Conversations with Reach: Nicole Perlroth [Full Interview]

Our CEO & co-founder, Garrett Hamilton, chats with Nicole Perlroth following her Black Hat USA 2025 keynote, where the former New York Times cybersecurity reporter, venture partner at Ballistic Ventures and founding partner at Silver Buckshot Ventures delivers a stark warning: AI is supercharging cyber threats, from autonomous malware and ransomware-as-a-subscription to reality-distorting deepfakes. In this interview, Perlroth discusses how nation-states and ransomware groups like Cl0p and Akira are leveraging AI for vulnerability hunting, psychological extortion, and initial access—giving attackers a massive edge over overwhelmed defenders. With CISOs facing burnout (63% report excessive stress and 58% have witnessed it in the past year), tool overload (Fortune 100 firms juggling 100+ security tools), and a talent crisis (average CISO tenure just 2 years), she calls for AI-driven defenses like secure-by-design agents and hallucination traps to fight fire with fire. Perlroth's message? The honeymoon with AI is over—next year's Black Hat will be unrecognizable if we don't act now. Snarky truth: While attackers automate chaos, defenders are stuck in a "shitshow" of burnout and basics. Watch to learn how to tip the scales back.

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Sources: Black Hat USA 2025 Keynotes, Proofpoint 2025 Voice of the CISO Report, Acronis Cyberthreats Report H1 2025