While on site at Black Hat, a panel of CISO judges evaluated pitches from emerging cybersecurity companies – congratulations to finalists Sandfly Security and Senteon
LaunchTech Communications, a CyberRisk Alliance (CRA) resource specializing in PR and AR services for the cybersecurity industry, today announced the next two finalists to advance in the 2025 CyberShark Pitch Competition.
RSA Conference marked the launch of the 2025 program, where Dropzone AI and RapidFort advanced as finalists. Building on that momentum, Black Hat provided the stage for the next round of pitches, further expanding the pool of innovative companies advancing toward the final competition.
2025 CyberShark Pitch Competition “Round 2” Finalists (Black Hat 2025):
- Sandfly Security: Agentless Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) for Linux.
- Senteon: Continuous configuration remediation and enforcement for workstations, servers, and browsers that delivers audit ready endpoint compliance.
Other strong competitors in this round included Mimic, Bytewhisper, and Stream Security, who impressed judges with innovative approaches and advanced capabilities.
The CISO judges represented a range of industries, including technology infrastructure, financial and investment services, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, and retail and grocery. They voted to determine which presentation conveyed the most distinct value proposition and clear messaging.
Just as RSA set the tone for this year’s CyberShark series by identifying the first set of standout solutions, Black Hat reinforced the competition’s role as a proving ground for cutting-edge startups – highlighting the diverse ways innovators are tackling today’s cybersecurity challenges.
“The CyberShark Pitch Competition gives early-growth cybersecurity vendors a unique opportunity to validate their solutions in front of decision makers, while receiving candid, actionable feedback on their messaging, positioning, and product-market fit,” said Wayne Schepens, Chief Cyber Market Analyst at CyberRisk Alliance. “What makes this program so valuable is the collaborative spirit – our judges not only bring their deep expertise, but also an enthusiasm to engage in a supportive, low-pressure environment. The result is a win-win: vendors gain champions, grow relationships, refine their go-to-market strategy, and test their solutions against peers, while CISOs gain early insight into innovations that could shape the future of the industry.”
Sandfly and Senteon will advance to the final round of the competition, scheduled for October 16, 2025, where they will compete head-to-head with Dropzone AI and RapidFort in a live virtual broadcast. All 3,000+ members of CyberRisk Collaborative will be invited to participate as judges in the final round.
For more information about LaunchTech Communications, visit https://golaunchtech.com/.