The head of the U.S. Secret Service, Keith Alexander, went to DefCon, the largest hackers convention in Las Vegas, to offer employment to people who gathered there, CNN reported.

"I am very impressed with some of the things that are happening here," said Alexander as part of his presentation to a packed hall at the DefCon. "In this room you will find the talent that our nation needs to secure cyberspace."

Alexander, who is also head of the U.S. cyber command, said that privacy should be preserved and that they could help develop new tools.

"They will have to come and help us," he said.

The secret service chief presented himself with a shirt and jeans. He took some time to shop around the aisles and prais the efforts of hackers in the field of intrusion detection tools and cryptology, the ehackingnews.com site reported.

The attendees were respectful during Alexander’s conference, but expressed concern about the secret government intrusion and the inability of authorities to stop computer attacks from outside the U.S.

To his credit, Alexander said he has allocated a sum through the Senate to make it easier for companies who suffer attacks from sharing information with the government, as well as give the owners of critical infrastructure a reward for joining standards of future security.

When questioned about whether the government was in possession of records of millions of Americans, the head of the Secret Service said that "people who say we do that, should be aware that it is false."

The National Security Agency created a page to support this proposal. It includes the phrase, "If you have counted with some indiscretions in your past, do not panic."

There were those who showed a good reaction to the presentation of Alexander, as was the case of a corporate security investigator, who was attracted to the job, even though it was made clear that the pay is not good, said CNN.

Others, however, showed their displeasure.

"Guys, sometimes you have a bad reputation," said Alexander. "From my perspective, what you are doing to address the vulnerability of our systems is necessary."

To which someone replied, "Then stop arresting us".

This hackers convention began to be celebrated since 1993 and is attended by elite hackers. It’s BlackHat's sister, a computer security conference also held in Las Vegas, reported CNN.

The Defcon is a more informal event where people come dressed in jeans and shirts. One of the activities taking place within its walls is the "capture the flag" tournament. It consists of 20 teams fighting for hack the server of the opposing team and get their key information and prevent opponents from entering their own.

It is a convention that brings together the best, not just America but from around the world.

In the words of Alexandder, it is the skills and abilities of people who go there that the government needs. For example, the group of hackers called Ninja Networks created a private network of phones to chat during the event.

It is hoped that the visit of Alexander encourage some to work for the government.