Key Takeaways
- Semperis has named Hack The Box as an Action Partner for its documentary Midnight in the War Room.
- The film will premiere globally on August 5, 2026 at Black Hat USA in Las Vegas.
- Midnight in the War Room highlights the human stories and pressures faced by CISOs and cyber defenders in an escalating threat landscape.
- Hack The Box’s SVP of Marketing emphasizes the partnership’s goal of turning the film’s narratives into hands‑on readiness exercises.
- Besides Hack The Box, a diverse coalition of industry groups, associations, and academic institutions have joined as Action Partners.
- The Cyber Future Foundation’s founder praises the documentary for aligning with its mission to treat cyber risk with urgent urgency.
- Hack The Box provides a gamified, threat‑informed platform that upskills humans and AI agents for offensive and defensive cyber capabilities.
- Action Partners promote the film within their networks without fees, amplifying awareness and reinforcing community‑driven cyber resilience.
Overview of the Partnership
Semperis, the identity‑driven cyber resilience and crisis response firm, announced on April 16, 2026 that it has appointed Hack The Box—the global leader in AI‑powered cybersecurity readiness—as an Action Partner for its forthcoming documentary Midnight in the War Room. Hack The Box boasts a community of over 4.3 million members and serves more than 800 enterprise customers, offering organizations a way to validate resilience, mitigate breach risk, and cultivate cyber talent. By aligning with Semperis, Hack The Box aims to extend the documentary’s impact beyond storytelling into practical, experiential learning for security teams worldwide. This collaboration underscores a shared commitment to strengthen cyber defenses through community engagement and hands‑on readiness initiatives.
Premiere Details and Venue
The global premiere of Midnight in the War Room is scheduled for Wednesday, August 5, 2026 at Black Hat USA, the cybersecurity industry’s most established and in‑depth security event series, held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. Black Hat draws thousands of security professionals, CISOs, CIOs, policymakers, and researchers each year, making it an ideal launchpad for a film that seeks to spark conversation about cyberwar and defender well‑being. The event will feature a screening followed by panel discussions and networking opportunities, allowing attendees to engage directly with the film’s creators and subjects. By positioning the debut at this premier conference, Semperis hopes to maximize visibility among the very audience whose daily work the documentary portrays.
Statement from Hack The Box Leadership
Christine Bartlett, SVP of Marketing at Hack The Box, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership, stating, “Hack The Box is excited to become a Midnight in the War Room Action Partner to help turn the film’s stories into hands-on readiness so CISOs and their teams can practice, fail safely, and ultimately win when it counts in the real war room.” She added that as cyber threats evolve and AI reshapes both attack and defense, cyber teams continually perform acts of heroism that rarely appear in headlines, shielding critical systems and safeguarding national security. Bartlett’s remarks highlight the intent to translate cinematic insight into practical training modules that enable defenders to hone their skills in a controlled, risk‑free environment.
Documentary Focus and Broad Partnership Network
Semperis’ Midnight in the War Room explores the human cost of cyber conflict and the relentless pressure facing global cyber defenders as they confront escalating threats across an increasingly volatile digital landscape. In addition to Hack The Box, the documentary has garnered support from a variety of organizations, including Black Hat, Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS), and the Cyber Future Foundation. These partners collectively represent a wide spectrum of the cybersecurity ecosystem, ranging from industry events and professional societies to advocacy groups and academic institutions. Their involvement signals a unified effort to elevate awareness of the challenges faced by those on the front lines of digital defense and to promote resilience‑building practices across sectors.
Additional Action Partners (Summary)
The Action Partner roster extends beyond the initial collaborators to include a diverse array of regional, global, and industry‑specific groups. Notable participants are the Digital Defense Alliance Singapore (DDAS), Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology (ICIT), InfraGard, Cyber Future Foundation (CFF), ISC², Information Systems Security Association (ISSA), Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center (H‑ISAC), Michigan Council of Women in Technology (MCWT), Oil and Natural Gas Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ONE‑ISAC), Arizona Cyber Threat Response Alliance (ACTRA), and Grand Canyon University’s (GCU) Cyber Center of Excellence. Each organization brings its own network of hundreds or thousands of cybersecurity professionals, thereby amplifying the documentary’s reach through newsletters, webinars, conference sessions, and community forums. This distributed, fee‑free model ensures that promotion is driven purely by a shared mission to bolster cyber resilience and defender well‑being.
Comment from the Cyber Future Foundation
Val Mukherjee, Founder and Chairman of the Cyber Future Foundation, lauded the partnership, remarking, “We are excited to partner with Semperis on Midnight in the War Room, the revelatory documentary that focuses not only on cyber conflict but also the commitment public and private sector defenders make to protect our digital infrastructure.” Mukherjee emphasized that the film’s narrative aligns perfectly with the foundation’s mission to treat cyber risk with the urgency it deserves, advocating for proactive measures, policy development, and cross‑sector cooperation. The endorsement from a respected thought‑leader further validates the documentary’s relevance to both policymakers and practitioners aiming to fortify national and organizational security postures.
About Hack The Box
Hack The Box is recognized as the leading cyber readiness platform for the agentic era, battle‑testing and upskilling both humans and AI agents to enhance organizational cyber resilience. Trusted by Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and managed security service providers (MSSPs), the platform delivers threat‑informed learning paths composed of real‑world scenarios presented in gamified labs and live‑fire simulations. These exercises build and validate offensive and defensive cyber capabilities, allowing teams to rehearse responses to sophisticated attacks without jeopardizing production environments. With a loyal community exceeding 4 million members and more than 800 enterprise customers, Hack The Box empowers both human analysts and intelligent systems to strengthen defenses, reduce breach risk, and cultivate a skilled workforce prepared for the evolving threat landscape. Additional information is available at hackthebox.com.
About the Action Partner Model
Action Partners are cyber‑focused technology groups, associations, and alliances—whether regional, global, or industry‑specific—that co‑promote Midnight in the War Room within their respective networks, reaching CISOs, CIOs, policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders. Participation carries no financial obligation; there are no placement fees or pay‑to‑play elements. Instead, involvement stems solely from a shared commitment to elevate cyber resilience, heighten community awareness, and amplify the film’s societal impact. Each partner represents a network of hundreds or thousands of professionals who will view the documentary, disseminate it through their channels, and stimulate meaningful dialogue around defender well‑being and proactive resilience strategies. This decentralized approach multiplies visibility, credibility, and field‑level influence, enabling large‑scale awareness without barriers and benefiting both the film and the collaborating communities.
About Semperis and Contact Information
Semperis is an 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, Okta, and Ping Identity—Semperis helps organizations prevent, detect, respond to, and recover from identity‑based cyberattacks. Recognizing that modern cyber conflicts are often won or lost at the identity layer, the firm’s AI‑powered platform unifies identity lifecycle defense and crisis management: it hardens identity infrastructure, detects and contains active threats, enables rapid trusted recovery, and supports secure, out‑of‑band coordination when core systems are disrupted. These capabilities are reinforced by a top‑tier identity forensics and incident‑response team. As part of its broader mission, Semperis sponsors the award‑winning Hybrid Identity Protection (HIP) Conference and Podcast and offers free identity security tools such as Purple Knight and Forest Druid. More than 1,200 organizations—including roughly 25 % of the 100 largest U.S. firms—rely on Semperis, which serves customers in over 40 countries from its headquarters in Hoboken, New Jersey. Media inquiries can be directed to Bill Keeler, Senior Director of PR & Communications at Semperis, via email at [email protected]. Further details are available at semperis.com and the company’s social channels (Blog, LinkedIn, X, Facebook, YouTube).