Navigating the cybersecurity maze: Mandiant CEO Kevin Mandia’s take on AI, collaboration and cyber defense

In the evolving digital landscape, where cyberthreats loom larger than ever before, the fusion of technology and cybersecurity expertise becomes paramount.

Collaboration, data quality and the dedication of cybersecurity professionals are pivotal factors in staying ahead of cyber threats. As the landscape evolves, it is essential for organizations and individuals to adapt and embrace the opportunities presented by emerging technologies while remaining vigilant in the face of evolving cyberthreats.

“You have to have national response or international response. And it does need to be collaborative and coordinated,” said Kevin Mandia (pictured), chief executive officer at Mandiant, a Google LLC company. “We need a process that over time gets even more formal where we have a national response to the cyberthreats we’re aware of.”

Mandia spoke with theCUBE industry analysts John Furrier and Rob Strechay at the mWISE Conference, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed the role of artificial intelligence, the necessity of collaboration and the burgeoning opportunities in cybersecurity. (* Disclosure below.)

The changing landscape of cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is at a crossroads, with emerging technologies, such as AI, reshaping how organizations defend against cyber threats. Mandiant is one of the many companies in the broader industry playing a role in protecting businesses in an era where cyberattacks and adversaries are increasingly sophisticated. AI has the potential to transform the cybersecurity landscape, according to Mandia.

“I’ve been responding to security breaches since 1995 when I was in the United States Air Force, and things have changed in the last few years,” he said. “It’s always evolving, and everybody talks about the threat evolution … when you see the rules of engagement, there is no agreed-upon global rules of engagement in the cyber domain.”

There are various aspects of cybersecurity that companies must keep in mind, from the absence of global rules of engagement in the cyber domain to the critical need for collaboration between the public and private sectors. In the face of nation-state threats, such as those emanating from China, a coordinated and collaborative approach is essential, Mandia explained.

“We learn it by observing other nations, and we’re observing China’s innovation blowing away the other nations right now. And that’s a problem,” he said. “That means we have to change defense, because you have a national capability behind these intrusions. I’ll leave you with this thought: nation state versus company — the nation’s going to win in the cyber domain.”

The role of cybersecurity professionals

Cybersecurity professionals play an important role in this evolving data landscape. Given the increasing demand for skilled professionals, it is paramount that those interested in the field consider cybersecurity as a career option, according to Mandia.

With its innate technology acumen, the upcoming generation has the potential to drive innovation and progress in cybersecurity.

“We didn’t call it cybersecurity when I started. And when we started doing threat intelligence, we had intel analysts and I wasn’t sure there was a career path for that,” he said. “Now that’s a professionalized career path.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the mWISE Conference:

(* Disclosure: Google Cloud sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Google Cloud nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE