An unnamed source told Reuters information that the United States government is considering imposing visa restrictions to prevent the attendance of Chinese hackers to major hacking conferences, namely Black Hat and Def Con, which will be held in Las Vegas this August.

This preventive action will also deny the hackers access to other similar events in an effort to curb cyber espionage. This is particularly true for the Chinese after five members of the Chinese military were indicted by the U.S. government for allegedly hacking into the systems of U.S.-based companies in an attempt to steal trade secrets. This is the first-ever formal hacking accusation by the U.S. against another government.

The visa restriction and other measures by the U.S. will maintain a constant pressure on China. Meahwile, China officially denies the charges, claiming they were "made up".

Conference organizers believe that limiting participation, especially against a specific group, is a bad idea. Founder of both Black Hat and Def Con, Jeff Moss, tweeted that he thinks it will not help in building a positive community. Others think it would not matter too much as videos of the conferences are recorded and sold after the event anyway. Despite the different opinions on whether to restrict the Chinese from attending hacker conferences, the United States had already begun denying visas to Chinese nationals just last week. Around 10 to 12 were not allowed to attend a conference about space in Colorado.

In the 2013 conference, Def Con organizers requested that U.S. federal agents keep their distance after the emergence of the spying activities conducted by the government both on its citizens and on foreigners. Featured speakers this year will include James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, as well as other high-ranking military officials and members of United States intelligence. This could be a reason why the government wishes to limit audience attendance.