Intro

In this thought leadership session, ITSPmagazine co-founders Sean Martin and Marco Ciappelli moderate a dynamic conversation with five industry leaders offering their take on what will dominate the show floor and side-stage chatter at Black Hat USA 2025.

Leslie Kesselring, Founder of Kesselring Communications, surfaces how media coverage is shifting in real time—no longer driven solely by talk submissions but now heavily influenced by breaking news, regulation, and public-private sector dynamics. From government briefings to cyberweapon disclosures, the pressure is on to cover what matters, not just what’s scheduled.

Daniel Cuthbert, member of the Black Hat Review Board and Global Head of Security Research at Banco Santander, pushes back on the hype. He notes that while tech moves fast, security research often revisits decades-old bugs. His sharp observation? “The same bugs from the ‘90s are still showing up—sometimes discovered by researchers younger than the vulnerabilities themselves.”

Michael Parisi, Chief Growth Officer at Steel Patriot Partners, shifts the conversation to operational risk. He raises concern over Model-Chained Prompting (MCP) and how AI agents can rewrite enterprise processes without visibility or traceability—especially alarming in environments lacking kill switches or proper controls.

Richard Stiennon, Chief Research Analyst at IT-Harvest, offers market-level insights, forecasting AI agent saturation with over 20 vendors already present in the expo hall. While excited by real advancements, he warns of funding velocity outpacing substance and cautions against the cycle of overinvestment in vaporware.

Rupesh Chokshi, SVP & GM at Akamai Technologies, brings the product and customer lens—framing the security conversation around how AI use cases are rolling out fast while security coverage is still catching up. From OT to LLMs, securing both AI and with AI is a top concern.

This episode is not just about placing bets on buzzwords. It’s about uncovering what’s real, what’s noise, and what still needs fixing—no matter how long we’ve been talking about it.

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Guests:

Leslie Kesselring, Founder at Cyber PR Firm Kesselring Communications | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesliekesselring/
“This year, it’s the news cycle—not the sessions—that’s driving what media cover at Black Hat.”

Daniel Cuthbert, Black Hat Training Review Board and Global Head of Security Research for Banco Santander | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-cuthbert0x/
“Why are we still finding bugs older than the people presenting the research?”

Richard Stiennon, Chief Research Analyst at IT-Harvest | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiennon/
“The urge to consolidate tools is driven by procurement—not by what defenders actually need.”

Michael Parisi, Chief Growth Officer at Steel Patriot Partners | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-parisi-4009b2261/
“Responsible AI use isn’t a policy—it’s something we have to actually implement.”

Rupesh Chokshi, SVP & General Manager at Akamai Technologies | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rupeshchokshi/
“The business side is racing to deploy AI—but security still hasn’t caught up.”

Hosts:
Sean Martin, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine | Website: https://www.seanmartin.com

Marco Ciappelli, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine | Website: https://www.marcociappelli.com

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Episode Sponsors

ThreatLocker: https://itspm.ag/threatlocker-r974

BlackCloak: https://itspm.ag/itspbcweb

Akamai: https://itspm.ag/akamailbwc

DropzoneAI: https://itspm.ag/dropzoneai-641

Stellar Cyber: https://itspm.ag/stellar-9dj3

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Resources

Learn more and catch more stories from our Black Hat USA 2025 coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/bhusa25

ITSPmagazine Webinar: What’s Heating Up Before Black Hat 2025: Place Your Bet on the Top Trends Set to Shake Up this Year’s Hacker Conference — An ITSPmagazine Thought Leadership Webinar | https://www.crowdcast.io/c/whats-heating-up-before-black-hat-2025-place-your-bet-on-the-top-trends-set-to-shake-up-this-years-hacker-conference

Catch all of our event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/technology-and-cybersecurity-conference-coverage

Want to tell your Brand Story Briefing as part of our event coverage? Learn More 👉 https://itspm.ag/evtcovbrf

Want Sean and Marco to be part of your event or conference? Let Us Know 👉 https://www.itspmagazine.com/contact-us

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KEYWORDS

sean martin, marco ciappelli, leslie kesselring, daniel cuthbert, richard stiennon, michael parisi, rupesh chokshi, blackhat2025, event coverage, on location, conference