Black Hat & DEF CON 2025: 7 Trends CISOs Can’t Ignore

Conference image of Black Hat in Las Vegas

Black Hat & DEF CON 2025: 7 Trends CISOs Can’t Ignore

By Stoyan StoyanovPublished On: September 20254.9 min readCategories: Insights

and Why WiseBee is the solution for navigating these trends.

Across Black Hat USA and DEF CON 33, two themes were impossible to miss: (1) AI is now the center of gravity in cybersecurity, reshaping both attack and defense, and (2) the market is converging on cyber‑first AI, tools that augment security teams, not replace them. That’s exactly the future WiseBee is designing

Below are the most actionable takeaways for security leaders, tied to how WiseBee helps you move faster with less overhead.

1) Cyber-first AI won the narrative

The dominant positioning this year: AI should make SOC teams faster and more effective, not bypass them. Coverage and show-floor conversations consistently highlighted AI that plugs into existing SecOps workflows as a force multiplier for analysts and governance.

WiseBee fit: Our cyber-first platform unifies real-time threat intelligence, external attack surface monitoring, and Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM). It is powered by AI agents that generate and prioritize contextualized mitigation plans, collaborating with human judgment to remediate issues.

2) Agentic AI is maturing—human-in-the-loop remains the bar

Agent frameworks are moving beyond simple copilots, but seasoned CISOs still demand human oversight and measurable outcomes (MTTR, consistency, cost). Leaders want automation where it’s reliable, and explainability where it isn’t.

WiseBee fit: We’ve designed our agentic AI to be powerful yet governed. While our agents automate the busywork—correlating leaked credentials, attack surface exposures, and vendor risks—they produce contextualized, explainable remediation steps that require human approval along the way. This approach delivers measurable outcomes (reduced MTTR, improved consistency, lower costs) while maintaining the human centered oversight that seasoned CISOs demand.

3) New AI attack surfaces are now practical, not theoretical

Research highlighted ‘invisible prompts,’ model abuse, and agent-to-agent exploitation that can trigger physical-world impacts or data leakage. It’s a wake-up call for Machine Learning Security Operations (MLSecOps), red-teaming AI features, and hardening agent interactions.

WiseBee fit: We continuously monitor your public footprint for exposed services, leaked credentials, risky AI endpoints, and misconfigurations, correlate them to real exploit chatter and recommend the fastest fix.

4) DARPA’s AIxCC proved autonomous vulnerability discovery & patching at scale

DEF CON crowned the AI Cyber Challenge winners, validating that AI can discover and fix complex bugs fast—moving automated remediation from research to roadmap.

WiseBee fit: Our agents already propose company-specific mitigation plans; our roadmap extends toward safe autonomy (with approval gates) for common external exposures.

5) Offensive mindset: ‘attack yourself first’

With AI lowering attacker costs and cycle times, leaders are shifting from passive controls to continuous validation—internal red-teaming, breach-and-attack simulation, and adversary-emulation against AI-enabled Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs).

WiseBee fit: We fully embody the “attack yourself first” mentality by continuously surfacing what’s exploitable right now across your attack surface and your vendors. Rather than waiting for threats to find you, WiseBee prioritizes vulnerabilities by real threat activity and intelligence, then transforms that insight into step-by-step remediation workflows that you can execute immediately

6) The talent equation is changing (again)

AI is redefining roles across SecOps and governance, new AI-risk functions, MLSecOps, and policy enforcement tied to NIST AI RMF / EU AI Act. Expect strong demand for practitioners who can operate AI-enhanced SOCs and secure AI systems themselves.

WiseBee fit: With AI redefining security roles and creating new demands for MLSecOps and AI governance, lean security teams need to do more with less. WiseBee’s unified operating system allows teams of 1-5 security staff to cover significantly more ground without wrangling half-dozen different tools and dashboards. We amplify existing talent rather than requiring new specialized hires

7) Reality check: outcomes > features

Across briefings and press, the community kept returning to a simple bar: prove measurable impact (MTTR reduction, fewer false positives, fewer hours burned). Hype cycles fade; validated outcomes stick.

WiseBee fit: Our design principles focus on measurable impact over flashy dashboards. We reduce toil, surface the right risks, and close the loop with concrete mitigation, not just generate more alerts. WiseBee is built to prove tangible outcomes: reduced MTTR, fewer false positives, and fewer hours burned on low-value activities. We deliver results, not just another alert firehose.

What this means for security leaders

Move now on AI risk: inventory where AI features (internal or vendor) touch sensitive flows; add MLSecOps and abuse testing to your plan.
Consolidate before you automate: Stop drowning in disparate feeds from vulnerability scanners, threat intel platforms, and vendor risk tools. Unify external attack surface findings, leaked credentials, and third-party risk into a single prioritized workflow. Then apply the automation layer. This unified approach is where WiseBee can help create immediate value.
Lead with human centered oversight: Deploy AI-driven workflows with built-in approval gates and explainable decision making. Focus metrics on outcomes that matter: reduced MTTR, issues actually resolved, and analyst time freed up for strategic work—not just tickets created or alerts generated.

If you’re navigating alert fatigue, vendor risk sprawl, or limited headcount, this is your moment to consolidate and automate—safely.

Let’s talk. See how WiseBee can monitor your company and your vendors in real time and turn findings into fixes.