Security Professionals Weighed In on Whether They Hold the Upper Hand against Hackers - Their Responses Might Shock You
Interview Excerpts from InfoSecurity Europe 2025: Who takes the crown; Cybersecurity squads or Cyber-Villains?
As our league, Platform Pro, strutted its stuff at InfoSecurity Europe 2025, we questioned the gurus in the game - who rightfully reigns supreme, the cybersecurity troops or the digital outlaws?
Let's admit it, defense is traditionally a struggle, and some security veterans believe they're grappling with a moving target.
Criminals are in pole position, but the faith of our security squads remains indomitable. They're buoyed by their new weaponry and tactics, so what say our experts?
A losing game?
New proactive weaponry might be tipping the scales, but convincing few are convinced it'll seal the deal.
Guido Grillenmeier, Principal Technologist EMEA at Semperis nailed it succinctly; "Yep, they retained it previously, and they'll keep it; the baddies."
However, it appears most experts concur that they're on the receiving end. "We're forever chasing shadows," elucidates Richard McKinley of Sonatype.
"Since they're inventing new tricks, there'll always be a sense of responsiveness. As an industry, we're better equipped than the cybersecurity pros themselves."
Riding the Underdog Wave
But embracing the underdog tag might work to our advantage, opines Adam Matthews, Senior Solution Engineer from Okta; "Yeah, criminals are always in the driver's seat. If you believe that, then you're in a good place. If you think you're ace, you're in trouble," he mused.
Ian Higgison from ZeroFox points out that the advent of AI tools makes it easier for nefarious characters to participate in their evil schemes; "I reckon the crooks [have the edge] at this moment, thanks to AI empowering less tech-savvy troublemakers."
His associate Fiona Lau echoes that the bad boys are "always one step ahead," consequently forcing "security firms to pivot" and maintain the edge.
The Tide Turns
But it's not all gloom and doom. The rise of AI tools on the protective side could be the silver bullet that dethrones the bad guys. Ayanda Chiwuta, Head of Demand Generation at Hadrian, expresses this hope; "Cybersecurity has always skirted behind, and criminals sometimes run a bit ahead[2]."
"However, with the harnessing of AI models, we can foresee impending attacks with greater efficiency[3]. It's altogether sensible to implement similar strategies as the crooks...or maybe even steal a march on them."
Dr Oakley Cox, DarkTrace's Director of Product concurs; "We're genuinely doing a good job here, in my humble opinion[4]." He attributes increased public and governmental understanding, as well as stricter regulations, for tipping the balance towards security teams.
"The biggest challenge is that the bad guys only need to succeed once, so we'll always need to strive for improvement[4]. Nonetheless, we're treading water quite well."
Moral Conundrums
Brett Taylor, Solutions Engineering Director for the UK and Ireland for Sentinel One offers a divergent perspective; "Their aim is simple - money, disruption or stealing intellectual property. They show zero regard, while we have an ethical vision," he explained.
But when it comes to resources, defenders have the upper hand, because infrastructural capacity is required to run and train AI - and governments hold the reins on the national level.
Alas, once models are designed and put to use, defenders can't control who'll use them, and morality becomes a slippery slope; "Automation, using cloud resources to expedite the process...we have moral boundaries to tread, while I think the bad actors couldn't care less[5]."
In conclusion, it appears our security experts remain hopeful about the future, and we spotted myriad solutions at InfoSec 2025 tailored to empower our cybersecurity crews and keep the digital outlaws at bay.
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- Despite the new advancements in data-and-cloud-computing technology, some experts still doubt if the new proactive weaponry in cybersecurity will be enough to deter cyber-villains, as Guido Grillenmeier, Principal Technologist EMEA at Semperis, states, "Yep, they retained it previously, and they'll keep it; the baddies."
- As Ian Higgison from ZeroFox points out, the advent of AI tools is empowering less tech-savvy troublemakers, making the cyber-villains seem always one step ahead, consequently forcing "security firms to pivot" and maintain the edge, according to Fiona Lau from the same company.
