"CNN: How did Black Hat and DEF CON get started?
Moss: The two are definitely interconnected. DEF CON started several years before Black Hat did because there was just no market for a commercial-type security con. Everything was underground or much more informal and when the Internet started growing up then all of a sudden companies were looking around for security information. A friend of mine suggested I should charge a lot more money and make a professional version of DEF CON."
Meet Dark Tangent, the hacker behind Black Hat and DEF CON - CNN.com: