A public spat has broken out in the cybersecurity world after Trend Micro accused cloud security unicorn Wiz of copying large portions of its competition rulebook from Trend Micro’s long-running Pwn2Own hacking contest. The dispute, which unfolded on LinkedIn over recent days, has laid bare tensions between established industry veterans and the new generation of fast-rising security startups seeking to make their mark.
The controversy began when Wiz Research announced ZERODAY.CLOUD, described as a “first-of-its-kind open-source cloud hacking competition” with a $4.5 million prize pool. The event, set to debut at BlackHat Europe, is being launched in collaboration with Amazon Web Services, Microsoft’s Security Response Center, and Google Cloud.
The company framed the contest as a way to “make the cloud a safer place” by inviting hackers to uncover vulnerabilities in the open-source software that powers much of the world’s cloud infrastructure. But what was meant to be a celebratory moment quickly became a flashpoint.
Juan Pablo Castro, a director at Trend Micro, as well as other company executives, publicly challenged Wiz’s claim that its contest was unprecedented. In a sharply worded LinkedIn post, he wrote:
“When a ‘first-of-its-kind’ is just a Copy/Paste of something that has existed for 20 years…”
Castro said he had asked Google’s Gemini AI to compare the rules of Wiz’s Zero Day Cloud event with those of Pwn2Own Ireland 2025, Trend Micro’s own flagship hacking competition. According to his post, the analysis found “word-for-word copying” across major sections, including “general rules, eligibility criteria, and technical requirements.”
“Borrowing legal boilerplate is common,” Castro conceded, “but when the identical phrasing covers core definitions — technical success criteria, timing, participant conduct, and even prize terms — we’re no longer talking about ‘inspiration.’ We’re talking about a Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V job.”
He concluded with a jab that resonated across the cybersecurity community: “Innovation means building on ideas, not just copy-pasting them.”
Wiz, which is in the process of being acquired by Google in a $32 billion deal, responded in a tone that mixed deference with deflection. “We’re huge Pwn2Own fans,” the company wrote in its follow-up post. “It’s really raised the bar for the entire security community and set a gold standard for hacking competitions. The rulebook is a trusted, mature framework by which we were inspired. Our goal is to spark innovation, not irritate.”
The company emphasized that its contest is focused specifically on cloud and AI infrastructure, an area it described as critical and underserved.
“Ultimately, the goals here are the same: empowering researchers and making the community safer. Great to be in this together,” Wiz added.
Trend Micro later replied in a brief but conciliatory note: “Thanks, Wiz – security is a team sport, and always happy to collaborate in reducing risk and stopping threats.”