On the 27th episode of Enterprise AI Defenders, hosts Evan Reiser and Mike Britton, both executives at Abnormal AI, talk with Gareth Packham, Chief Information Security Officer at Save the Children International. Save the Children is one of the world's largest nonprofit organizations focused on protecting the rights and well-being of children. Operating in over 100 countries, it delivers healthcare, education, and emergency response programs—often in high-risk, conflict-affected areas. In this conversation, Gareth shares insights on the life-or-death stakes of cybersecurity in humanitarian work, the rising danger of AI-powered impersonation and fraud, and why driving behavioral change—not just awareness—is the next frontier in protecting global organizations.

Quick hits from Gareth:

On the real-world consequences of cybersecurity failures at Save the Children: “Without sounding glib or flippant—it really isn't. It can be a matter of life and death. We have information on children and families… in the wrong hands, that could put them at risk of physical harm.”

On the threat of AI-generated impersonation: “A few years ago, we were seeing business email compromise attempts asking to approve invoices. Now, it’s shifted to things like deepfake video. When someone says, ‘Let’s jump on a call,’ and you see a video of someone that looks and sounds like your CEO, you really need to challenge that.”

On the limits of awareness training: “The challenge with a lot of awareness programs is that they’re static. People might remember the right answer on a quiz, but it doesn't mean they’ll act the right way under pressure. We need to stop checking boxes and start measuring actual behavior change.”

Book Recommendation: Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

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Enterprise AI Defenders is a show where top security executives share how moves to the cloud have created an evolved threat landscape that requires new tools to protect against cybercrime. Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/

Enterprise AI Defenders is produced by Josh Meer.

On the 26th episode of Enterprise AI Defenders, hosts Evan Reiser and Mike Britton, both executives at Abnormal Security, talk with Kirsten Davies, former Chief Information Security Officer at The Estée Lauder Companies and Unilever and founder of The Institute for Cyber. Kirsten's storied career has given her a front-row seat to understanding the complexities of securing global organizations. In this conversation, Kirsten shares insights on the scale of enterprise cyber operations, the hidden challenges of AI-powered security innovation, and how human risk is still the biggest concern in the age of AI.

Quick hits from Kirsten:

On how AI is redefining attacker capabilities: “The sophistication of whaling, spear phishing—AI is being used very smartly, and it’s bypassing a lot of those traditional filters that we had back in the day. Now it feels like all of the email-based attacks are super sophisticated, very targeted, and they have really major repercussions on the back end.”

On the need to rethink digital identity defense: “Think of how many service accounts there are now. They exploded in numbers—larger than people. The number of service and machine identities we have is astronomical… This is where the opportunity is on the defense side, where you don’t even have people involved anymore.”

On why people are still the frontline: “It still goes back to relationships with people… good old-fashioned communication capability… It's still about building awareness. The human element of risk—that will never go away. That’s one of the reasons I started The Institute—so everyday citizens can have safer experiences while they traverse the digital universe.”

Book Recommendation: Imagine Heaven by John Burke

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Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Enterprise AI Defenders is a show where top security executives share how moves to the cloud have created an evolved threat landscape that requires new tools to protect against cybercrime. Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/

Enterprise AI Defenders is produced by Josh Meer.

On the 25th episode of Enterprise AI Defenders, hosts Evan Reiser and Mike Britton, both executives at Abnormal Security, talk with Joshua Brown, former Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer at H&R Block. H&R Block is one of the largest tax preparation companies in the United States, with tens of millions of customers relying on its services each year. Managing security for a global tax enterprise requires defending against large-scale fraud, identity theft, and AI-powered social engineering attacks—all while ensuring compliance with strict regulatory requirements. In this conversation, Joshua discusses how AI is accelerating cyber attacks, the challenges of using AI for fraud detection in financial services, and the impact of automation on the next generation of cybersecurity teams.

Quick hits from Joshua:

On the state of fraud in financial services and how AI can help: “If you're talking about a normal year, you might see a thousand potentially fraudulent returns, and then suddenly it jumps up to a million or more. You don’t have enough analysts to look through that. It’s not possible. You have to do something with machine learning or AI to be able to narrow that down and help make faster decisions.”

On balancing the need for efficiency and the need for future talent in cybersecurity: “I think businesses are so hungry for efficiency that they risk gutting their talent pipelines. If we’re not careful, we’re going to end up with a senior workforce and no way to develop new security talent.”

On leadership strategy in security: “How you motivate a team is by connecting them with the why of what they’re doing and letting them figure out the how. That’s why you hire people smarter than you, right? It’s not so that everybody does things the way you do it.”

Book Recommendation: Right Kind of Wrong by Amy Edmondson

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Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Enterprise AI Defenders is a show where top security executives share how moves to the cloud have created an evolved threat landscape that requires new tools to protect against cybercrime. Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/

Enterprise AI Defenders is produced by Josh Meer.