How Daylight Security’s Viral Videos Turned The CISO Genie Into A Black Hat Sensation

For years, cybersecurity companies have followed a familiar formula at major industry events: build a booth, showcase a product and try to convince security leaders to make time for a conversation.

At Black Hat, where CISOs already face crowded calendars and competing demands,

Rather than establish a traditional booth, the company introduced the "CISO Genie," a private concierge designed to help security leaders attending the conference. The initiative has since become the focus of two videos shared on LinkedIn by Hagai Shapira, Co-Founder and CEO of Daylight, generating significant engagement while bringing a distinctly lighter tone to the company's Black Hat presence.

The campaign's central idea is that the people responsible for cybersecurity deserve more than another request for their attention. "A Black Hat booth costs about the same as taking care of 150 CISOs for an entire week. We chose the CISOs," Shapira wrote in the LinkedIn post accompanying the

When The CISO Gets A Genie Of Their Own

The first video turns that concept into a fictional conversation between a security leader and the CISO Genie. Rather than granting conventional wishes, the character describes a job that combines cybersecurity crisis management with the responsibilities of a personal concierge.

"I grant wishes for CISOs. I investigate incidents, calm down executives, and convince security teams not to quit," the genie says. His list of services then expands to include a quiet meeting room, fresh shirt, dinner reservation, private airport pickup, personal barber and more. When asked about the traditional limit of three wishes, the genie explains that the rules have changed: "Used to be three. Then someone hacked the lamp. Changed it to unlimited."

The humor comes from treating the everyday challenges of a conference as though they belong in the same category as major security incidents. When asked whether Black Hat is really that difficult, the genie responds, "We classify Black Hat as a hostile environment." A CISO who forgot to buy a gift for his child also becomes a matter of urgent concern, prompting the response, "Tell me that's not a threat."

The video's jokes are built around the idea that security executives are constantly expected to solve problems for everyone else. In Daylight's version of Black Hat, however, someone is finally focused on solving problems for them.

From Conference Concierge To A Broader Security Message

Daylight continued the campaign with a

The genie then fields a series of requests, including one from someone looking for a faster way across Mandalay Bay. There is no shortcut, he explains. Another CISO asks for a table for eight at Carbone at 7 p.m., a request that proves particularly challenging. "I've handled ransomware negotiations. This was harder," the genie says.

The second episode also turns its attention to the language used throughout the technology industry. Asked how he manages to keep up with everything, the genie launches into an exaggerated daily ritual: "We're agentic! We're agentic! We're AI-native agentic! Again! More disruptive! Agentic! Every morning." Later, the video introduces a quiet room that the genie describes as "the most important room at Black Hat." When asked why everyone is whispering, the answer is simple: "CISOs are recovering."

The videos are deliberately positioned as entertainment rather than conventional thought leadership. Shapira's second LinkedIn post makes that clear: "No thought leadership today. Just press play." He also draws a line between the fictional elements and the actual initiative, writing, "The concierge is real. The training academy is not."

Behind the campaign, however, is a more serious statement about how Daylight approaches its relationship with security leaders. In the first LinkedIn post, Shapira wrote, "We built Daylight because we think security services should feel different. Less noise. Less friction. Better outcomes. More accountability."

That philosophy gives the CISO Genie campaign a purpose beyond its jokes. The concierge is not simply a creative gimmick for Black Hat; it represents an attempt to demonstrate Daylight's stated approach through the experience it offers. The company is effectively arguing that security leaders do not always need another vendor asking for their time. Sometimes, they need someone asking what they need instead.

By making the CISO the central character, Daylight has also found a way to communicate its message without relying entirely on conventional cybersecurity marketing. The two videos use familiar conference frustrations, industry jargon and security culture as material for comedy, while the real-world concierge provides the campaign with a tangible element. The result is a Black Hat strategy that treats service itself as the story—and CISOs as more than an audience to be marketed to.

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