Black Hat Asia 2020 postponed due to coronavirus concerns

February 14, 2020 TH Author

Image: Chris Duckett/ZDNet

Black Hat Asia was due to take place in Singapore from March 31 to April 3, but it will now take place later in the year.

“After careful consideration of the health and safety of our attendees and partners, we have made the difficult decision to postpone Black Hat Asia 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak,” a notice on the conference’s site says.

“We understand the inconvenience this may cause and will follow up directly with all of those who are scheduled to attend and exhibit to determine appropriate next steps.”

The organisers said the event would take place “in the fall”. Presumably, it will be when autumn takes place in the upper reaches of the northern hemisphere, and not waiting for a season in the tropical island city about 100 kilometres from the equator when trees lose their leaves.

The shifting of Black Hat Asia follows from the cancellation of MWC in Barcelona this week after myriad companies withdrew from the event.

Another event disappearing in 2020 is Cisco Live Melbourne, that was set to be in Melbourne during the first week of March.

“Due to ongoing concerns about the current outbreak of COVID-19 (commonly referred to as Coronavirus), Cisco has made the difficult decision to cancel Cisco Live Melbourne scheduled for March 3-6, 2020 in Australia,” the company said in a statement.

“Our customers, partners and employees are our top priority and we strongly believe this is the right decision given the current circumstances. Our thoughts are with those directly impacted by this situation.”

Last month, DEF CON China was put “on hold” due to coronavirus concerns, and was set to take place over April 17 to 19.

Occurring over the same timeframe, the Chinese Formula 1 Grand Prix was also postponed this week.

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