Fortinet at Black Hat USA 2025: A Convergence of Innovation, Threat Intelligence, and Community

The world's largest cybersecurity conference, Black Hat USA 2025, drew in a record-breaking 22,000 attendees from around the globe to Las Vegas, marking a 13% increase from last year. Fortinet was proud to be at the center of this vibrant gathering, showcasing its latest innovations and tackling emerging threats head-on.

Standing Room Only at Booth #2446

The Business Hall booth was a constant hub of activity, drawing visitors eager to explore the latest in secure networking, SOC transformation, endpoint protection, and CNAPP. Live demos brought Fortinet's tightly integrated platform to life, showcasing how it helps organizations secure users, applications, and infrastructure across hybrid data center, cloud, and edge environments.

Attendees engaged with our experts, explored advanced product capabilities, and saw firsthand why Fortinet is trusted by over 800,000 customers globally. It was a testament to the power of collaboration and community in cybersecurity – and we're honored to be a part of it.

Security Fabric Theater: Real-World Insights, Real-Time Threats

Throughout both days of the conference, our Security Fabric Theater delivered back-to-back sessions with topics ranging from continuous threat exposure management (CTEM) and unified endpoint security to insider risk and CNAPP. Sessions on Insider Risk & DLP and Workspace Technology drew high interest, reflecting ongoing challenges in data protection and hybrid workforce security.

Partner presentations from Nutanix, Armis, Honeywell, ServiceNow, and Nozomi Networks added valuable perspectives on real-world deployments and ecosystem integration. It was a true showcase of the breadth and depth of our community's expertise – and we're grateful to have such esteemed partners by our side.

Expert Perspectives: Fortinet Featured in Headline Sessions

Fortinet was featured in several headline sessions, including one on how threat actors are actually using AI. Aamir Lakhani, Sr. Manager, Threat Intelligence, delivered a grounded and provocative look at how adversaries are actively using it in the wild today.

Aamir shared recent research from FortiGuard Labs exploring how AI could assist in fine-tuning targeting capabilities. The team demonstrated how threat actors could theoretically use facial recognition and social media data to identify and personalize attacks against high-profile individuals or specific demographics.

A Threat Landscape in Flux

The session echoed broader themes heard throughout Black Hat, where speakers described an “escalating arms race” between malicious AI tools and the defensive AI systems designed to stop them. It was a sobering reminder of the stakes – but also a call to action for defenders to stay ahead of the curve.

Keynotes and Expo Highlights

The conference featured a range of keynote speakers, including Microsoft's call for stronger incident response (IR) readiness and Booz Allen's unveiling of Vellox Reverser, a cloud-native AI malware analysis platform delivering actionable results in minutes.

To Be or Not to Be a CISO

A high-impact panel discussion featuring Fortinet CISO Carl Windsor joined peers from Vercel and Salesforce to dissect the evolving demands and risks of the modern CISO role. Carl noted a critical shift: “Today’s CISOs aren’t just reporting up to the CEO or CFO—we’re reporting to the board. Cyber risk is now seen as business risk, and the board wants security expertise in the room.”

Post-Show Spotlight: Fortinet at DEF CON 33

Black Hat Meets DEF CON: Community in the Sky

DEF CON Keynote

Muslim Koser, VP, Engineering EASM, Fortinet delivered a standout keynote at DEF CON’s Recon Village. He unpacked the disappearance of traditional recon and emphasized the speed at which attackers now operate – and the implications for defenders: “Attackers no longer wait. They scan, exploit, and move laterally in minutes. Recon is no longer slow, and defenders must rethink their strategy.”

Hands-On AI Training Sessions

DEF CON also included hands-on AI training sessions, such as “Solving Modern Cybersecurity Problems with AI,” where attendees learned to build their own AI security frameworks and defend against adversarial ML attacks.

A Community in Motion

Black Hat USA 2025 was a reaffirmation of where the cybersecurity industry is headed – and why Fortinet’s platform strategy, community involvement, and sustained innovation matter more than ever. We’re grateful to everyone who stopped by the booth, joined a session, or shared a moment with us in Las Vegas.

If you missed us or want to dive deeper into any topic, visit our Black Hat 2025 page or reach out directly. The conversation continues – and we can’t wait to see what’s next!