Cybersecurity leadership is crucial in navigating a battlefield marked by relentless innovation and constant adaptation.

As threats evolve and grow more sophisticated, the industry must remain agile, leveraging cutting-edge technologies, such as zero-trust architectures and artificial intelligence. This dynamic environment demands a unique blend of creativity, strategic leadership and a willingness to rethink traditional defense approaches, according to Sam Curry (pictured), chief information security officer of Zscaler Inc. From early security measures to today’s advanced strategies, the journey underscores the industry’s commitment to staying ahead of intelligent adversaries.

Zscaler’s Sam Curry talks to theCUBE’s John Furrier about cybersecurity leadership.

“The reason is that change happens because of leadership,” Curry said. “If you just unleash the technology, people will continue to do things the way they’ve always done them.”

Curry spoke with John Furrier, executive analyst for theCUBE Research at the Black Hat USA event, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed the importance of cybersecurity leadership in navigating a constantly evolving threat landscape through innovative technologies such as zero-trust architectures and AI.

Reflecting on 15 years of cybersecurity evolution

In the early days, when the dark web was just emerging, threats such as botnets and ransomware were beginning to surface. In addition, private clouds were gaining traction and security was often considered a secondary concern, according to Curry.

“We are constantly having to innovate. We never get to rest on our laurels,” he said. “I think that’s the difference. You talk about chaos in the last 15 years, it’s things like zero trust that provide new paradigms and architectures that can change the game.”

Fast forward to the present and the cybersecurity landscape is more complex and chaotic than ever. With thousands of vendors and products flooding the market, CISOs now face immense pressure to manage risk, policy and compliance, Curry explained.

“Zero trust is the goal, but even slightly less trust is a huge win. Slightly less risk is a huge win,” he said. “If I can raise the cost to break for a nation state, for hostile hackers, for cyber terrorists, for cyber criminals, even a small amount, it’s a massive reduction in pain and agony and damage to critical infrastructure.”

The power of disruptive thinking and cybersecurity leadership

Leadership plays a critical role in driving change. With technological advancements alone not being enough, leaders must challenge the status quo and embrace new methodologies. This leadership is essential in pushing organizations to adopt innovative solutions rather than relying on outdated practices, according to Curry.

“You never get to the point where you consolidate everything under one vendor,” he said. “You get one platform and that’s it … like maybe quantum computing disrupts you or AI or something like that. By all means, those can change the game, but we are constantly having to innovate. We never get to rest on our laurels. I think that’s the difference.”

Curry is looking ahead to the full potential of AI and quantum computing to revolutionize cybersecurity. These technologies could enable more sophisticated defenses, such as deception technology, which can create artificial traffic and networks to confuse adversaries, he pointed out.

“The fact is that most of IT winds up on a commoditization curve,” Curry said. “When something is available everywhere and the quality’s the same from everywhere, it only differentiates on price. The exception is cybersecurity … we have an active and intelligent opponent, and it’s that intelligence on the other side. That means that we never get to the point where the quality is the same everywhere.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE Research’s coverage of the Black Hat USA event:

Photo: SiliconANGLE