Blackpoint Cyber Named Most Promising AI SOC in Cyber Defense Magazine’s 2026 Top InfoSec Innovator Awards

AI SOC Agent for ITDR recognized for containing credential-based attacks at machine speed; company also named a finalist in the 2026 Black Unicorn Awards

DENVER, Oct. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blackpoint Cyber today announced that Cyber Defense Magazine named the company the Most Promising AI SOC in its 2026 Top InfoSec Innovator Awards. The recognition honors Blackpoint’s AI SOC Agent for Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR), which autonomously contains high-confidence identity threats targeting Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace accounts. Cyber Defense Magazine also selected Blackpoint as a finalist in its 2026 Black Unicorn Awards, which recognizes cybersecurity companies for their potential to lead their markets, sustain growth and create lasting value.

Blackpoint’s AI SOC Agent combines autonomous response with oversight from the company’s 24/7 Security Operations Center. The capability enables Blackpoint to contain credential-based attacks in less than two minutes on average and in as little as 21 seconds, helping stop compromised accounts before attackers can escalate their activity into broader breaches.

Blackpoint trained the AI SOC Agent using years of its SOC analysts’ decisions, forensic evidence from hundreds of breach investigations and telemetry from over one million protected accounts. The company rigorously validated the Agent before deployment and continues to validate its performance in production. Blackpoint’s SOC analysts, including former NSA, DIA and CIA operators, established the confidence thresholds and boundaries that govern autonomous action.

“We built the AI SOC Agent to give MSPs and their customers the speed they need without removing human judgment from security operations,” said Wil Santiago, Chief Security and Trust Officer for Blackpoint Cyber. “Cyber Defense Magazine’s recognition validates our approach to autonomous plus “humans in the loop” defense. Our AI acts immediately when confidence is high, while our analysts provide the expertise and oversight needed to secure the outcome.”

The AI SOC Agent operates within CompassOne, Blackpoint’s platform that unifies identity, endpoint and cloud telemetry in a single context-rich environment. Blackpoint includes the capability with every ITDR service tier at no additional cost, giving managed service providers and the small and midsize organizations they support access to autonomous identity protection.

The Black Unicorn finalist designation recognizes Blackpoint among cybersecurity companies selected by a panel of investors, operators and founders for their potential for continued success, and winners will be announced in the coming months.

“Blackpoint Cyber embodies three major features we judges look for with the potential to become winners: understanding tomorrow’s threats, today, providing a cost-effective solution and innovating in unexpected ways that can help mitigate cyber risk and get one step ahead of the next breach,” said Gary S. Miliefsky, Publisher of Cyber Defense Magazine.

About Blackpoint Cyber

Blackpoint Cyber was founded by former NSA cybersecurity experts with one purpose: to win the unfair fight. Blackpoint delivers Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) through a 24/7 SOC that combines detection at AI speed with elite human expertise, giving organizations real defense against threat actors. Its CompassOne platform unifies identity, endpoint and cloud into a single context-rich environment, enabling decisive response before attacks escalate. We measure security by threats stopped, not alerts generated.

About the Cyber Defense Awards

Cyber Defense Magazine is celebrating its 14th year of honoring InfoSec innovators from around the world. The awards recognize startup, early-stage, later-stage and publicly traded information security companies that offer unique and compelling products, services and value propositions. The magazine’s Black Unicorn Awards separately recognize cybersecurity businesses with the potential to lead their categories, sustain growth and deliver lasting value to customers and investors. Blackpoint Cyber was named a 2026 finalist in that program.

About Cyber Defense Magazine

Cyber Defense Magazine provides cybersecurity news and information for information security professionals in business and government. The publication shares industry knowledge, real-world stories and information about cybersecurity products, services and innovations. Cyber Defense Magazine publishes monthly electronic editions and special editions for the RSAC Conference, Black Hat USA and CyberDefenseCon.

Media Contact:

Valerie Baccei, Head of Corporate Marketing
Blackpoint Cyber
vbaccei@blackpointcyber.com