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
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, State Farm
- 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
Rob Forbes
Rob Forbes
Field CISO, SHI
- Zero Trust & Identity hound
- Comp Sci guy
- Bearcat
Phillip Wylie
Phillip Wylie
Chief Security, Suzu Labs
- Review Board Black Hat
- Cyber Podcast host
- Blazer
Fight 4
Securing an Open Source Stack
Johnny Founder
Chris Russell
CISO, tZERO
- VP, Engineering
- US Army Intel
- Bobcat
Jeff Bankard
Jeff Bankard
Dir. Cybersecurity, Baker Tilly
- Engineer, PhD
- Zoomie
- Argonaut
Referees
CISO, AT&T
- Former CIA
- Financial cyber expert
- Beat Army!
CISO, Michaels Stores
- Telecom vet
- Former tech leader
- Biology genius
CISO, Big Company
- Distinguished career
- Actually influential
- Never breached
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