The BlackHat Training Survival Guide

Reality check: BlackHat USA 2025 is chaos in a badge. The AC is brutal, the stakes are high, and most people waste the first day figuring out what they should have done before they got there. And when you’re spending $4,000+ on a course, you can’t afford rookie mistakes.

The trainings are elite. But if you walk in unprepared, you’ll burn time, lose momentum, and fall behind before lunch. And that’s so frustrating. Not to mention, it’s also expensive in terms of time, energy, and credibility.

Table of Contents

1. Before you land: What to prep (or regret)
2. Day one tactics: Make every minute count
3. Learning like a pro: How to train smart
4. Off-hours ops: Party smart and learn more
5. Aftermath: Turning training into action
6. Make it count (or why did you even show up?)

Before you land: What to prep (or regret)

Welcome to BlackHat USA 2025, where your $4,000 training doesn’t come with tech support, a backup laptop, or sympathy. You’ll get a badge, a chair, and a schedule. Everything else is on you.

You don’t want to spend $4,000 just to catch-up

BlackHat trainings are full-throttle, hands-on sessions run by instructors who assume you came prepared (mentally and technically). So it’s on you if you will show up with a broken VM, missing tools, or no clue what the topic is about. And trust us: nobody’s pausing the session so you can download VirtualBox on hotel Wi-Fi.

If you want every hour to count, prep starts before your plane leaves the tarmac.

How to skip the line

Morning registration lines are chaos. There are hundreds of people and only one. Don’t be that person who arrived at 8:30 hoping to grab your badge and walk into training.

Evening check-in is your secret weapon. Show up the night before, grab your badge in five minutes, and walk past the morning crowd like you own the place. You’ll sleep better, skip the stress, and actually start Day One on time.

Set up your training environment before you fly

BlackHat training are full-throttle, hands-on sessions run by instructors who assume you came prepared (mentally and technically). So it’s on you if you will show up with a broken VM, missing tools, or no clue what the topic is about.

Checklist to avoid disaster:

• Read the pre-requisites and follow them before you pack.
• Spin up the VM. Make sure it actually works.
• Test any resource-heavy tools (Burp Suite, Docker, etc.) so they don’t choke mid-lab.

And don’t bet on hotel Wi-Fi. Download everything ahead of time. VM images, scripts, docs, whatever you’ll need. Hotel internet is built for email, not 20,000 security pros trying to hit it simultaneously.

Brush up or get burned

If the course description mentions familiarity with Python and your last Python script was  Hello World, you're about to waste your company's money.

Be brutally honest about your skill gaps. If you're out of your depth, you won't magically catch up during the training. Use platforms like AppSecEngineer for focused warm-ups on specific technologies before you arrive.

Day one tactics: Make every minute count

You made it to BlackHat. Congrats. Now don’t blow the first day wandering around looking lost, freezing your face off, or waiting in line for coffee like it’s Comic-Con. These small moves add up fast, especially when your trainer starts dropping commands you’ve never seen and half the room’s already five steps ahead.

How to survive six hours in a walk-in freezer

Yes, the AC is set to the data center. Think you’ll be fine in a T-shirt? Rookie mistake. You’ll be shivering by hour two, typing with frozen fingers, and regretting every fashion choice you made that morning.

Bring a hoodie. Wear layers. Doesn’t matter if it’s 110°F outside. Inside, it’s winter. The seasoned folks dress like they’re headed into a freezer for a reason.

Getting caffeine without wasting half your morning

You’ll just grab coffee when you get there? You won’t. The coffee lines are 30 minutes deep by 8:15. And nothing worse than missing the lab walkthrough while clutching a lukewarm drip from the wrong kiosk.

Better plan?

• Hit the smaller vendor booths. They often have espresso machines with no line.
• Scout the nearest hotel cafe the night before (not the one inside Mandalay Bay).
• Bring your own if you’re particular. Yes, people pack Aeropress kits. And yes, they’re smarter than you.

Talk to your trainer (seriously)

Most people don’t, and that’s why you should. Trainers are busy, but they’re also human. If you DM them before the training starts (yes, even on LinkedIn or X), you can get ahead of the curve.

Why it’s worth it:

• You might get bonus labs or extra practice time.
• You’ll know how to get CPE credits, proof of training, or digital certs.
• If you’re attending with your team, some trainers will run side sessions or give you exercises to take back to the office.

Just say hi. Ask smart questions. And who knows, maybe you’ll get more in return than you think.

