[BoyWizard]

>but rather low ranking analysts whose job at the conferences are to assess the material presented and report back

So? I work for a private company. I 'report back' on the cool shit I saw, let people know what was around, what was popular, etc. It's a learning experience. Saying they 'report back' is useless. If you go to a con and don't talk with other people about the stuff you saw there it's almost wasteful.

I think I know what you meant though - they go and see what all the 'underground hackers' are up to.