Former ethical hacker, now founder and CEO of Intruder, Chris Wallis explores whether AI can bridge the divide between finding vulnerabilities and understanding real-world attack context as exploit windows continue to shrink. This conversation dives into the structural "confidence gap" uncovered in Intruder’s 2026 Security Middle Child Report, where executive risk appetite is increasingly decoupled from front-line operational reality.
This segment is sponsored by Intruder. Visit https://securityweekly.com/intruderrsac to learn more about them!
Read the interview summary from SC Media here: Intruder’s Chris Wallis on confidence, AI and the future of exposure management
- 0:00 - RSAC 2026 Introduction & Cybersecurity Trends
- 0:21 - AI Uncertainty and Rising Tech Debt in Security
- 01:08 - What is Exposure Management in Cybersecurity?
- 01:51 - Moving Beyond Vulnerability Management to Risk-Based Security
- 02:25 - Why Traditional Vulnerability Scanners Miss Real Threats
- 03:28 - False Confidence in Security Scanning Explained
- 04:02 - The Need for Real-World Attack Surface Visibility
- 04:36 - How AI is Transforming Exposure Management
- 05:06 - Using AI to Prioritize Real Security Risks
- 06:07 - Solving Context Gaps in Cybersecurity Data
- 06:56 - The Future of AI in Penetration Testing
- 08:27 - Human vs AI in Advanced Security Testing
- 09:33 - Lessons from Real Cyber Breaches & Failures
- 10:30 - CISO vs Security Team Confidence Gap
- 11:40 - Are We Measuring the Right Security Metrics?
- 12:18 - Zero-Day Exploits and Faster Attack Timelines
- 13:11 - Why Patching Alone No Longer Works
- 13:53 - The Importance of Detection, Response & Mitigation
- 14:08 - Rethinking Cybersecurity Strategy Beyond Vulnerabilities
- 14:19 - Final Thoughts & Security Report Takeaways
Chris Wallis is Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Intruder. He has previously worked as Senior Security Specialist at WorldPay, Lead Security Consultant at Context Information Security and Security Consultant at Deloitte. Chris is an alumnus of the University of Bath.
