AI and Cybersecurity: Insights from Industry Leaders at Indiaspora's Tech Panel

The recent Indiaspora event brought together leaders exploring the intersection of AI and cybersecurity. The panel was moderated by Vidya Raman, a partner at Sorensen Ventures. The panel featured: 

• Sandeep Johri, CEO of Checkmarx; 

• Saket Modi, founder and CEO of Safe Security; and 

• Raji Baskaran, founder and CEO of Project Karna. 

They discussed the impact of AI on various industries, its quick and increased adoption and areas to be vigilant about. 

The session started with a lively exchange on language: Sandeep Johri shared that he spoke a  mix of Indian and American English, and also knew a little Marathi and Hindi. Saket Modi, founder of Safe Security, spoke about his love for Bengali, especially the works of Rabindranath Tagore. Raji Baskaran revealed her passion for Tamil and said  that she had some knowledge of Hindi, German, and Spanish, though English is her main professional language.

Current state of AI in enterprise security

Sandeep shared his insights on the significant adoption of AI in generating code, particularly with tools like Co-pilot. He mentioned that many large enterprises have embraced this technology, despite the concerns. Sandeep highlighted that CIOs are moving ahead with such technologies, understanding that developers will use them with or without the official support from the company. Checkmarx scans auto generated code for vulnerabilities and ensures that it is secure before acceptance, which is important given the rapid adoption scenario. 

Saket Modi echoed the importance of integrating AI into cybersecurity tools, emphasizing that “humans with AI will outperform humans without it.” He also mentions that 90% of attacks today have AI of some form in it, and therefore, questions the relevance of cybersecurity roadmaps that do not have AI in the picture. He brought attention to the fact that many companies are using AI to not just recommend actions but also automate and execute them, increasing its importance in the world of work. 

Emerging security threats in the AI era

Raji Baskaran, founder of Karna, brought a unique perspective, focusing on real-time threats posed by rapidly evolving deepfake technology. Her startup is pioneering ways to not just detect deepfakes but also prevent business identity compromise through integrating trust-building measures into existing workflows and real-time detection of deepfakes in business meetings. 

The importance of such tools are highlighted given recent high-profile examples like a London-based engineering services company that lost $25 million in a single deepfake video call. She noted that deepfake risks are amplified by three key, and overlapping factors: 

• The digital breadcrumbs we leave on social media, 

• The shift to remote work post-pandemic, and 

• The democratization of generative AI making deepfakes cheaper to create

Advice for Emerging Founders

The session concluded with advice for emerging founders:

• "Jump into AI, be agile, and listen to your customers" - Sandeep Johri, (Checkmarx)

• "Dream big, and remember that AI is the future—embed it in everything you do" - Saket Modi, (Safe Security)

• "Fund more women and diverse founders. AI is going to impact everyone, so let's bring more voices into the conversation" - Raji Baskaran (Project Karna)

Indiaspora’s talk underscored the fact that AI's potential is vast but with that growth it is important to remember inclusion, security and accessibility. The founders highlighted the importance of keeping the explosive growth of AI in mind while creating new cybersecurity products and having adequate guardrails in place, given this emerging threat. 

We extend our gratitude to Indiaspora for hosting the panel and the moderator for skillfully navigating the various perspectives that the participants brought forth!