We know we aren’t the only ones that still revel in attending in-person events, and being at Black Hat USA in August energized the RapidFort team in unexpected ways. With a buzzing tradeshow floor and countless networking opportunities, the event welcomed more than 22,750 attendees this year. And, compared to the 20,200 that attended in 2019, we think it’s safe to say that conferences are finally back to pre-COVID participation levels.

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Now a few weeks removed (and recovered) from the hustle and bustle of Black Hat 2023, I wanted to take an opportunity to reflect and share my thoughts on the event: 

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All eyes on AI

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First and foremost, artificial Intelligence, or at least the term “AI,” was everywhere. The number of vendors showcasing AI-powered cybersecurity solutions was quite impressive, and leads me to believe that products of tangible value are on the horizon. With that being said, many companies appear compelled to prove that their products are, or will be, leveraging AI, even though most are not yet mature and still in the very early stages of development. 

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What’s authentic and what’s snake oil? 

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Organizations are continuing to face complex threats, and they’re only growing in sophistication. Coupled with the fact that perpetrators are constantly evolving their tactics, an extremely fluid environment for companies developing new innovations has emerged. But, due to the highly technical aspects of these current and impending threats, many solutions will require months - if not years - of research and development. There is no shortage of cybersecurity trends and companies coming to market with new and innovative ways to tackle one or more of these complex issues, but this will undoubtedly result in CISOs being tasked with the difficult and unenviable job of separating the wheat from the chaff.

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AI and the CISO - Future potential 

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The CISO's role in framing emerging risks and driving cyber resilience for organizations continues to evolve, and AI will be an incredibly important innovation to consider for CISOs as they contemplate their cyber security strategies. Leveraging this technology through solutions like AI code generators, AI code review and debug tools, will require CISOs and other employees within their organizations to make concerted efforts to understand and internalize in this fast moving area of technology, but it’s something that could pay off in the long run with newfound efficiencies, allowing teams to focus their time and effort elsewhere. 

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All in all, Black Hat USA 2023 was a success for RapidFort, and we’re looking forward to heading back to Las Vegas next August! The insightful conversations we shared with analysts, enterprise users and other expo attendees fueled our team, and we look forward to taking our innovative approach to Software Attack Surface Management on the road in the future.

In the meantime, follow our blog for unexpected insights, or request a demo of the RapidFort platform.