Italian Cybersecurity Expert Denies Epstein Hacker Claims

Vincenzo Iozzo, a respected cybersecurity expert from Calabria, Italy, has rejected claims that he worked as Jeffrey Epstein's personal hacker after his name surfaced in millions of documents released by the U.S. Justice Department. The emails and files, which span from 2014 to 2018, show Iozzo arranged multiple meetings with Epstein and communicated with his staff, but contain no evidence of illegal activity. An FBI informant's reference to Epstein having a personal hacker with a profile matching Iozzo's background has fueled speculation on social media and in some media outlets, though no formal charges have been filed.

Background

Iozzo earned his degree in computer engineering from Milan's Polytechnic University in 2010 and built a career as one of the world's leading cybersecurity researchers. In 2010, he and a colleague became the first to publicly hack an iPhone. The following year, he and two others successfully hacked BlackBerry devices. From 2012 to 2014, he worked as Chief of Staff and Principal Security Engineer at Trail of Bits, a prestigious security firm serving clients including Facebook and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. In 2015, Iozzo founded Iperlane, a mobile security company that was acquired by CrowdStrike, a major cybersecurity firm with extensive U.S. government contracts, in 2017. He remained with CrowdStrike as Senior Director until 2021.

Iozzo was introduced to Epstein through Joichi Ito, then director of the MIT Media Lab, who sent an email on May 6, 2014, describing Iozzo as "one of the best network security experts I know." Ito wrote that Iozzo was "often in New York" and suggested they meet. The two men arranged to meet on May 18, 2014, with Iozzo confirming he was heading to the meeting in a taxi.

Key Details

Within the Justice Department's database of 3.5 million pages of Epstein-related documents, Iozzo's name appears 636 times, with an additional 1,700 occurrences of "Lozzo," which analysts believe resulted from optical character recognition errors during digitization. The emails between Iozzo and Epstein, as well as communications with Epstein's longtime assistant Lesley Groff, are routine in nature and focus on scheduling meetings and coordinating logistics.

One email from December 1, 2018, shows Iozzo asking whether he should hide his identity before meeting with Epstein. Another email from April 21, 2015, reveals Iozzo was living in Dubai and invited Epstein to visit, mentioning he knew someone from a royal family who might interest the financier.

The Hacker Allegation

A classified FBI document dated November 27, 2017, contains information from an anonymous confidential source claiming that Epstein had a personal hacker with access to compromising information on other people. The source's description—an Italian cybersecurity expert from Calabria with expertise in zero-day exploits and ties to a company acquired by CrowdStrike—has led some observers to believe the reference was to Iozzo. However, the document does not name him, and no official accusations have been made.

"I am not, nor have I ever been, the hacker of Jeffrey Epstein, nor have I done any hacking for him," Iozzo stated in response to the allegations.

Iozzo's legal representative confirmed that the FBI and the Justice Department have never contacted him. The attorney characterized the accusations as "fabricated" and "defamatory," made by an informant more than eight years ago.

What This Means

The release of Epstein documents has drawn attention to dozens of names, from prominent politicians to business leaders and academics. In Iozzo's case, the appearance of his name in ordinary email exchanges has become entangled with an anonymous allegation that lacks corroboration. His professional accomplishments in cybersecurity and his legitimate business dealings have now become inseparable from speculation fueled by social media.

Iozzo has acknowledged regret about maintaining contact with Epstein after the financier's criminal history became public. He stated he took full responsibility for not exercising better judgment at the time, describing himself as having "minimized enormously the scope of his horrible actions."

The case illustrates how documents released in high-profile investigations can create confusion when names appear alongside unverified allegations. While Iozzo's emails show he sought meetings with Epstein and later inquired about concealing his identity, the published correspondence contains nothing explicitly illegal. Without independent confirmation or charges, the distinction between association and culpability remains unclear to the public, even as Iozzo continues to deny any wrongdoing.