Published by Shaharban
Posted on January 21, 2026
6 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
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Cybersecurity’s premier global event series partners with the producers of
Cybersecurity’s premier global event series partners with the producers of Midnight in the War Room to debut a first-of-its-kind feature-length cyberwar documentary—told from inside the cybersecurity community, not from the outside looking in.
LAS VEGAS AND HOBOKEN, NJ, January 14, 2026 1pm GMT – Black Hat, the cybersecurity industry’s most established and in-depth security event series, and Semperis, the identity-driven cyber resilience and crisis management company, today announced that the world premiere of the groundbreaking cyberwar documentary Midnight in the War Roomwill take place Wednesday, August 5, 2026, during Black Hat USA, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.
Founded in 1997, Black Hat has grown from a small gathering of security researchers to the global platform where the cybersecurity community convenes, bringing together practitioners, CISOs, policymakers, academics, and business leaders to confront the world’s most pressing security challenges. That same evolution—from a “technical problem” to a board‑level and societal issue—is at the heart of Midnight in the War Room, which chronicles the escalating cyber conflict among nation states, criminal groups, and the defenders on the front lines.
The film features leading voices in cybersecurity and national security who have long shaped conversations on Black Hat stages, including Chris Inglis, first U.S. National Cyber Director; Jen Easterly, former Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA); Joe Tidy, Cyber Correspondent at the BBC; and John Hammond, cybersecurity educator and influencer.
Additional contributors include General (Ret.) David Petraeus, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); Marcus Hutchins, the security researcher who helped stop WannaCry; and Professor Mary Aiken, world-renowned cyber psychologist—alongside more than 50 global experts, defenders, journalists, and reformed hackers. Together, they reflect the same diverse and influential community that has defined Black Hat for nearly three decades.
“For almost 30 years, Black Hat has been the place where the world’s most respected security voices challenge assumptions and push the industry forward,” said Suzy Pallett, President, Black Hat. “Partnering with the producers of Midnight in the War Room for the world premiere of the film builds on that legacy—amplifying the stories of intelligence leaders, CISOs, journalists, victims, and reformed hackers whose work and lived experiences have shaped the conversations on our stages. Together, we’re shining a light on the people whose expertise, vigilance, and refusal to back down underpin our collective resilience.”
Midnight in the War Room places particular focus on the emotional and psychological toll of cyber defence, especially for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) responsible for safeguarding essential infrastructure. The film also offers rare insight from former attackers—some of whom served prison sentences—providing an unfiltered look into the adversarial mindset. The result is an unvarnished portrait of cyberwar as a deeply human struggle marked by courage, burnout, moral complexity, and an unrelenting sense of responsibility.
“This project is unlike anything our industry has seen,” said Thomas LeDuc, Chief Marketing Officer at Semperis and Executive Producerof the film. “Cybersecurity is full of powerful, cinematic stories—but, for too long, they’ve gone untold. Midnight in the War Room tells the story of our industry from the inside, through the voices of the CISOs and defenders living it every day, not from the outside looking in. It shows what’s really at stake—the human toll, the pressure, and the responsibility—and gives the people on the front lines something they can point to and say, ‘This is why I do it.’ We’re honoured to partner with Black Hat on the world premiere, and grateful to Suzy and her team for their dedication to the cyber community.”
Midnight in the War Room is produced by Semperis Studios and filmed across North America and Europe. In addition to the Black Hat world premiere, Semperis is partnering with leading cybersecurity and professional organisations—including the Cyber Future Foundation (CFF), the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology (ICIT), (ISC)², and Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS), among many others—to co-host private preview screenings and expert panels, raise community awareness, and champion cyber resilience. For information on becoming an action partner, contact Sarahs@semperis.com.
Watch the trailer and join the movement
Watch the trailer for Midnight in the War Room and learn more at:
https://semperis.com/midnight-in-the-war-room
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Black Hat is the cybersecurity industry’s most established and in-depth security event series. Founded in 1997, these annual, multi‑day events provide attendees with the latest in cybersecurity research, development, and trends. Driven by the needs of the community, Black Hat events showcase content directly from the community through Briefings presentations, Trainings courses, Summits, and more. As the event series where all career levels and academic disciplines convene to collaborate, network, and discuss the cybersecurity topics that matter most to them, attendees can find Black Hat events in the United States, Canada, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia. For more information, please visit blackhat.com.
Semperis is the identity-driven cyber resilience and crisis management company trusted by the world’s largest enterprises and government agencies to protect critical identity systems. Purpose-built for multi-cloud and hybrid identity environments—including Active Directory, Entra ID, and Okta—Semperis helps organizations prevent, detect, respond to, and recover from identity-based cyberattacks.
Modern cyberattacks are won or lost at the identity layer, where failures now escalate into full-scale business crises. Semperis’ AI-powered platform unifies identity lifecycle defense and crisis management—hardening identity infrastructure, detecting and containing active threats, enabling rapid, trusted recovery, and supporting secure, out-of-band coordination when core systems are disrupted—all reinforced by a world-class identity forensics and incident response team.
As part of its mission to help organizations achieve true cyber resilience, Semperis supports the broader cyber community through the award-winning Hybrid Identity Protection (HIP) Conference and Podcast, and free identity security tools including Purple Knight and Forest Druid. More than 1,000 organizations—over 25% of the 100 largest U.S. companies—rely on Semperis. The company is privately held, headquartered in Hoboken, New Jersey, and serves customers in more than 40 countries.
Learn more: semperis.com
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Semperis
Bill Keeler
Senior Director, PR & Comms
Semperis
billk@semperis.com
Black Hat
Stephanie DeAngelo
Senior PR & Communications Manager, Black Hat
619.510.1564
BlackHatPR@informa.com
Cybersecurity refers to the practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks, which can lead to unauthorized access, data breaches, and other cyber threats.
A documentary is a non-fiction film or television program that provides a factual report on a particular subject, often featuring interviews, archival footage, and other evidence.
Identity management is a framework of policies and technologies that ensures the right individuals have appropriate access to technology resources, often involving user authentication and authorization.
Cyber resilience is the ability of an organization to prepare for, respond to, and recover from cyber incidents while maintaining continuous business operations.
A film premiere is the first public showing of a film, often attended by the cast, crew, and media, marking the official release of the movie.
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