In this episode, we sit down with Grant Bourzikas, Chief Security Officer from Cloudflare, as he shares what lessons he learned from 2024. Grant emphasizes the industry’s need to move beyond outdated technology to enhance security postures and reduce complexities. He discusses the impact of artificial intelligence on security, the challenges of leveraging AI, and the necessity for organizations to embrace it strategically. Furthermore, Grant highlights the importance of modernizing security infrastructures, simplifying environments, and the critical need to cultivate new talent in the field to tackle the evolving landscape.

Grant Bourzikas joined Cloudflare as the Chief Security Officer in 2023, where he is a driving force in helping the company achieve its mission to build a better Internet. As a critical component within Cloudflare’s ecosystem, Grant’s primary role is to protect the company from sophisticated adversaries to stay ahead in today’s cybersecurity landscape. He oversees Cloudflare’s threat intelligence services, which successfully mitigate 170+ billion attacks daily, in addition to acting as “Customer Zero” to help foster innovation across all Cloudflare products and services.

Grant is a seven-time CSO with over 20 years experience leading global security programs that span the private sector, having worked at a Fortune 500 critical infrastructure company, an online trading organization and within the gaming space. Most notably, Grant spent several years in the financial services industry at both HSBC and Silicon Valley Bank. Grant holds a Master’s in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence from Southern Methodist University, and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Missouri in St. Louis. He is a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) and CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional).