Future of Data Security

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Welcome to Future of Data Security, the podcast where industry leaders come together to share their insights, lessons, and strategies on the forefront of data security. Each episode features in-depth interviews with top CISOs and security experts who discuss real-world solutions, innovations, and the latest technologies that are shaping the future of cybersecurity across various industries. Join us to gain actionable advice and stay ahead in the ever-evolving world of data security.

  1. 3d ago

    EP 45 - McGill University’s Rolland Winters on 16 years in the Canadian Armed Forces and the hardest cyber job in the world

    McGill University manages 460,000 digital identities across 250 buildings and runs hospital network traffic through its firewalls. Rolland Winters left 16 years in the Canadian Armed Forces to become Director of Cybersecurity at McGill, where he discovered what he calls "the hardest job in the world." Rolland breaks down the reality of securing one of the most decentralized environments in higher education, from researchers with their own budgets and cloud platforms to 170 to 180 AI destinations hitting the firewall and a student lifecycle that generates constant identity churn. Topics Discussed: - Securing 460,000 identities in higher education - Research data risks in dual-use AI and defense - AI adoption across campus and the education gap - Student identity lifecycle challenges - Supply chain risk in decentralized universities - Threat sharing between Canadian universities - Digital sovereignty and Canada's AI investment - Leadership and team building through hackathons Get in touch with your host, Jean Le Bouthillier:  LinkedIn  Listen to more episodes:  Apple  Spotify YouTube

    EP 45 - McGill University’s Rolland Winters on 16 years in the Canadian Armed Forces and the hardest cyber job in the world

  2. Oct 6

    EP 44 - Chainalysis Government Solutions' Kevin Bauer on the missing infrastructure layer in AI governance

    When agentic AI systems make multiple tool calls, store data, and act autonomously, static compliance frameworks fall apart. Kevin Bauer, CISO at Chainalysis Government Solutions, argues security teams need continuous monitoring of which controls were in effect at runtime and whether those controls actually worked. Kevin led the first blockchain analytics product to FedRAMP Moderate authorization, where data sensitivity emerged through attribution to real-world entities. He draws direct parallels between those boundary-setting challenges and today's governance gaps in agentic AI, where data classification must drive compliance obligations in real time. Topics discussed: Leading blockchain analytics through FedRAMP Moderate authorization Why blockchain data sensitivity emerges through attribution Agentic AI breaks static compliance frameworks Continuous runtime monitoring of AI agent controls AI governance platforms lack the infrastructure layer Shifting from audit mode to enforcement at runtime Hiring for curiosity over mature governance experience Get in touch with your host, Jean Le Bouthillier:  LinkedIn  Listen to more episodes:  Apple  Spotify YouTube

    EP 44 - Chainalysis Government Solutions' Kevin Bauer on the missing infrastructure layer in AI governance

  3. Sep 23

    EP 43 - Generate:Biomedicines's Tom Doughty on the exploit discovery gap going negative

    The gap between an exploit's first use and its public disclosure has gone negative. Agentically deployed attacks now reach their target before the vulnerability behind them is ever publicly reported, a shift most security programs are still catching up to. Tom Doughty, Chief Information Security Officer at Generate:Biomedicines, walks Jean through what that shift demands from a security team, from agentic countermeasures to a different approach to non-human identity, plus what changed when he moved a 25-year financial services security career into an AI-native biotech (generatebiomedicines.com) built on machine-generated molecules. Topics discussed: Agentic exploits outpacing public vulnerability disclosure Redefining crown jewels beyond financial services norms Governing non-human identity and agent access Third party and supply chain risk in agentic workflows Frontier model providers walking back zero data retention Stratifying compute spend across model tiers Differentiating vendors beyond the AI interface layer Hiring for inventiveness and objective-driven thinking Get in touch with your host, Jean Le Bouthillier:  LinkedIn  Listen to more episodes:  Apple  Spotify YouTube

    EP 43 - Generate:Biomedicines's Tom Doughty on the exploit discovery gap going negative

  4. Sep 9

    EP 42 - Gopuff's Ravi Nori on why boards push AI at scale while security still lags behind

    Gopuff runs 200-plus AI agents and 100-plus MCP servers across three public clouds, and Ravi Nori is the one securing all of it. The Head of Cyber Security at Gopuff brought a defense-industry classification ethos to a cloud-native retail platform where customer data sits at the top of the priority chain. Ravi walks Jean through Gopuff's three AI deployments, the shadow AI sprawl he uncovered during an environment scan, and why agent security now spans three surfaces: desktop, browser, and cloud. He also breaks down how boards push for AI adoption while security lags behind. Topics discussed: Applying defense data classification to retail customer dataDeploying AI agents as customer service chatbots at scaleBuilding an AI-powered natural language search feature for mobileDiscovering shadow AI tool sprawl across employee endpointsSecuring agents across desktop, browser, and cloud surfacesManaging AI token economics and cost spikes through access controlsAddressing board pressure for AI adoption while security lagsTranslating security risk into business language for non-technical audiences Get in touch with your host, Jean Le Bouthillier:  LinkedIn  Listen to more episodes:  Apple  Spotify YouTube

    EP 42 - Gopuff's Ravi Nori on why boards push AI at scale while security still lags behind

  5. Aug 26

    EP 41 - iMerit Technology's Georgeo X. Pulikkathara on the 82 non-human accounts created for every human one

    What if the file itself decided who gets access, carried its own encryption, and refused unauthorized requests? Georgeo X. Pulikkathara, Global CIO and CISO at iMerit Technology, sees that future arriving fast. With 34 years in IT security and active service as a Colonel in the US Army Reserve, Georgeo breaks down 40-minute AI-enabled breaches, the flood of non-human accounts, and why human oversight remains the one control that will never go away. Topics discussed: 34 years in IT security and Army Reserve serviceiMerit Technology's AI data solutionsAI-enabled attacks and the 40-minute breachNon-human accounts flooding enterprise networksHuman-in-the-loop oversight for AI systemsSelf-protecting data with built-in encryptionQuantum-resistant encryption and post-quantum securityCompetency, character, and commitment in security teams Get in touch with your host, Jean Le Bouthillier:  LinkedIn  Listen to more episodes:  Apple  Spotify YouTube

    EP 41 - iMerit Technology's Georgeo X. Pulikkathara on the 82 non-human accounts created for every human one

  6. Aug 11

    EP 40 - Avanade's Jon Rohrich on why security teams should start with why before deploying AI

    Gartner predicts 40% of enterprise applications will incorporate agentic AI by year's end, but Jon Rohrich is asking a more basic question: why? Leading Avanade's Canadian cybersecurity practice with nearly 30 consultants, Jon keeps watching proof of concepts succeed, only to collapse when unmodeled risks surface in production. Jon tells Jean why zero trust is the right framework for governing AI agents, how to challenge stakeholders stuck in outdated security programs, and what a candidate's home lab reveals about their real passion for security. Topics discussed: Applying zero trust principles to AI agent access controlWhy proof of concepts collapse at production scaleManaging AI agent identities like human user identitiesBoard pressure to deploy AI without proper threat modelingUsing lab environments to evaluate technical passion in hiringChallenging long-tenured stakeholders to modernize security programsRecognizing and overcoming imposter syndrome in cybersecurity careers Get in touch with your host, Jean Le Bouthillier:  LinkedIn  Listen to more episodes:  Apple  Spotify YouTube

    EP 40 - Avanade's Jon Rohrich on why security teams should start with why before deploying AI

  7. Jul 29

    EP 39 - Podium's Taylor Lobb on why AI agents should read files but never export them

    Giving an AI agent your access does not mean giving it your judgment. The fix is data that knows the difference, so the same document a person can export, an agent can only summarize, never share externally, never train on.   Taylor Lobb, Chief Security Officer at Podium, tells Jean why identity now covers agents and service accounts, how visibility beats blocking shadow AI, and why every agentic workflow needs its own scoped security agent.   Topics discussed: - Extending identity models to agents, APIs, and service accounts - Making data identity-aware so access matches the requester - Beating shadow AI with visibility instead of blocking tools - Pairing every agentic workflow with a scoped security agent - Why build-versus-buy has inverted for AI-native engineering teams - Vendor value shifting from interfaces to proprietary data enrichment - Running security as an enablement and partnership function - Exposing tool data through MCP for internally built systems Get in touch with your host, Jean Le Bouthillier:  LinkedIn  Listen to more episodes:  Apple  Spotify YouTube

    EP 39 - Podium's Taylor Lobb on why AI agents should read files but never export them

  8. Jul 14

    EP 38 — Capital One's Leon Bian on why IAM tells you who but agentic AI needs to know why

    AI is not creating a new data problem. Leon Bian, VP and Head of Product, AI & Data Security (Databolt) at Capital One, argues it is exposing the ones enterprises already had: fragmented data, unclear ownership, weak classification, and broad access controls never designed for agents running at machine speed. At most enterprises, 80 to 90 percent of that data is unstructured, and until recently it was almost entirely outside the scope of protection. Leon tells Jean why three controls most large organizations treat as solved fail the moment agentic AI enters the picture: strong IAM, role-based and attribute-based access, and on-behalf-of-user permissions. IAM tells you who is asking, not whether they should access specific data for a specific purpose. RBAC and ABAC tell you who and what and when, but agentic AI requires a fourth dimension: why. And when agents inherit user permissions accumulated over years, you get permission creep running at machine speed. He also lays out why frontier AI models collapsing the time from vulnerability discovery to exploitation to near zero demands a hardened data layer as the last line of defense, and why using AI to close vulnerabilities is no longer optional. Topics discussed: AI revealing data problems enterprises already had Why strong IAM is a false signal of data security RBAC and ABAC insufficient when agent context determines risk Intent as the missing governance dimension in agentic AI On-behalf-of-user access enabling permission creep at machine speed Frontier models collapsing vulnerability-to-exploitation timelines to near-zero Using AI to close vulnerabilities at machine speed Tokenization preserving data utility and referential integrity where encryption cannot

    EP 38 — Capital One's Leon Bian on why IAM tells you who but agentic AI needs to know why
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Welcome to Future of Data Security, the podcast where industry leaders come together to share their insights, lessons, and strategies on the forefront of data security. Each episode features in-depth interviews with top CISOs and security experts who discuss real-world solutions, innovations, and the latest technologies that are shaping the future of cybersecurity across various industries. Join us to gain actionable advice and stay ahead in the ever-evolving world of data security.

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