Finite State will present sessions on AI-driven security testing and regulatory gaps at DEF CON 2026 in Las Vegas. The company is introducing a hands-on manufacturing incident response challenge to test defender capabilities. These initiatives target the intersection of AI offensive security, IoT vulnerabilities, and the operational risks inherent in modern industrial control systems and connected infrastructure.
AI Security Testing and RAISE Act Analysis
Larry Pesce, VP of Services, will lead the session “Dr. Strangepwn: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the LLM” on August 7 at IoT Village. Pesce intends to provide a blueprint for AI-assisted security testing workflows while analyzing where AI excels and fails in vulnerability discovery. On August 8, Senior Product Security Consultant Joshua Marpet will present “AI Safety Theater: What the RAISE Act Regulates, and What It Does Not” at Creators Stage 1. Marpet's session will examine the RAISE Act from a researcher's perspective, highlighting areas where legislation increases transparency and where critical security gaps persist.
Factory Floor MVP Incident Response Challenge
Running August 7 and 8 at AppSec Village, Finite State will host the Factory Floor MVP Incident Response Challenge. This competition requires participants to act as defenders protecting a simulated modern manufacturing environment. Contestants must investigate active cyberattacks targeting a variety of critical assets, including engineering workstations, sensors, historians, industrial control systems, and connected infrastructure. Beyond the competition, Finite State experts will be available to provide guidance on firmware-grounded product security and exploitability-driven vulnerability prioritization. The company did not disclose further details regarding the specific scoring or prizes for the challenge in the announcement.
Key Takeaways
- Larry Pesce will present AI-assisted security testing workflows on August 7 at the IoT Village.
- Joshua Marpet will analyze the RAISE Act's regulatory gaps on August 8 at Creators Stage 1.
- The Factory Floor MVP challenge simulates attacks on industrial control systems and historians at AppSec Village.
TechInsyte's Take
In our view, Finite State's focus on the RAISE Act and AI-driven vulnerability discovery signals a shift toward practical, adversarial validation of AI regulations. By pairing theoretical regulatory analysis with a hands-on manufacturing simulation, the company is positioning itself as a bridge between high-level AI policy and the gritty reality of OT security. This approach suggests that for B2B operators, compliance with AI laws is insufficient without firmware-level security and active incident response capabilities.
Source: BUSINESSWIRE
