Episode #084: No Humans Required: Agentic Attackers vs. Automated Defenders
Send us Fan Mail AI is changing the economics of cyberattacks by making them faster, cheaper, and easier to scale. In this episode of Relating to DevSecOps, Ken is joined by Conor Sherman, Chief Security Officer at Sysdig and host of the Zero Signal podcast, to explore what the rise of agentic threat actors means for defenders. Using the Jade Puffer ransomware attack as a real-world example, they discuss how autonomous attackers can discover vulnerabilities, compromise environments, move laterally, adapt their code, identify valuable data, and deploy ransomware with little human involvement. The conversation also looks at how defenders can respond through stronger security architecture, automated patching, real-time detection, automatic response, and AI-assisted modernization. Rather than replacing security fundamentals, AI can help teams apply them faster, handle difficult edge cases, and build more resilient systems. For security teams wondering where to begin, the message is simple: start small, automate one meaningful workflow, and build from there.