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Episode 253 – Priya Gnanasekaran, Senior Security Engineer at LAB3 (Australia)

Can AI be both a risk and a defense? In this episode, Priya Gnanasekaran shares how organizations can manage today’s most pressing cybersecurity challenges.

On The Data Diva Talks Privacy Podcast, Debbie Reynolds, “The Data Diva,” speaks with Priya Gnanasekaran, Senior Security Engineer at LAB3 (Australia), about the complex challenges cybersecurity leaders face with AI, IoT, and cloud security. Drawing on her decade-long career spanning DevSecOps, engineering, and operations, Gnanasekaran explains why cybersecurity cannot be reduced to a single field but must be understood as an amalgamation of multiple interconnected disciplines. She highlights the distinction between IT and cybersecurity and explains why this distinction is crucial for executives making risk and investment decisions.

The conversation examines AI’s dual role in cybersecurity, acting both as a new attack vector and as a defensive tool that, when used responsibly, can strengthen organizational security. Gnanasekaran also details the risks of shadow AI and unmonitored enterprise use, exposing businesses to unmanaged vulnerabilities. She addresses weaknesses in IoT ecosystems, including outdated devices and hardware flaws, and argues that these cannot be solved through patchwork responses. Instead, she emphasizes the importance of “shifting left” by embedding security earlier in DevSecOps processes. Gnanasekaran stresses that cybersecurity cannot be treated like a fire department that responds only after damage has been done.

This discussion offers valuable lessons on resilience, innovation, and proactive strategy, applicable not only to security professionals but also to anyone interested in understanding how digital systems can be better protected and managed.

Hosted by Debbie Reynolds, “The Data Diva,” bringing global leaders together on privacy, cybersecurity, and emerging technology.

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