On the 21st episode of Enterprise AI Defenders, hosts Evan Reiser and Mike Britton, both executives at Abnormal Security, talk with Tony Taylor, Chief Information Security Officer at Land O'Lakes. Land O'Lakes is an American member-owned agricultural cooperative. The co-op has 9,000 employees who process and distribute products for about 300,000 agricultural producers. Land O Lakes handles 12 billion pounds of milk annually and is one of the largest producers of butter and cheese in the United States. In this conversation, Tony shares his thoughts on AI transforming the cyber threat landscape, the paradox of AI empowering defenders while enabling attackers, and strategies for cyber defense in an AI-driven world.

Quick hits from Tony:

On the oversaturation of AI as a marketing term: “You can’t talk to a vendor today where they don’t talk about their AI. Everybody’s got an AI engine. For me as a consumer of that technology, I go, well, show me how that AI works.”

On how AI can help address the talent shortage in cybersecurity: “We need to be able to bring in less mature or less experienced people and let them build that experience because the workforce isn’t there. I can’t go hire senior engineers all over the place because they’re not available.”

On AI elevating the nature of work in cybersecurity: “AI will reduce workload, and I think it’s going to reduce the workload that nobody wants to do anyway...It’s going to allow people to work at a higher level.”

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Enterprise AI Defenders is a show where top security executives share how moves to the cloud have created an evolved threat landscape that requires new tools to protect against cybercrime. Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/

Enterprise AI Defenders is produced by Josh Meer.

On the 20th episode of Enterprise AI Defenders, hosts Evan Reiser and Mike Britton, both executives at Abnormal Security, talk with Gene Sun, Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer at FedEx. FedEx is a multinational courier delivery services company with over $90 billion in annual revenue and more than 500,000 employees globally. With billions of packages delivered every year, using the world’s largest cargo fleet, FedEx uses sophisticated technology to provide a unique delivery service to customers across the globe. In this conversation, Gene discusses industry shifts from isolated point solutions to powerful, AI-driven platform strategies, AI as a growing tool for attackers and defenders, and predictions for the future of AI-powered cyber defense.

Quick hits from Gene:

On the evolving workforce adapting to AI integration: “There is some kind of fear in society that AI will replace all the human beings doing the work. I have this saying, AI will not replace your job. People who know how to use AI will replace your job.”

On consolidation and innovation in AI-driven cybersecurity: “There’s only so many players who can afford to stay in the AI race. I think only a couple of large cyber security platforms will survive and they will provide the fundamental platform for any additional innovation that will be created for security related AI models.”

On AI lowering barriers for fraud: “Cybercriminals are using AI to generate counterfeit FedEx shipping labels. Previously, to create a counterfeit FedEx shipping label you needed to have programming skills to decode our tracking numbers to be able to generate readable barcodes. Now, AI has removed those technology requirements and criminals are increasing their velocity to perpetrate those crimes.”

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Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Enterprise AI Defenders is a show where top security executives share how moves to the cloud have created an evolved threat landscape that requires new tools to protect against cybercrime. Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/

Enterprise AI Defenders is produced by Josh Meer.

On the 19th episode of Enterprise AI Defenders, hosts Evan Reiser and Mike Britton, both executives at Abnormal Security, talk with Eric Brohm, Chief Information Security Officer at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. Wyndham is the world's largest hotel group, offering nearly 10,000 properties in 95 countries across 24 global brands. In this conversation, Eric shares his thoughts on how AI is fast becoming an indispensable tool for cybersecurity teams, the potential of AI in risk-based decision-making, and the growing trend of cybercriminals using AI.

Quick hits from Eric:

On the speed of AI adoption between attackers and defenders: “Attackers take up tools quicker than we do. They don't need to worry about test environments and, politically, selling the tools’ ROI for the business, right? They just go and they use it.”

On AI as a tool to enhance security: “The industry of adversary emulation has been really big. I can point AI at my environment and it knows what security controls I have on the back end. It knows what my vulnerabilities are on the front end and says, “If I were an attacker, this is probably what I would do.” So that helps us drive smart investment based on AI helping us with those risks.”

On the need for collaboration in cybersecurity: “Community is a key piece of why I love being in cybersecurity so much, and that collaboration is what we need to stay ahead of, or at least try to keep pace with whatever tools the attackers are using.”

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Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Enterprise AI Defenders is a show where top security executives share how moves to the cloud have created an evolved threat landscape that requires new tools to protect against cybercrime. Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/

Enterprise AI Defenders is produced by Josh Meer.