• Major themes emerged at this year’s Black Hat USA, including AI (go figure), solving for Ops challenges and detection and response.
• We also got a peek into how vendors were talking a whole lot about automation, and not really at all about Zero Trust.
• One-hit-wonders come and go but real cybersecurity resilience, for organizations of any size, demands proven solutions built to last.

In the 2000 movie High Fidelity, we find Rob Gordon, portrayed by John Cusack, at a crossroads after his girlfriend breaks up with him. He consoles himself by compiling top five lists, a habit he and his employees Barry and Dick extend to many subjects, from dream jobs and desert islands to top five side one, track ones and even death itself.

It was so much easier in the past to track the standouts at Black Hat when everyone had a 10’ x 10’ booth. Despite Black Hat’s growth and evolution, I still feel compelled to create a list. Besides, it’s in our nature to rank everything. So I’m taking a page from Rob Gordon and submitting my top five playlist of Black Hat USA 2025 standouts, each paired with a song: 

1. Virtual Insanity, Jamiroquai 

(Aka AI is everything everywhere all at once)

The show floor was a big thesaurus stew of AI that was enabled, driven, secure, native, first, proofed, built and powered, with a splash of human-led. Jamiroquai sings, “Who can tell what magic spells we’ll be doin’ for us?” But the scary thing is that not only do the “good guys” have AI, so do the “bad guys.” You need to make sure your data is safe before you deploy AI and anticipate your adversary’s next move. And with our industry-first Incident Prediction capability, your security team can accurately predict an attacker’s next four or five moves with up to 100% confidence.

2. Under Pressure, Queen and David Bowie 

(Aka Ops du jour)

Various versions of “Ops” were all around the show floor: SecOps, DevOps, ITOps, AgenticOps, RiskOps and more. To say that SecOps teams are under pressure is an understatement. Freddie Mercury sang it best, “Chipping around, kick my brains ‘round the floor - these are the days, it never rains, but it pours.” Beyond their challenges of keeping up with daily tasks, now SecOps teams are fighting off AI-powered attacks, leaving them burned out and exposed.  

3. I Want a New Drug, Huey Lewis and the News 

(Aka Is there a “DR” in the house?)

Detection and response was also a big theme at Black Hat this year. The usual suspects like EDR, MDR, NDR and CDR were featured, along with newer references like SCDR (supply chain), ADR (application) and BDR (browser). Organizations want “one that won’t go away - one that won’t keep me up all night - one that won’t make me sleep all day.” And they also need trusted and reliable detection and response solutions that combine protection and detection against the most complex threats. 

4. Mr. Roboto, Styx 

(Aka Automated, but not autonomous)

A few vendors on the show floor had messaging related to “automation” or “autonomous.” While the concept of autonomous security isn’t new, the path to an autonomous SOC can be a challenging one. Incorporating some automation into your SOC workflows can lighten your team’s daily workload and help them manage complex threats more efficiently. As the song goes, “Thank you very much, Mr. Roboto for doing the jobs that nobody wants to.” Ultimately, automation should empower your SOC team, not replace them.

5. Less Than Zero, The Weeknd 

(Aka Where are you Zero Trust?)

It seemed like in years past, everyone was all about Zero Trust. This year? Crickets. There were a handful of booths with Zero Trust messaging, it’s almost like the whole concept just faded into the background. I can’t imagine that Zero Trust will just disappear like The Weeknd’s song suggests. “I can’t get it out of my head,” and we just won’t see the hype front and center. But if you want to learn more, you can check out how other teams are gaining Zero Trust ground. 

Coda: Crazy Train, Ozzy Osbourne 

(Aka Legends Never Die)

After two days of 100+ degree weather, a bruised arm from a random person’s elbow and numerous reunions with current and former colleagues, I wrapped up my time at Black Hat where I began, at the Broadcom booth. 

And being in our booth repping two iconic cybersecurity brands, while surrounded by my colleagues, reminded me that our collective wealth of experience and wisdom and capabilities is so powerful. Our bench of experts runs deep and wide. And we build solutions that last. We’ve been doing it for years.

Our booth’s tribute to the legends of cybersecurity is a testament to Broadcom's undying legacy in the industry. Just as Ozzy, even after his recent passing, remains an icon whose influence transcends time, our solutions live on as a foundation for legendary leadership and innovation.