Show notes
Episode Notes
Shadow AI is already part of ordinary work. It can arrive through a chatbot, a browser extension, or an AI feature added to software a team already uses. The challenge is not only the technology. It is the human need behind the workaround.
Cody speaks with Dr. Margaret Cunningham, VP of Security & AI Strategy and Field CISO at Darktrace, about why innovative employees may become risky AI users while still acting with good intentions. They discuss how businesses can see actual AI use, identify crown-jewel data, manage access and permissions, and offer safer tools without becoming the security department of no.
The conversation also covers why phishing still works on smart people, how AI makes social engineering more convincing, the difference between an LLM and an AI agent, the risks of giving agents broad access to company context, and why human judgment and conflict skills matter in an increasingly automated workplace.
Topics include:
- Why cybersecurity remains a human behaviour problem
- The difference between LLMs and AI agents
- AI-powered phishing and social engineering
- Shadow AI and unapproved workplace tools
- Crown-jewel data, context ownership, permissions, and access controls
- A non-punitive approach to AI governance for employees
- Darktrace's approach to anomaly detection and securing AI
- Whether AI weakens human voice, judgment, and conflict skills
Find Dr. Margaret Cunningham:
- Darktrace profile: https://www.darktrace.com/people/margaret-cunningham-phd
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-cunningham-phd/
- Darktrace: https://www.darktrace.com
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