Duha’s RSAC 2026 Review Finds AI on 37% of Security Vendor Booths
Summary
Based on observations of 607 RSAC 2026 exhibitor booths, Duha reports that 37% mentioned AI and identifies Software Security, Identity, and Security Operations as crowded vendor spaces.
Key points
- Author Andy Ellis assessed 607 exhibitor booths in person over three days, recording visible messaging and categorizing vendors by the environment their solutions target.
- AI appeared on 37% of booths; 60 vendors mentioned agent or agentic, and 223 mentioned AI, agent or agentic.
- Almost 8% of exhibitors’ booths did not make clear what the vendor did to a security practitioner unfamiliar with the company.
- Software Security, Identity, and Security Operations were identified as especially crowded vendor spaces.
- The report characterizes much of the show floor as marketing-focused, with booth designs often prioritizing badge scans over educating attendees.
- The author says marketers attempted non-consensual badge scans at least twice during the event.
Article Details
- Publisher
- Duha
- Report Period
- RSAC 2026
- Scope
- In-person observations of security vendor booths, focused on booth messaging, branding, and market categories.
- Sample Size
- 607 exhibitor booths observed over three days (about 11 hours).
- Key Statistics
- 205 booths mentioned AI; the report says this was 37% of observed booths.
- 60 booths mentioned agent or agentic; 223 mentioned AI, agent, or agentic combined, with overlap between the AI and agent groups.
- Almost 8% of exhibitors had booths where a security practitioner could not tell what the vendor did without already knowing the vendor.