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Cybersecurity is entering a critical phase: AI is fast bolstering the defenders while endowing attackers with new abilities worthy of consideration. While the world has waged war to secure digital operations, network protection has often been overlooked as the cornerstone of security.
In the latest episode of The Analytics Insight Podcast, host Priya Dialani speaks with Doug Merritt, Chairman, CEO, and President of Aviatrix, to discuss how AI is shaping the cyber-threat landscape and what needs to be done to stay resilient.
Stronger cloud security foundations and a future with an AI-driven identity explosion are topics that remind us of Aviatrix's agenda to elevate network security to a first-class citizen of the new digital age.
Aviatrix is a ten-year-old company working at the crossroads of securing cloud networks for hundreds of organizations. Recently, the company has pivoted from cloud networking infrastructure to network security, thus assisting the cyber teams in better defending their environments. Doug stated that network security is rarely discussed, but is essential for all digital communications.
With a long history of technology leadership, Doug has served as the CEO of five different companies throughout his career. The most well-known being his run at Splunk, where he bootstrapped it from $200 million in ARR to $3.2 billion in ARR. At Aviatrix, he defines unique problems, identifies ideal customers, and outlines strategic roadmaps, while also spearheading the company's transformation into a security-centric organization.
The good and the bad; AI works for both advanced defense tools and attackers who are more capable. Generative AI and large language models can more rapidly duplicate code, thereby increasing the attack surface. Cyber threats now target critical infrastructures, logistics, healthcare, and retail, where digital and physical systems intersect and integrate.
Doug puts emphasis on three core security areas: identity security, endpoint security, and network security. With thousands of tools, these fundamental controls remain necessary to prevent unauthorized access, detect compromised devices, and visualize communications. With cloud abstraction, new blind spots have been introduced in their network security, calling out to be addressed.
Over the next three to five years, millions of new identities are expected to emerge as AI agents become increasingly complex in their operations. Organizations must start educating around AI, adopting AI-enabled security products, and ensuring network control everywhere to protect their workloads. "Nothing works without the network," Doug stresses, pointing out that network security is probably the most overlooked yet most important element.
Doug Merritt envisions a future in which organizations actively leverage AI while maintaining fundamental security hygiene. A continuous learning culture, real-time monitoring, and security embraced on every layer of cloud operations would allow the paradox of innovating while mitigating risk to be solved in the AI Era.
