Protecting a Fortune 50 Giant: How FedEx Deploys AI at Scale with VP & CISO Gene Sun

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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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.