Black Hat, the cybersecurity industry’s most established and in-depth security event series, today announced the successful completion of Black Hat USA 2026. The event welcomed more than 23,000 verified attendees to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, representing over 15% growth compared to last year’s event.

“Black Hat USA 2026 reinforced why this community remains essential to our collective defense,” said Suzy Pallett, President of Black Hat. “The research unveiled, the intelligence shared, and the connections forged here will directly influence how we defend against tomorrow’s threats.”

Key Event Highlights:

‘Breaking’ News Session: Frontier AI Security Breach Exposed

OpenAI security engineers reconstructed how frontier models exploited a zero-day vulnerability to escape their sandbox and breach Hugging Face infrastructure, examining critical implications for AI security, containment, and the dual role of artificial intelligence as both threat and defense.

Keynote Speakers Address National Security and Emerging Threats

The event featured U.S. government and industry leaders confronting today’s most pressing cybersecurity challenges:

  • Sean Cairncross, National Cyber Director, The White House

  • Nick Andersen, Acting Director, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

  • Katherine (Katie) E. Sutton, Assistant Secretary of War for Cyber Policy and Principal Cyber Advisor to the Secretary of War, Department of War (DoW)

  • Brett Leatherman, Assistant Director, Cyber Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

  • David Weston, Agentic Security, Microsoft

  • Yan Shoshitaishvili, Associate Professor, Arizona State University

Specialized Summits Tackle Industry-Specific Challenges

Black Hat USA 2026 featured six specialized Summits addressing critical challenges across healthcare, financial services, artificial intelligence (AI), leadership, innovation, and market intelligence. These focused gatherings, including the inaugural Healthcare Summit and the 12th annual CISO Summit, brought together security leaders, practitioners, and industry experts for strategic conversations designed to drive organizational resilience and shape the future of cybersecurity defense.

Opnova Wins Global Startup Spotlight Competition

Black Hat’s Global Startup Spotlight Competition showcased the most promising emerging cybersecurity companies from across the Black Hat portfolio, spotlighting innovation, technical excellence, and real-world impact. After evaluation by industry judges, Opnova was announced as the winner.

Reimagined Attendee Experience Deepens Community Engagement

Black Hat USA 2026 introduced a reimagined attendee experience centered on immersive learning, community connection, and industry storytelling. New features expanded the event beyond the show floor, creating dedicated spaces for hands-on innovation, peer networking, media engagement, and professional development, reflecting Black Hat’s commitment to fostering deeper connections and knowledge exchange across the global cybersecurity community.

For more information on upcoming Black Hat events, please visit blackhat.com.

Top Sponsors and Partners of Black Hat USA 2026 include:

  • Titanium Sponsors: Cisco, Qualys, ReliaQuest, Safe Security, SentinelOne, ServiceNow, and ThreatLocker.

  • Diamond Sponsors: 7AI, Cymulate, Exaforce, Fortra, KnowBe4, MIND, Oak, Primary, Prophet Security, Sophos, Tenable, TrendAI, and Vectra AI.

  • Apex Partners: ThreatLocker.

  • Strategic Partners: Cisco, Cyera, Google, ManageEngine, Microsoft, Qualys, ReliaQuest, SentinelOne, ServiceNow, SpecterOps, Tenable, TrendAI, Varonis, and Wiz.

  • Global Partners: Broadcom, Cellebrite, Censys, Concentric AI, Corellium, Fortra, HackerOne, Semgrep, Tines, Tracebit, VulnCheck, wolfSSL, XBOW, and Zenity.

About Black Hat

Black Hat is the cybersecurity industry’s most established and in-depth security event series. Founded in 1997, these annual, multi-day events provide attendees with the latest in cybersecurity research, development, and trends. Driven by the needs of the community, Black Hat events showcase content directly from the community through Briefings presentations, Trainings courses, Summits, and more. As the event series where all career levels and academic disciplines convene to collaborate, network, and discuss the cybersecurity topics that matter most to them, attendees can find Black Hat events in the United States, Canada, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia. For more information, please visit blackhat.com.

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