security conference Code Blue.

As of Thursday, Iozzo had not appeared on the official review board pages for Black Hat or Code Blue. He was still listed on both pages as of last week. Iozzo has been a member of Black Hat’s review board since 2011, according to his LinkedIn profile.

In a statement shared with TechCrunch through a spokesperson, Iozzo said he told Black Hat that he “will not resign willingly” and welcomed a “full investigation.”

Black Hat spokesmen did not respond to requests for comment.

Iozzo, currently the founder and CEO of cybersecurity startup SlashID, has had a long career in the industry. Iozzo authored one of the first guides for hackers looking into Apple’s mobile software, and in 2015, he founded cybersecurity startup IperLane, which was later acquired by CrowdStrike, leading him to work as a senior director at the company for about four years.

Iozzo’s name appears in more than 2,300 documents, some containing multiple emails, released on Jan. 30 as part of a legally required Justice Department effort to release material from its investigations into the late financier and sex trafficker.

Iuzzo’s interactions with Epstein spanned from October 2014 through December 2018. In late 2018, the Miami Herald published news stories detailing allegations that Epstein abused more than 60 women, some of them teenage girls.

After these stories were published, newly released emails showed that Ioso was trying to meet with Epstein at his home in New York City.

Among the new materials released by the Justice Department, in addition to more than 2,300 documents mentioning Ioso, was also a report from an FBI informant who claimed that Epstein had a “personal infiltrator.” The document has been redacted and does not mention the name of the alleged hacker. However, some identifying details in the document strongly suggest that the informant believed Ioso to be Epstein’s hacker. Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera reported on the emails earlier this month and named Iozzo as the person who was likely redacted in the informant’s document.

It is important to note that the allegations and allegations of the FBI informant have not been confirmed by the FBI and may be partially false. Furthermore, there is no evidence in the emails to suggest that Iuso did anything illegal on behalf of Epstein.

Iozzo said in his statement to TechCrunch that he “knew Epstein for professional reasons” and that he wished he didn’t, but he denied allegations that he was Epstein’s hacker or did any hacking for him.

“We were introduced in 2014 when I was 25 while fundraising for my startup at MIT, by people I trust and admire. Because of this, I failed to ask the right questions that seem obvious in retrospect,” said the statement sent by his spokesman, Joan Folero. “I foolishly accepted the account given to me by others that greatly downplayed the extent of his horrific actions. I regret the prior association and take full responsibility for not exercising greater judgment at the time.”

“My interactions with Epstein were limited to business opportunities that never materialized, as well as discussions about emerging markets and technologies. I never observed or engaged in any illegal activity or conduct,” Iozzo added.

In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to luring girls as young as 14 who were registered sex offenders in Florida and New York. In 2018, new reports emerged that Epstein was a serial sex offender who trafficked underage girls to his private island. Following these new reports, the Department of Justice formally charged Epstein in 2019 with trafficking, exploitation, and abuse of dozens of underage girls. Epstein later died in prison.

Neither Fulero, Iozzo’s spokesman, nor his lawyer, Emma Spiro, explained why Iozzo was removed from Black Hat’s website, but did not object to the removal.

“Mr. Iozzo welcomed an independent investigation by Black Hat, rather than an automatic dismissal, because he is confident that he will be vindicated through this process,” Fulero said.

Code Blue spokesperson Ken-ichi Saito confirmed to TechCrunch that the conference has removed Iozzo’s name from its review panel. Saito said the conference had been “preparing for this update for several months” to remove Izzo and two other review board members “who were not active” and that “the timing of our update coincidentally overlaps with the public release of the Epstein documents.”