10 key questions security leaders must ask at RSA 2025

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What does Google-Wiz portend for the security industry?

Alphabet’s recent $32 billion Wiz acquisition screams of M&A opportunities — and big questions about cloud security. With all that money being thrown around, the Sand Hill Road gang will be busy pitching new deals amid Screaming Eagle and Scarecrow cabernet sauvignon. Meanwhile, the security industry — and customers — will ponder the deal’s implications. With Microsoft and now Google offering homegrown cloud security capabilities, what will AWS do? Will Orca Security be scooped up next? Expect to hear lots of FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) about Google’s ability to integrate Wiz, maintain the culture, and execute — with CISOs’ cloud security strategies hanging in the balance. Great industry soap opera stuff!

Is agentic AI more myth than reality?

Building on 2024’s AI enthusiasm, this year will be all about agentic AI, defined as “a type of AI that enables software systems to act autonomously, making decisions and taking actions based on goals, with minimal human intervention,” according to AI itself (source: Google Gemini). We’ll see lots of software demos and claims, but I’m only interested in hearing what my CISO friends think about the promise and reality of this emerging technology. After all, I remember well when Gartner declared intrusion detection systems (IDS) “dead,” certain to be replaced by intrusion prevention systems (IPS) in 2003. But this didn’t happen, as paranoid security pros were unwilling to cede decision-making to machines.

Skepticism is still a dominant force in cybersecurity culture, for good reason. But AI is progressing rapidly, and organizations need the automation and analytics help. In fact, many organizations are already developing their own AI agents across various departments, and security should be no exception. CISOs should consider AI agents a great equalizer, where they can customize software for their specific security needs without waiting around for vendors to catch up.