To The Point - Cybersecurity

Every CIO and CISO adopting AI faces the same trap. Loosen the guardrails and let employees use the tools they want, and put your sensitive data at risk. Block it and lock everything down, and watch shadow AI use grow.
Steven Walchek, co-founder and CEO of Liminal and a former innovation leader at AWS and FIS, joins Rachael Lyon and Jonathan Knepher to argue the answer is not one or the other but both. The conversation covers the real regulatory exposure facing mid-market companies, why the public versus private LLM question echoes the old cloud versus on-prem debate, and the security tradeoffs of running open-source models on your own infrastructure. It closes on a candid look at how AI is reshaping developer work and the careers Steven is steering his own kids toward.

For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/resources/podcast/enterprise-ai-security-steven-walchek

As AI systems start acting on their own, the hardest security problem is no longer approving what a model outputs but governing the conditions under which it is allowed to act at all. Michael Chavira, co-founder of Axiologic Solutions, argues that most organizations confuse governance with security, writing policies and standing up AI councils that describe intent while leaving the enforcement layer, where a model actually touches data, underbuilt. His answer is to move humans out of the approve-every-action role and onto the loop, where they define the boundaries an agentic system runs inside and watch for it to step out.  That control is only as good as the data underneath it, and for most enterprises, the data is a weak point. Chavira makes the case that AI security is ultimately data security, since a model is only as trustworthy as the data feeding it, and he walks through why shadow AI, unlabeled data and untracked workarounds quietly undermine even well-governed systems. For tools that answer the same question differently each time, he recommends harness engineering and continuous data operations as the way to secure the system rather than chase every output.
For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/resources/podcast/agentic-ai-humans-on-the-loop

Ido Shlomo, co-founder and CTO of Token Security, makes a blunt case: an AI agent is not a person. It is a workload that impersonates one, chasing whatever goal it is handed without judgment, memory, or common sense. Treat it like an employee and hand it the keys, and enterprise security quietly starts to break down. 
Shlomo explains why agents inherit the same credentials and keys that service accounts have always used, why over-permissioning backfires on the business itself, and how identity teams can align an agent's access to its real intent. He also argues, against his own instincts, for more regulation of how agents connect to business systems and makes the case that reducing the blast radius matters more than trusting any single model.
For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/resources/podcast/securing-ai-agents-non-human-identity

In this episode of Forcepoint's "To the Point Cybersecurity" podcast, hosts Jonathan Knepher and Rachael Lyon are joined once again by Jeremiah Baker for a deep dive into the rapidly shifting landscape of cybersecurity. With the velocity of AI-driven attacks shrinking defenders' response windows to mere seconds, the conversation explores how organizations—large and small—must adapt their mindsets and strategies to survive in an age where legacy defenses and human complacency can have catastrophic consequences.
Jeremiah Baker draws from decades of hands-on experience, sharing real-world lessons about the evolving threat surface, the importance of thinking like cybercriminals, and the struggles of instilling security-first cultures—especially for businesses lacking dedicated security teams. The discussion tackles the challenges posed by new vulnerabilities, the ever-present risks of social media exposure, and how personal responsibility and security awareness are now non-negotiable parts of business DNA. With anecdotes ranging from boardroom conversations to frontline cyber incidents, this episode is a must-listen for anyone navigating digital transformation, AI risks, and the uncertain road ahead in cybersecurity.
For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e384