Palo Alto ‘marketing decision’ sparks fury against Black Hat
Palo Alto Networks has apologized after the company came under fire for dressing its event hostesses in branded lampshaded hats.
Palo Alto’s top management apologized after a “marketing decision” in which attendees at this month’s Black Hat happy hour in Las Vegas were greeted by hostesses wearing branded lampshades.
The stunt sparked a backlash on social media after a LinkedIn user shared a photo of the incident online.
CISO and founder of Rose CISO Group Olivia Rose addressed the wording of the apology, noting the lack of reference to how “incredibly offensive and degrading” the move was.
Rose also said she had received messages from female Palo Alto staff saying they were afraid to speak out about the decision.
“Palo Alto should also be informed that I have personally received multiple messages from women at the company who were too scared to talk about this decision,” she said.
“It seems like there’s a big bro culture there.”
An apology from CEO Nikesh Arora was posted on the cybersecurity firm’s website, acknowledging that the decision was “unacceptable.”
“The misguided attempt to greet guests with hostesses with branded lampshades was not consistent with our values. “I appreciate that you are not judging us on this isolated event and I want to assure you of our continued commitment to and celebration of inclusion and diversity,” he said.
Arora added that the company investigated how the incident occurred, reviewed brand representation guidelines and established a mechanism where management will review all “external brand representations until further notice.”
Palo Alto’s chief marketing officer, KP Unnikrishnan, also apologized and took full responsibility for what he called an “error in judgment” and an “unfortunate decision” that was not in line with the company’s values.
“Please accept my sincere apologies for this unfortunate incident,” he said.
CyberRisk Collaborative, a Black Hat partner and event producer, also addressed the issue and said it was not involved in planning the marketing stunt.
“Upon arriving at the event, our team noticed that several female event staff at the facility were dressed in a manner that contravened CRC’s strict guidelines and policies on theme, staging and attire,” CyberRisk Collaborative said.
“We immediately raised our concerns with the organisers, removed our posters and apologized to members who attended.
“CyberRisk Collaborative and CyberRisk Alliance were not involved in event planning with venue staff and had no prior knowledge of these elements of event staging.”
CyberRisk Collaborative apologized for the incident, adding that it was a first for the company and said it would conduct internal reviews and update its teams on its “strict policies and guidelines for hosting events with our partners, policies designed to reflect powerful diversity.” of our community and our fundamental values of respect, equality and inclusion.”
