Dallas, TX
February 19, 2026 6-10pm
Digital Fight Club: Cyber returns to DFW with a national event featuring fighters and refs from around the US.
Tired of hearing the same ‘ol same ‘ol at cybersecurity conferences? Tired of being kissed up to or not being able to speak your mind in a proposal?
So are we.
Come see the nation’s top Cyber leaders spar on topic chosen by the top CISOs in Cyber today.
BONUS: By popular demand, we’ve added a special 5th fight for two lucky cyber tech vendors to go at it. Yes, it’s a sponsorship level and NO, it’s not pay for play (speaking sponsors usually don’t get heckled, right?)
- Fight 1: AI Driven Attacks
- Fight 2: AI Powered Defense
- Fight 3: RaaS: Ransomware as a Service
- Fight 4: Securing an Open Source Stack
- Fight 5: Special Cyber Vendor Fight
Mayhem, indeed!
The Fight Format
Each fight lasts about 12-13 minutes
- Opening Arguments: 45 secs each
- Rebuttal Rounds: 15 secs each (6-8 rounds)
- Refs Call Fouls (Buzzer) Anytime: 15 sec responses each
Not sure what a Digital Fight Club is?
Maybe this will put a little pep in your step.
Fight 1
AI Driven Attacks
Julio Casablanca
Julio Casablanca
Cybersecurity Advisor, WWT
- System Engineer
- Nacho Libre fan
- Maverick (Blaze)
Alena Funtikova-White
Alena Funtikova-White
Cyber Threat Intel, Toyota Financial Services
- PhD
- VP, ISSA
- Russian Federation Scholar
Fight 2
AI Powered Defense
Larci Robertson
Larci Robertson
Cybersecurity Advisor, Infinite Ranges
- Navy Crypto
- Fortune 100 Sales Engineer
- Bulldog
Lalit Ahluwalia
Lalit Ahluwalia
CEO, DigitalXForce
- Climbs every mountain
- Dares to dream
- Thapar Institute
Fight 3
RaaS: Ransomware as a Service
Quentin Rhoads-Hererra
Quentin Rhoads-Hererra
VP, Security Services, SHI
- Sold his co to SHI
- Comp Sci guy
- Thunderduck
Phillip Wylie
Phillip Wylie
Chief Security, Suzu Labs
- Review Board Black Hat
- Cyber Podcast host
- Blazer
Fight 4
Securing an Open Source Stack
Chris Russell
Chris Russell
CISO, tZERO
- VP, Engineering
- US Army Intel
- Bobcat
Jeff Bankard
Jeff Bankard
Dir. Cybersecurity, Baker Tilly
- Engineer, PhD
- Zoomie
- Argonaut
Fight 5
Special Cyber Vendor Fight
Adam Arellano
Adam Arellano
Field CTO, Harness
- Undercover social worker
- Marine
- Ute
Nicole Carignan
Nicole Carignan
Field CISO, Darktrace
- Intrusion vet
- Defense Tech vet
- Aggie
Referees
Deputy CISO, AT&T
- Financial services vet
- US Navy!
- Razorback
CISO, Michaels Stores
- Telecom vet
- Former tech leader
- Biology genius
CISO, Dallas Cowboys
- Novartis vet
- Former auditor
- Bulldog
These are the folks that help make this event happen