LaunchTech Communications, a CyberRisk Alliance resource specializing in PR and AR services for cybersecurity industry, has announced Arcade.dev and StrongestLayer as two finalists emerged from Prove IT CISO Pitch Competition conducted week of Black Hat USA.
While on site at Black Hat USA, panel of CISO judges evaluated pitches from six emerging cybersecurity companies looking to prove value of solutions.
Prove IT Pitch Competition, formerly called CyberShark, launched 2024 by LaunchTech Communications with two groups in mind. Program presents opportunity for emerging cybersecurity companies to get feedback on product and messaging directly from CISOs. CISO judges able to give back to cybersecurity community while helping influence way companies approach market and ultimately CISO peers.
Judging process included evaluation by eight Chief Information Security Officers focused on criteria such as clarity, credibility, evidence of execution, and ability to solve meaningful cybersecurity problem. Arcade.dev and StrongestLayer join Helmet Security and Ent, who were named finalists during RSA Conference edition, to complete year four-company finalist lineup.
“Congratulations to Arcade.dev and StrongestLayer for advancing in the Prove IT Pitch Competition and for standing out against some very strong competition,” said Taylor Hadley, SVP Client Relations at LaunchTech Communications. “It won’t surprise anyone who was not in the room during these pitches that AI was central to this year’s program. Our CISO judges stood firm in their feedback that making it easy for CISOs to understand what a solution does, why it matters, and how to justify the investment to business leaders is paramount to success.”
Throughout second round feedback from CISO judges to six pitching companies emphasized need for direct explanation of how technology delivers practical results. Judges also expressed wanting to see substantive product details, clearer positioning within security ecosystem, and explanation of how solutions address deployment challenges, governance requirements and user friction.
Four finalists will compete in final round Dec. 2, 2026 during closed event for CISO members of CyberRisk Collaborative community invited to judge.
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CyberRisk Alliance provides business intelligence that helps cybersecurity ecosystem connect, share knowledge, accelerate careers, and make smarter, faster decisions. Through trusted information brands, network of experts, and more than 250 annual events, delivers actionable insights and serves as extension of cybersecurity marketing teams. Brands include SC World, Official Cybersecurity Summits, Identiverse, InfoSec World, CyberRisk Collaborative, Security Weekly, ChannelPro, ChannelE2E, MSSP Alert, ExecWeb, LaunchTech Communications, CyberRisk TV.
