AI Workshop 1It is no surprise that artificial intelligence (AI) has fundamentally changed what we see, what we know, and how we have operated in the past few years. It is everywhere we turn – from being embedded into our cars, used in our doorbells and security cameras, in our smart home devices and even when we are scrolling on social media and stumbling upon targeted ads.

AI's impact is at the top of many individuals' minds, especially ISC2 members, as they ask how it will impact their jobs, lives, well-being and future. In fact, our recent AI Survey revealed that 88% of survey respondents believe that AI will significantly impact their jobs now or in the near future.

ISC2 has responded by launching Securing AI, a series of two-day interactive workshops, focused on identifying opportunities and managing the risks associated with artificial intelligence.

An ISC2 AI Workshop convened in Denver, Colorado, on June 20 and June 21. It provided cybersecurity professionals with essential working knowledge of AI for immediate implementation back at their organizations. These insights will help attendees ensure their organization's AI practices are aligned with established risk management and emerging industry best practices.

The workshop focused on the following aspects of AI:

  • Fundamentals of AI and Cybersecurity
  • Core AI Types and Technologies
  • Applications of AI in Different Industries
  • AI Lifecycle
  • AI Security Frameworks and Standards
  • AI Threats and Controls
  • AI Security Defenses
  • AI Ethics

Denver AI Workshop participant Anthony Dyson, CISSP, manager of security architecture at a financial services organization, said, "[The workshop] is very relevant for me as it explains the intricacies of AI and gives me the explanation of all the underlying components. It gives me an idea of where to focus our attention when implementing controls of securing the data."

Additional peers in the class believed the most interesting takeaways from the workshop included:

AI workshop 2"The key takeaway that I have learned here is that AI is a discussion that has to start from the top down,” said Dante Siciliano, CISSP, director of IT security at Curaleaf. "We can't prevent it [AI] – we must do our best to control it, and we need executive support and a discussion at the executive level, just like anything in cybersecurity."

Don Redden, CISSP, VP of information technology, Otter Tail Corporation, spoke about how AI regulation was an interesting element of the workshop. “Regulation is too abstract to apply to the specific AI principles because it is not mature enough. This workshop gives a broad scope of what to look for – using what you already know to secure what you don’t know.”

Earnest Collins, CISSP, owner of RCE Consulting, also thought the regulatory angle was fascinating. “It was interesting to hear about the regulatory perspectives, especially as we are trying to regulate AI from a financial regulatory dimension. It is a very timely subject for emerging technology and AI technology.”

Our most recent Cybersecurity Workforce Study stated that AI was one of the top skills gaps noted among organizations’ security teams. Mike August, CISSP, CCSP, cybersecurity consultant, agreed with this sentiment. "Identifying the skills gap around AI in business – that's why I am here. A couple of eye-opening things."

Start your AI education and register to attend an ISC2 Securing AI workshop near you today. If one of these in-person workshops doesn’t work for your calendar, check out the four dates of our newly released AI live online sessions.

Additional Resources:

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