Building Category Authority in Cyber Workforce Readiness: Hack The Box

Audience Need

The global cybersecurity skills shortage has created urgent demand for workforce development solutions. Hack The Box provides organizations with an AI-powered cybersecurity readiness platform that helps enterprises build stronger security teams through hands-on training, upskilling, and readiness assessment. The company had a strong solution and growing global momentum, but to accelerate growth in the United States and United Kingdom, Hack The Box needed to raise brand awareness and shape market perception.

This challenge became even more significant amid a difficult market environment. During the broader SaaS market correction and the cybersecurity sector’s slowdown, many security vendors faced declining valuations, reduced media momentum, and increased pressure to justify their long-term relevance in the category. At the same time, the rise of agentic AI and new releases such as Claude Mythos intensified industry conversations around workforce preparedness, AI-driven threats, and the future role of human defenders.

In the crowded and volatile cybersecurity market, Hack The Box sought to elevate its position from a respected training platform to a category-defining voice in cyber workforce readiness, upskilling, and enterprise preparedness. The opportunity was not simply to generate visibility, but to lead the market conversation among enterprise buyers, CISOs, and security decision-makers at a moment when the industry was reevaluating what cyber resilience would require in the AI era.

Communication Strategy

The Nova Method developed and executed an integrated communications strategy designed to strengthen Hack The Box’s authority, differentiate its market narrative, and increase its visibility with priority audiences in the US and UK.

We built a strategic messaging framework that aligned the company’s platform strengths with broader industry concerns, including the cybersecurity skills gap, workforce resilience, and the growing impact of AI on security threats and preparedness. This positioned Hack The Box at the center of one of the most urgent conversations in cybersecurity: how organizations build adaptable security teams amid rapid technological disruption and economic uncertainty. This gave Hack The Box a clearer, more defensible market position and created a platform for sustained thought leadership. Rather than competing solely as an upskilling provider, Hack The Box was repositioned as a strategic authority on cyber workforce readiness and the future of security talent development.

From there, we activated the narrative through a targeted media relations and executive visibility program that combined:

  • strategic messaging and category positioning
  • proactive media outreach in priority markets
  • executive thought leadership and commentary
  • contributed content tied to timely industry issues
  • amplification of major business milestones, including leadership appointments, product innovation, partnerships, and AI-focused initiatives

The strategy connected company announcements to larger market dynamics. As cybersecurity stocks declined and many vendors struggled to maintain relevance during the SaaS downturn, Hack The Box consistently appeared in conversations shaping the future of enterprise security preparedness. The communications program also capitalized on emerging industry attention surrounding AI-driven security operations and workforce transformation following developments such as Mythos, helping Hack The Box establish relevance within one of the sector’s fastest-moving narratives. Rather than treating announcements as isolated news moments, we tied them to enduring market themes, allowing Hack The Box to emerge not only as a company with news but also as one helping to define the future of cyber workforce development.

Client Results

  • Within the first four months of the campaign (September – December 2025), the program significantly expanded Hack The Box’s visibility and authority across cybersecurity media in both target markets.

    Compared to its top three competitors, Hack The Box achieved:

    • US Share of Voice: 79%
    • UK Share of Voice: 80%
    • Organic search: +86% increase (PR was a significant driver through high authority backlinks, unlinked brand mentions, and overall brand awareness)
    • Organic AI: +169% increase

    We continued to execute on this strategy, and, in Q1 2026, achieved even greater SOV in the US at 81.4% while holding steady as the dominant vendor in the UK. These results tell a story that goes beyond metrics. In a period when many cybersecurity vendors were losing ground, pulling back on communications, or struggling to stay relevant amid market consolidation, Hack The Box moved in the opposite direction. The company emerged from a difficult macro environment with a stronger market position, a clearer category narrative, and a louder voice than its competitors combined.

    The Hack The Box campaign is proof that strategic communications, anchored in audience intelligence and executed consistently, can build the kind of authority that shapes how buyers think and where a company stands when the market stabilizes, and decisions are made.