Black Hat USA 2025 has wrapped up its in-person program at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, drawing 20,000 verified attendees from around the globe. For five immersive days, the cybersecurity community converged to explore cutting-edge research, practical security skills, and industry innovation, making the event a definitive annual gathering for the sector. More than 100 Briefings delved into high-impact topics like artificial intelligence, exploit development, vulnerability discovery, reverse engineering, and cloud security, while four days of technical Trainings offered hands-on instruction from leading practitioners. Over 120 Sponsored Sessions and more than 115 tool demonstrations provided a deep dive into exploitation techniques, ethical hacking, incident response, and more.
This year’s Keynote lineup expanded to five prominent figures. Mikko Hypponen, Nicole Perlroth, Ron Deibert, Jennifer Granick, and Chris Inglis each brought unique perspectives, spanning cyber policy, privacy rights, threat intelligence, and national defense strategy. The Main Stage program further extended the event’s thought leadership with presentations from influential industry and government figures, including Richard Seiersen, Snehal Antani, Bailey Bickley, and a team of Microsoft security leaders, as well as Splunk’s Peter Prizio.
The Business Hall was a major focal point, with over 425 top cybersecurity solution providers showcasing their products and services. Attendees explored the Arsenal tool area, engaged in Sponsored Sessions, and participated in networking hubs like the Community Lounge, Professional Development Zone, and Exhibitor Meet & Greets. On August 5, the event’s Summit programming offered targeted deep-dives with the debut of the Financial Services Summit alongside returning sessions such as The AI Summit, the Innovators & Investors Summit, the CISO Summit, and the Omdia Analyst Summit. Micro Summits over the following days examined niche areas such as cyber insurance, industrial control systems security, and supply chain security.
Startups also had their moment in the spotlight through the Black Hat Startup Spotlight Competition, where FireTail, Keep Aware, Prime Security, and Twine Security pitched live to attendees. Prime Security emerged as the winner, earning recognition in front of an influential audience of security professionals, investors, and potential partners. Organizers closed by announcing that the first Global Startup Spotlight Competition will debut at Black Hat USA 2026, promising to raise the stakes for emerging cybersecurity innovators.
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