Learning like a pro: How to train smart

BlackHat isn’t college; you don’t get credit for just showing up. You’re here to learn fast, retain what matters, and leave with skills you can actually use next week. That doesn’t happen by watching slides and nodding politely. The people who get the most out of training are the ones who ask questions, break things, and take notes they’ll actually open again.

Why doing > watching if you want to retain anything

Active engagement improves retention by 70%. Ask questions, try the alternate exploit path, break the lab environment on purpose. Every time you engage, you cement the concept.

Don’t worry about looking lost, worry about leaving without learning. This is the place to ask the dumb question. Odds are, half the room is wondering the same thing.

Why you should ask during the session

Most BlackHat trainers don’t send out their decks after the fact. And no, there’s no centralized Dropbox. If you missed a slide, you missed it. That’s why it pays to speak up during the session.

Need a specific tool link or a diagram? Ask while it’s on screen. Some instructors will drop links in chat or even share bonus material if you show genuine interest. But ask after the session ends? You’re probably getting a shrug and a sorry.

Notes you'll actually use later

You don’t need to transcribe the training. Just focus on the things your future self will need when you’re back at work:

• Specific tools or scripts mentioned in passing
• CLI commands with useful flags or options
• Troubleshooting steps for when things break mid-lab
• Workflow diagrams or setup advice that isn’t in the docs

Skip the generic theory slides and save only what’s actionable. If you wouldn’t use it next week, then what’s the point in writing it down?

Off-hours ops: Party smart and learn more

BlackHat after-hours can be a blur of vendor parties, rooftop bars, and people yelling over dubstep about Zero Trust. It’s tempting to go all in: free drinks, flashy swag, and the illusion of networking. But if you’re serious about learning and making real connections, you need a smarter playbook. You don’t have to skip the fun. Just make sure to not waste your time in rooms where no one remembers anything the next morning.

Network without the hangover

Not all parties are worth your time. Some are just loud sponsor fests with open bars and zero signal. Others? Smaller, quieter, and full of people actually doing the work you care about.

Pick events with a clear theme or guest list, especially the ones focused on AppSec, product security, or training communities. Look for workshops, hosted dinners, or invite-only mixers over massive DJ nights. You’ll meet people you’ll actually want to follow up with.

And yes, don’t forget your breath mints. Nothing kills a professional connection faster than the evidence of your last three drinks.

How to work the expo floor without collecting junk

If you’re walking the vendor floor, skip the scavenger hunt for T-shirts and YubiKeys. Focus on booths where real tools and teams are showing up.

Ask pointed questions. “How does this integrate into a CI/CD pipeline?” is better than “What does your platform do?” The good vendors will bring tech leads instead of just sales reps. That’s who you want to talk to.

Hit up early hours or end-of-day slots. Less crowded, more time to dig into product details. And yes, still plenty of socks if that’s your thing.

Aftermath: Turning training into action

You survived the labs, took solid notes, maybe even made it to the afterparty without regretting it. But is your BlackHat training end the moment you leave Mandalay Bay? Let me tell you this: the smartest teams turn what they learn into repeatable advantage. That starts the day you get back.

Post-training lab access

Most BlackHat instructors give you lab access after the event (but only if you ask). Some offer extended VM access for a week. Others might share updated materials, bonus content, or practice challenges.

Check the last slide, ask in-person, or shoot a quick email while you’re still fresh in their mind. Don’t assume anything’s automatic. If you want more time, say so.

Applying what you learned quickly

Knowledge decays rapidly if you don't use it. Within two weeks, you'll forget 80% of what you learned unless you apply it.

Schedule a knowledge-sharing session with your team for the week you return. Commit to implementing at least one technique or tool from the training immediately. The longer you wait, the less likely you'll ever use what you learned.

Scaling the value across teams

Most trainers are open to follow-ups, especially if you’re asking about internal enablement. Want a custom session for your team? A live walkthrough? A private version of the training? Ask. These things happen all the time quietly, and usually for teams who follow up fast.

If the course made an impact, it’s worth asking: can this become part of your standard onboarding or security training stack?

Make it count (or why did you even show up?)

You’re not dropping thousands to sit in a freezing room, miss half the labs, and forget everything by next Monday. If you’re sending your team (or going yourself), get your money’s worth. Prep like it matters. Engage like it’s real. And follow up like you expect results (because you should).

Before you go:

• Tighten your pre-training checklist.
• Set post-event expectations for your team.
• Build a plan to reuse what you learn across the org.

And while you’re at it, swing by the AppSecEngineer booth. We’re all about hands-on and high-impact security skills that teams actually want to use, and can put to work the day they get back.

We’ll be there. Hoodie and all.