Cloudflare's Sheril Nagoor on why Zero Trust is crucial in the era of Artificial Intelligence

The pace of AI innovation & adoption is happening at a faster rate than other technologies, Sheril Nagoor, Principal Solutions Architect, Cloudflare has noted, pointing out companies have to quickly determine what guardrails to put around for the secure adoption.

The number of tools and use cases seems to be multiplying daily, he said, suggesting that companies must learn how to consume, build, protect, and defend in this rapidly changing environment with a Zero Trust Model.

Nagoor was speaking at the 4th Cyber Security Conference taking place in Nicosia on 26 September.

As he noted in his presentation entitled ‘Zero Trust in the Era of Artificial Intelligence’, Artificial intelligence (AI) is driving the digital revolution. With applications spanning from process automation to data analytics and customer service, the pace of AI development and adoption is faster than any other form of technology, and businesses of all sizes are discovering new ways to innovate, improve efficiency and stay ahead. competitive.

In his presentation, Nagoor focused on the challenges and opportunities faced by businesses and, according to Fishbowl findings he cited, 43% of employees have used AI tools for their work, and over 2/3 of them have done so without informing their employers. This widespread and uncontrolled use creates new problems, Nagoor warned.

Artificial intelligence, although it promises impressive possibilities, comes with serious challenges, especially in terms of security, the expert explained. He said that organizations are reluctant to trust AI systems to process sensitive data as they are vulnerable to attacks, privacy leaks and hacking. In addition, AI models are expensive to run, and a mistake can open doors to hackers, Nagoor added.

The ‘Zero Trust’ approach promoted by Nagoor is based on the philosophy that no device or user is trusted by default. All access must be constantly controlled, creating a defensive framework that ensures the safe use of AI tools without compromising performance.

For safe use of AI, he proposes the use of metering where businesses track how much and where AI tools are used, and API access control. API interfaces, through which many AI platforms operate, must be protected with strict protocols, he emphasised.

Nagoor also recommended limiting data uploads, arguing that what data is uploaded to AI systems should be strictly controlled to avoid security gaps. Configuration testing is just as important, he stressed, adding that the settings of AI systems should be regularly checked for possible violations.

Sheril Nagoor's presentation highlighted that in the age of AI, security cannot be taken for granted: The development of technologies such as Zero Trust are key to the secure adoption of AI by enterprises, ensuring that their valuable data and infrastructure they remain protected from any threat, he said.

(Source: InBusinessNews)