Yes, the world's biggest hacking conference takes place every year in the US. And yes, no Chinese hackers will be allowed into this year's gig.

That is, if the US government has its way and it's being very loud in saying it's going to find a way to keep the Chinese out. Organizers of the Def Con and Black Hat conferences to be held in Las Vegas in August said they believed limiting participation from China is a bad idea.

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A top US hacker said restricting access to non-Chinese would have no effect since speeches and presentations from both conferences are videotaped and sold on DVDs or posted on the Internet.

Washington is reported to be assessing if and how they can deny visas to Chinese hackers that want to attend both popular hacker conferences.

An unidentified government official said Washington was thinking of imposing visa restrictions and other measures to turn the screws on China after the United States last charged five Chinese military officers of hacking into US companies to steal trade secrets.

China has denied the charges, claiming a US grand jury indictment was fabricated.

The Wall Street Journal said options being considered by Washington to keep the pressure on the Chinese could include releasing additional evidence about how Chinese hackers conducted their alleged operations, and imposing business and financial restrictions on those indicted or people or organizations associated with them.

Last week, about a dozen Chinese citizens were unexpectedly denied visas to attend a space and cyber conference hosted by the Space Foundation in Colorado. The event scheduled for this week has among its speakers Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and other high-ranking US intelligence and military officials.

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